Builders requesting drinks

[crazydiamond222]

We are having an extension built whilst I am on maternity leave. I have a 3 month old. We have 2 builders on site laying foundations who started on monday. I have been making them a drink first thing and on one occasion made them a bacon sandwich. I don't offer drinks all day because my son keeps me very busy and only naps on me and it is a 4 month job so I don't want to have to do drinks all day for this period.

This afternoon whilst I was playing with my son in the living room one of the builders walked past the window and requested a coffee and tea. I thought the request to be a bit cheeky as a) he shouldn't have been looking in the living room and b) he shouldn't been requesting. I made him the drinks anyway leaving my son on the playmat getting upset. I rushed outside as my son was upset and I wanted to get back to him. When I took the drinks outside I tripped over rubble breaking a cup and scratching my arm. The builders reply was you should have passed it through the window. I remade the drinks but suggested in future setting up a kettle in the garage for them but they said they can just bring their own drinks. I am now feeling pretty upset with them.

Just needed to vent really but what do people feel is reasonable regarding builders and drinks.

I always keep my builders/contractors etc refreshed with hot or cold drinks. Manual labour is hard work.

If you can't make it for them then leave them a kettle.

I set the tone by saying ‘here’s the tea, here’s the coffee, here’s the kettle’ and leave it at that.

If I'm around I try to make a few, but if ill/busy with children, I set them up with a kettle, mugs, tea and coffee, bottle of milk, and then some biscuits to sweeten the deal. Usually put that near where they are working so they don't have to traipse through the house.

I always offer a drinks on a regular basis throughout the day if someone is working on my house. I don't think he was cheeky to ask at all!

I'm in the "help yourself" camp. But then we do have a door to outside about 6 ft from where the kettle is.

You can’t leave them without access to a kettle for a four month job!
Seriously; your son keeps you so busy you’ve no time to put the kettle on??

I usually offer tea or coffee on arrival, and then say “There’s the kettle and tea/ coffee so you can help yourself throughout the day”. I also buy biscuits and leave them out, telling them to help themselves.

I do this because I’m working from home so not there to serve anyone, but it’s the same principle as you are looking after a toddler. Asking you for tea through the window is bloody cheeky too!

Its not cheeky. I would do them one in the morning and one in the afternoon.

It's also not their fault you fell. You could have called them to come get them passed them through the window or something.

We've got builders here atm replacing the drive. I've been offering hot drinks at least every 90 minutes as well as leaving a jug of juice and some glasses out for them and haven't been refused yet. Also sent biscuits out and what was left of the Christmas chocolates. I'd normally do bacon sandwiches too but the landlord told us they'd be here 2 days later than they were so I was a bit unprepared and didn't have the stuff in!

Yabu its not cheeky of them to ask for a drink at all. Really if you dont want to make regular drinks for them you should have shown them where the kettle and coffee and tea is kept and told them to help themselves. Building work is very manual and requires constant drinks. Its utterly rude to not give people working for you drinks periodically.

When I had builders round I set up a separate drinks station for them, tea, coffee, sugar, cordial etc. for them to sort themselves puts It was in old canisters/packets not my usual ones as I didn’t want them getting dirty. I also bought a cheapo £10 kettle for them and left them biscuits out, they’d bring their own milk. Job done.

I would supply them with tea, coffee, milk and sugar, a kettle and some mugs and pop them in the garage, then just tell them to help themselves.

I think it's perfectly reasonable to provide them with drinks while they work. DH used to work as a plasterer in people's homes and he always got given drinks/biscuits/cake.

Your baby won't come to any harm while you make a couple of cups of coffee! If it pains you that much then tell them where it all is an say they can help themselves. You can't leave them without drinks for hours

Perfectly reasonable to offer refreshments.

It's not their fault you tripped and fell.

Just set them up with a tray in the garage and ask them to return the cups and milk jug at the end of the day and give them back in the morning.

No need for a drama. They need teabreaks and you did set the tone by starting off making them drinks. It’s fine to change that.

God forbid you'd offer sustenance to someone working on your premises for months. How dare the proles express their own needs. Don't they realise there's a hierarchy here.

Your son will survive the entire 2-3 minutes it takes to make a drink. It’s not their fault you tripped either. It’s common decency to offer them a drink, least they’ll get their own from now on. Problem solved.

I offered our decorator a drink every time I had a drink (basically mid morning, lunch, mid afternoon. He also got breakfast if I was running late and did the school run before I'd eaten!) It really wasnt any tougher making 2 drinks than 1!

I had builders in the garden for two months when DS was eight months old and crawling.

I offered tea first thing on arrival and normally once again in the morning and once in the afternoon. If I was going out I'd always offer one before going. Also have them a stack of biscuits in an old ice cream tub so it had a lid to keep dirt out.

Never took the cups right out, just opened the back door, gave them a yell and left them on the step.

I do think you should have offered more but not sure it was cheeky of them to ask, if they asked politely and weren't rude.

If your DC is only three months, do you have a sling? How else do you get anything done?

It's normal to provide drinks, though I showed them where everything was and said help yourself on the first day, though I did occasionally give them home baked goods

if you drink offer them one but ask them to collect it - they wont mind a yell out of the window - (& I let them use the loo!!!! with a smile & just leave your boots there & leaving a scruffy hand towel for their use!!!!)

Some mornings I would have one of the builders making my coffee as well as their own.
First day in Id make them drinks and tell them to help themselves.
Because I also let them use the toilet, when it was all ripped out they fitted the new one very quickly 😂
During the kitchen works, they set up a drinks station for us all.

But who would see a mother playing with a toddler and ask her to stop and make him a drink??? Surely that’s the definition of “doing something more important”.

If your son keeps you that busy then I think you should suggest to them they help themselves and provide access to your kitchen.

I wouldn't offer food but drinks are expected I am afraid.

Leave them some water, kettle, milk, sugar and some biscuits.

But I think looking in from the window is rude from them. They need to ring the bell if they want to speak to you.