Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

Flip

1 2 3

Original poster

Would you go away and leave workmen in the house?

73 replies

Twospaniels · 25/10/2019 21:27

Just that really.
We’re having the kitchen updated and it will take 5 days and be dusty etc and kitchen not in use. Kitchen company man said they quite often do the work while the family is on holiday.
Would you leave them to it?

OP posts:

HelenaDove · 26/10/2019 00:40

I live in a housing association flat

No fucking way.

Dowser · 26/10/2019 06:43

Yes..land have done loads

Original poster

Twospaniels · 26/10/2019 06:45

Thanks for all your replies. Seems like a 50/50 split on whether you would leave them to it or not.

We will have to check references on the company I think before we decide

OP posts:

madcatladyforever · 26/10/2019 06:49

Absolutely not, everytime I have done this they have taken the piss big time and done a terrible job. They need supervising every step of the way.

Theonewiththecat · 26/10/2019 06:53

I have - I was having external doors, window frames and guttering painted during the hottest days of the year. I had to leave my both doors unlocked so they could plug in the sander and actually paint to the edge of my door. I told them to help themselves to drinks.

Also I've just had a plumber come and fix my leaky toilet. He popped up one morning before I went to work and said he would get me what I needed that day and he could come back and do it that afternoon, but he didnt know what time. I told him I was at work but would leave the door unlocked for him. Came home to a new loo.

I am very lucky. I do live in a very naice area.

PulpPixie · 26/10/2019 07:12

Nice to know most people think workmen are thieves. I’ll let my brother know. Is it a class thing? Probably

Sweetpeach3 · 26/10/2019 07:18

I always do.... I did whilst I had my floor fitted then my bathrooms changed, again when the decorator came for a week an then Iv just been away for 2 weeks whilst we had a loft conversation and 2 new glass stair gases fitted. It is a lot easier as iv 2 young children
but we didn't just get any one in from b and q or where ever. It was independent people we had used before or recommended by people we trust x

marblesgoing · 26/10/2019 07:22

My parents did this
Went away for a week while bathroom was being ripped out and redone and electrics being stripped and re wired.
Told her it was a bad idea and it was a nightmare.
Not for them,for me and my dsis who had to constantly go in after work or in the morning before work as the bathroom fitter was a lazy twat and never showed up on time and the electrical fitter trashed all the plaster because he just ripped it out

Had to get my uncle down in the end because they were making such a mess and not a lot of progress.

Didn't take them long to rectify and sort it out once he got there but it's unfair to leave that responsibility to someone else

They also did it a year later when having the hallway painted and new stair carpet. I walked in,saw the mess (could have fitted the carpet better myself)and walked back out again and left it for them to sort.

bigbluebus · 26/10/2019 07:24

Had an extension built and left builder the keys whilst we went on holiday so they could knock through without us being there. BUT he was a very well respected local builder who came highly recommended by friends. One of the reasons we chose him over the others who quoted was that he was a one man band with trusted, local and long serving sub contractors/tradesmen. Would i do that for a random kitchen firm with unknown fitters - no way.

LucileDuplessis · 26/10/2019 07:29

Go out and leave them for the day - yes.
Go away on holiday - no. Not so much lack of trust as we've found they need closer supervision for when issues come up.

Nuttyaboutnutella · 26/10/2019 07:33

Depends. If it's a brand new contracted you've never met before, absolutely not. If it's someone you use regularly, don't see the problem with nipping out for a while.

My dad is a builder. He does work regularly for some customers. They've actually had keys cut so he's always got one, so if he's doing another job in the house, there's no hassle surrounding keys etc, but they're long term clients so trust is there.

MindyStClaire · 26/10/2019 07:47

Depends... Have gone away for a week and had the bathroom redone, but the guy doing it had done plenty of work for us and a friend before so we trusted him.

Also went away just after we moved in and left a relative to do a load of work, but obviously that's different.

However, did have a nightmare with the kitchen. Local company, well known, reputable. Went to work while it was fitted and it was a disaster. They sent a new fitter who was basically a cowboy. Had a fight to get them to fix most of what he'd done and some I just had to accept. The fit of a kitchen is so important I'd want to see it daily I think.

Howmanysleepsnow · 26/10/2019 07:48

I wish! I’ve been having my kitchen fitted for 2 weeks and it’s a nightmare. Every 10 minutes there’s a problem I have to solve or a question I have to answer. Plus he goes really slow if left to figure it out so I find myself having to talk him through it and find the right bits. I’d be really worried about the quality of his work unsupervised, but I’d love to not be here!

Bluerussian · 26/10/2019 07:53

Yes and hope that on my return, everything will be done and finished and spic and span. In my experience, not very likely :-). It might be OK for you though.

hariboismydrug · 26/10/2019 08:27

I do all the time.
In fact I had my boiler and radiators changed on Monday and I told the workmen I would be back at lunch to take the dog out,the young apprentice told me not to bother he would walk him in his lunch break lol.
Came back at teatime to a lovely job all done and an extremely tired dog so all good.

commanderdalgliesh · 26/10/2019 08:29

Yes I did it with decorators. Worked really well.

Babdoc · 26/10/2019 08:42

I’ve done it countless times. I used to work full time, so any tradesmen, from the piano tuner to the plumber, did their work while I was out.
On a larger time scale, the builders built a chimney and knocked through into my sitting room to create the fireplace while I was in Tunisia. My cat (who had a visiting feeder) led me to the new fireplace with a look of horror on her little face, as if she thought I wouldn’t know what had happened in my absence!
The builders also demolished my dining room wall and removed the radiators and piping ready for my new kitchen while I was 250 miles away visiting the PILs.
It all boils down to whether you can trust your tradesmen. I live in a wee village and always use local firms. I’ve had the same plumber for thirty years, for example. And I’m happy to give them a key or leave the back door unlocked for their arrival. They just lock up and post the key in through the letterbox when they leave.

FionaOgre · 26/10/2019 11:35

Nice to know most people think workmen are thieves. I’ll let my brother know. Is it a class thing? Probably.

I don't think it's a case of all workmen being thought of as thieves but simply that many people have no idea if the people they're employing to go in their home are decent hard working folk or the same guys who are running from Matt Allwright on Rogue Traders.

My FIL once got us to employ a decorator because he was friends with the family. Had we not been there we wouldn't have seen him chatting on his phone all day long instead of working, taking a full day to do half a room of wallpapering (at an hourly rate!). We wouldn't have noticed that he was cutting off around 4ft of excess paper per strip (it was plain so no matching up required) so that half a small room was at least two bing bags full of expensive wasted paper. We wouldn't have had the pleasure of hearing him screech through an open window at his mates passing by shouting such pleasantries for our new neighbours to hear like, "OI OI Gaz! Skivving of work again eh you lazy bastard?!" Or "Oi Dave-O ya fat cunt, keep running pal!"
His fees didn't match the time he'd been at ours either without the fact he'd spent most of it walking around on his mobile. We knew when he'd been there. Had we been away I'm sure he would have told us he'd worked 7 x 12 hour shifts!

FionaOgre · 26/10/2019 11:38

We did let him go as soon as we realised he was taking the piss. Found another decorator immediately who had the whole place finished over two days for half the price. He did a much neater job too.

NightsOfCabiria · 28/10/2019 20:04

I’d never leave animals in the care of strangers.

Some of you are very trusting.

Ive had some excellent tradespeople over the years (moved a lot) but its been my experience that about half were shifty/work-shy/unscrupulous.

KindOranges · 28/10/2019 20:38

I imagine it’s less ‘trusting’ than a matter of not being able to take weeks off work every time you need some work done to your house, surely.

Parker231 · 28/10/2019 22:19

How do people manage to take so much time off work to supervise or just be around. When we had the kitchen extension done, everything was agreed in advance so there were no decisions to make during the build. We went to work and school and looked forward each night to seeing the progress whilst camping out upstairs

NightsOfCabiria · 28/10/2019 23:01

@KindOranges I expect a lot of people are able to work from home or are stay at home parents.

Flip

1 2 3