AIBU to not allow the plasterer to play his radio?

[Shedbuilder]

I have a plasterer booked for four days of fiddly work all over the house, repairing the mess left by the so-called specialist fitters we paid a small fortune to install triple glazing —but I'm not going there!

We both work from home and around us we have other households with people working from home and noise-sensitive older people. It's a hot day and our windows are open because it's hot and to keep the air moving just in case of Covid. So when he arrived yesterday with his giant radio we nipped the problem in the bud early on and said sorry, both working from home, both need to be able to think and make calls without background noise — no radio. Which he glumly accepted. Today he's had a brief conversation with us about how tedious his work is without music in the background, so we suggested he use his phone and some earbuds. But no, he doesn't want to run out of data and he doesn't have earbuds.

We've ordered some cheap earbuds and we'll see if we can rig up some kind of free wifi connection for him tomorrow, but he's really huffy and I'm wondering whether we'll see him again tomorrow. He's a good plasterer and we've waited two months to get him. Are we being unreasonable?

Yes = we are unreasonable
No = we're no unreasonable

I expect the people who think this is fine are the type who have parties during the week at 3am and sod everyone else

🤣 How does a plasterer playing music in the daytime compare to parties in the middle of the night. Crazy fucker.

@Blossomtoes I expect people who think this is fine are the type who’ve employed a lot of trades in their time and understand it’s par for the course.

I've been developing properties for 30 years now - that's a lot of tradesmen - my project, my rules.

High end building firms are used to accommodating site specific requirements - it's generally lower end jobbing builders that tend to get bolshy.

We had the sheep shearers yesterday. Music at full blast. I'm just guessing what they would have said if I had asked them to turn it down

it's generally lower end jobbing builders that tend to get bolshy

Who mentioned getting bolshy? We’re talking about radios here. How lovely that you can employ “high end building firms”, we plebs are stuck with whoever does a decent job for the least money and radios are the price we pay. 🤷‍♀️

@Blossomtoes

The OP did.

It's not a question of what you can employ, it's a question of the professionalism of the tradesmen: if high end builders can behave themselves then so can everyone else. No idea why you think because your builder is good value you have to 'pay a price'. You can still set your terms.

Some posters here seem to be given the runaround by some right gobshites.

I pay for a high standard of work not impeccable manners. That’s what you pay “high end” prices for. If the results are to a high standard that’s all I ask - it’s hardly being given the run around.

This reminds me so much of the "AIBU to make my decorator go half a mile up the road for a dump?" posts we had a bit back. How DARE they have bodily needs and functions?

My view is - I want the workmen/women to be happy - if that means a few days with Smooth/Heart FM, so be it. "Any danger of a large mug of tea, 5 sugars?" and a bacon butty or two - fine.

@Blossomtoes

I pay for a high standard of work not impeccable manners. That’s what you pay “high end” prices for. If the results are to a high standard that’s all I ask - it’s hardly being given the run around.

I get both plus reasonable prices from our plumber. He is a gem.

You don't pay high end prices for 'manners', but for experience and skill. Respect & professionalism tends to go hand in hand with experience of working on high end projects though.

I get both plus reasonable prices from our plumber. He is a gem

Exactly.

Couldn't he have just had his radio on low?

My projects aren’t “high end”. The skills I’m paying for are those compatible with working on a listed building, if that means they bring a radio it’s fine by me. It’s hard enough to find those trades in a rural area without being picky.

I want the workmen/women to be happy - if that means a few days with Smooth/Heart FM, so be it. "Any danger of a large mug of tea, 5 sugars?" and a bacon butty or two - fine.
Well that's OK if you don't work long hours yourself and have the time to spare to be interrupted by requests for tea and bacon butties.
Most recently I had floorers in. Very reasonable prices. They turned up with no radio. I had put out coffee and a few teas and mugs/spoons. Pointed out the kettle and the fridge and said where the loo was for when they needed it. Disappeared upstairs to my office. Worked uninterrupted for the duration of the job except for a couple of polite knocks when they wanted me to see/check/decide on something.

@riceuten

This reminds me so much of the "AIBU to make my decorator go half a mile up the road for a dump?" posts we had a bit back. How DARE they have bodily needs and functions?

My view is - I want the workmen/women to be happy - if that means a few days with Smooth/Heart FM, so be it. "Any danger of a large mug of tea, 5 sugars?" and a bacon butty or two - fine.

And If you were working from home and the noise was impacting on your work, you'd surely ask them to turn it off.

Or are you all struck dumb and take leave of our senses when there's a work man around?

@strawberrydonuts

You are paying him to do the work. Obviously he needs to respect your need for peace and quiet in your house.

I once worked in an office where someone wanted the radio on all the time. It was OK for them as they had a straightforward job they didn't have to think much about, but my job required intense concentration. Luckily the manager quickly quashed it.

I think it's a very entitled attitude to assume you can bring your music into someone else's home or a shared workspace (which is what your house currently is).

He is acting like a child and it's really not your problem if he finds his job boring. I would suggest that he uses (his own!) headphones, or otherwise get another plasterer who has a more mature attitude to their work.

Where I once worked the guys had the radio on "Talk Sport" all day, every day. It drove me up the wall.

He’s gonna have to suck it up and stop moaning. Covid has made everyone’s life harder not just his. He can’t play the radio in what is now someone else’s workplace.

@mathanxiety

Because it’s HER HOUSE THAT SHE IS PAYING HER CONTRACTOR TO WORK IN.

If there is no practical problem then that ^^ is just silliness.

The practical problem is... his radio is disturbing her.

If the radio is not disturbing her because she can't hear it, then of course there is no problem.

But if there is some dispute between a contractor and a householder about whether the radio is disturbing her then she gets to decide because IT IS HER HOUSE THAT SHE IS PAYING HER CONTRACTOR TO WORK IN.