No enjoying the builders in ..,

[Iamnotagoddess]

Hence my third post in two days.

Is it normal to come back when you have left the builders here to no milk, sugar and very low levels of tea and coffee? Yes

I used to take out trays of tea & coffee (normal stuff, not cheap) and a dinner plate full of biscuits 3 or 4 times a day. Always all gone. I'd never expect workers to wash mugs!!

I’ve seen one of your other posts about your builders. Where did you find them?!
Never had such issues with any of my builders over the years. Most bring sticky plastic sheets for carpets, and drinks supplies (kettle, milk etc). All of them cover furniture etc, hoover at the end of the day and always leave the site clean and tidy. Even stuff you don’t see under the ground or pipe work and electrical cables are neatly laid.
I’d be furious if I were you and would have laid down the law on the second day.

I left cups, tea, coffee and sugar out next to the kettle and they haven't touched them. They have been in for glasses of water though.

I'll be glad to see the back of them all though - fingers crossed the weather isn't too horrific the rest of the week and they can finish!

Christ you're getting off lightly. I'm in Germany and they expect a cold 500ml beer at the end of the day and you have to stand next to their van and drink one with them.

Great fun when you have a 1 year old hanging off you, you don't speak Hungarian and your husband is working in China.

It does create goodwill though. Goodwill is everything with builders. Don't piss them off.

If it’s a job where the workers have been in and out the house then I make the first one and then say help yourselves. If I’m about I’ll make a brew for them.

DH is a tradesman and has received everything from bacon sarnies and a cooked lunch with homemade biscuits in between, to nothing at all. If its offered, then wonderful.if not, no problem it’s never expected

They have USED THE KETTLE WITHOUT USING FILTERED WATER DH “arrived” home today and has had a meltdown about it and descaled it already.

I fear he will piss them off in my absence tomorrow

And DH suggested them and is now almost blaming me for hiring them over the other two. He wasn’t here, how the fuck was I to know that they would be a bit crap - the work looks good though.

I don't mind the tea and coffee, but it did annoy me having to hunt round the house and scaffolding to find all the mugs. Also I'm still vexed that one went for a shit when the water was turned off, and clearly forgot to flush it later on.

This thread can't be real? You have people in your home doing a job you presumably can't (or don't want to) do yourself and are resenting doing them the common courtesy of keeping them fed and watered?

PLUS, you're in THEIR hands. What if they fuck-off mid way through doing your job to start another job elsewhere?

You have people in your home doing a job you presumably can't (or don't want to) do yourself and are resenting doing them the common courtesy of keeping them fed and watered?

You're doing them the common courtesy of paying them well for their services, I presume.

Clicked on this ready to comment “YABU it’s having the painters in”

They have USED THE KETTLE WITHOUT USING FILTERED WATER DH

Fuck. I assume you've called the police?

You 2 sound batshit.

I bet they think your nuts.

You’re

It's perfectly normal to provide tea coffee and biscuits to people working in your home. It's totally abnormal to expect them to replace the milk and have hissy fits about descaling the kettle.

How exactly are they a bit crap if thr work is good? I'm struggling to believe this is real. You both think you should have employed the other builders because you're anal about milk and sugar and what water goes in your kettle?

There's batshit and then there is this.

Jesus Christ.. you do know that kettles BOIL water don't you? Therefore you don't need to use filtered water.

Whilst I 'get' filtered water - I drink STRAIGHT from the tap. Shock horror.

Like they're to know that you can only put filtered water in your DH is massively unreasonable if he says anything to them over that.

Erm are you actually complaining about the builders drinking tea?!

when someone is doing work on your property I would expect that you will provide them with drinks during the day. That's basic manners! Do you really begrudge them the cost of a couple of £ for the milk/tea bag?!

Keep people who are doing work for you in good stead. If I was doing work at your house all day and you begrudged me a cup of tea then I wouldn't be overly invested in going the extra mile for you!

Our builders have their own little brew station built out of a wood palette. They have pots of tea, coffee, sugar and buy their own milk. You don't have an obligation to provide it all for them.

They have USED THE KETTLE WITHOUT USING FILTERED WATER

Oh the horror!

DH “arrived” home today and has had a meltdown about it and descaled it already

Surely it wouldn't have been that scaled up after one day?

Builders are not psychic. Tell them what they can and can’t do about tea coffee and biscuits, dont expect them to guess then get cross when they get it wrong. You are paying them for the work they do, in the light of how much that costs a bit more tea coffee milk and sugar is nothing.

Another one really shocked at this thread! We've had lots of work done in our house and always set up a tea station. Get whatever tea and coffee is on offer in the supermarket, put out a few mugs and just ask that the mugs are gathered at the end of the day. Usually also grab some biccies

Being on site all day without having access to water and hot drinks is pretty miserable.

Also echo others saying they aren't psychic and if you don't want them to have teas and coffees the tell them-but I'd imagine they'd be disappointed

I don't know anyone who doesn't provide drinks for tradespeople. Thought it was common courtesy?

And the kettle thing is weird to the extreme!!

We had builders for 6 months. I mad them tea/coffee at set times during the day (3x daily!) and always had a full tin of biscuits for them. Friday mornings was for cream cakes or doughnuts. They also had sole use of the downstairs loo. (Some self interest here - it saved me £600 on hiring and maintaining a portaloo). They were lovely, went the extra mile and even lent us their tools, as we were doing some of the work. I think it's always worth looking after good tradesman.
Op, if you are so precious about your kettle, buy a cheap one for them to use.

I am starting to think its not the builders from hell but rather the customers from hell.
If you have an issue stop telling mumsnet and speak to your builders.
Comunication is everything during a build. They wont know u r not happy if u dont tell them.
As for the filtered water .... SERIOUSLY??? U need to find things to ACTUALLY worry about !!

I thought, at first, that the comment about not using filtered water was a pisstake. Surely you can't be serious about that?!

I'd like to point out that of course we would have provided tea/coffee etc for our builders, but they turned up all ready with their own stuff, including mugs - so we've never needed to.

Agree with @Teagoanngoanngoann that you must be the customers from hell!

If you don't like the fact they haven't used the right water - just go buy a cheap £12 kettle and leave that for them to muck up!