To ask to be temporarily rehoused whilst new kitchen installed?

[SENwoes]

I will preface this by saying I KNOW I’m very lucky to have a HA house, and I KNOW I’m very lucky to be getting a brand new kitchen for free.

So as above, I have work commencing on 22nd January to rip out the old kitchen and replace it. I don’t have a choice in this, according to the documents, I am unable to say no it’s fine, I’ll keep the old one. I’ve been told the works will take 2 weeks, as it also involves taking up the tiled floor and replacing it with lino.

It’s just dawning on me what a nightmare this will be. I have to completely empty the kitchen obviously, but there’s not really anywhere to put the stuff, it’s a very small house (just living room leading to kitchen/diner downstairs). The big appliances will go outside in the back yard apparently, but everything else will have to be boxed up and kept somewhere. I’ll have no cooking or washing up facilities, and no way of washing or drying clothes.

That’s all pretty standard I know, but my main concern is that I have a disability (CFS) and also both DC are diagnosed with ASD and currently in the house all the time as neither in education. We will essentially be trapped in our bedrooms for 2 weeks as we won’t be able to move in the front room as realistically that’s the only place everything from the kitchen can go. I need to rest…a lot, and the works will be noisy, which will also affect both DC as they struggle badly with loud noises and not being in a calm environment. They’ll also struggle with a team of workmen being in their space for 2 weeks, They both have completely different food aversions and neither of their limited range of foods is conducive to being able to batch cook and set the microwave up somewhere. Realistically it will mean a lot of eating out, but that’s not really affordable for 2 weeks.

Has anyone been in a similar situation and WIBU to ask the HA if there’s anything that could be done to move us while the works are going on? The only family member I could stay with is my DM but she’s a long way away and having works done on her own house which means she doesn’t have a functioning bathroom, so that’s not ideal really.

Hi all, thanks for thinking of me, yes still here! It’s going ok, energy wise I’m fucked, crashing badly after moving everything whilst ill, but the kitchen is getting there. Tuesday was hell, I thought the demolition day would be the worst but noise wise the electrics on Tuesday was a lot worse. Didn’t help that the two guys that did that came in just after 8am and then played really shit techno music all morning at full blast (who does that in someone else’s house?!). But otherwise the workmen have all been nice. Food wise it’s a bit of a nightmare, there wasn’t room for putting the table up in the living room with all the other stuff, and I’d be worried about damaging it by putting microwave or air fryer on it, it’s a white table and it’s not designed to have things cooking on it. We had the sink and draining board for a couple of days, so I put the microwave on that, but that went yesterday so it was a takeaway last night. They’ve started installing the new units today, don’t know how far they’ve got as I haven’t managed to get up yet.

I'm so happy it's going well and your worst fears have proved unfounded so far.

I always talk to workmen from my HA in the hope they do a decent job. They definitely make more of an effort with 'awkward' tenants. I always look after them with tea and snacks which also helps! I may mention the poor standards in the past but only in the context of reassuring the new chap they are obviously not like that and appealing to the ego.

Whatever you think of social housing the tradesmen are paid, often handsomely if they are contractors with a nice government-backed contract. The attitude of the guy running the company which replaced our doors was terrible, he was actually proud of charging an hour's work for a thirty-minute job, and indeed messed up the door. The guys who did my boiler replaced the gas pipes all the way to the box despite them being perfectly adequate, just in case. Contractors of course.

It's not helped by all the directly-employed odd-job men who nearly always do a half-arsed job, usually with said arse hanging out. They have frequently been there for years and really do the bare minimum, often after sitting in their van on their phone for an hour. When they painted the communal door there was gloss paint all over the frame and floor, it was just left like that. Many other examples of terrible work, including a handle fitted which crushed several residents fingers as the placement was absolutely ridiculous. The HA have promised they are increasing standards, investing in better training for staff and reducing the use of external providers but there is no sign of it yet.

I am and will always be incredibly grateful for my little flat which pretty much saved my life a few years back but I pay rent and should be able to expect a decent standard of workmanship, not just be forced to accept shite standards in the name of 'gratitude' because my rent is sensible. I represent several fellow tenants with similar issues who are less able to use the complaint process due to age or infirmity. They are the ones with black mold everywhere yet have been so beaten down over the years they see no point reporting it.

Glad to hear you're surviving! Im nearly at the point where I can buy accessories for the new bathroom (oh how exciting, a bath mat!), can't actually have a shower yet as despite it being in, there is still no radiator fitted in there, so its too cold for me (I cannot get warm if I get cold, and showering takes me bloody ages)...

Kitchen..... ugh. There is an electrician and a tiler as I write this, we have shitty pop music and its definitely not going to be done by tomorrow so we'll be into week 4 of what was hahaha... a 10 day job!

Hopefully yours will be MUCH faster, I think having bathroom and kitchen done and both having self levelled floors to go down has really slowed all this down - plus widening two doorways has added a lot!

Ask them to turn the radio down? Tell em you’re working from home or your neighbour is.

You don't even need an excuse/lie @SENwoes . Just say, sorry can you switch your music off/turn it right down when I'm in the house, please.

I've had to do it a couple of times and they've always been fine about it.

That’s true. It’s your home so you’re in charge x

Tbf once the drilling started the music kind of paled into insignificance. They’ve got the radio on today but it’s not offensively loud. I only have one loo in the house and it’s upstairs, so they are up and down the stairs using that. And one of them just pissed all over the toilet seat 😤. I really need to have a bath but don’t feel that I can in case one of them needs the toilet, there’s quite a few of them here today.

@WiddlinDiddlin 4 weeks 😱 god poor you. Mine seems to be on track at the moment, I’m hoping if they finish putting all the units in then I can start decanting some of the stuff that lives in cupboards back into them and get a bit of living room back.

Tell him he weed on the seat!!! I would x

Yes please do.
It sounds like they need reminding that they are in your home. The radio would drive me crazy and the wee on the seat - well that gives me the rage when my sons do it (rarely happens any more) and I love them, I absolutely would not tolerate it from a visitor. What a pig.

1 Keep up
2 Aren't you lovely

Shout at 'em if they leave piss on the seat! Not in a nasty way in a 'oi, you wouldn't do that at home would you?' friendly but making a point way...

Mine are all into awful music and the one that doesn't bring a radio just sings snippets of songs dated anywhere from 1980 to this year... just one liners, like he's got musical tourettes. I am not sure whats more annoying, however if it makes them work faster I can ignore it! If you can't, do ask them to turn it down a bit though, mine did ask if it was ok at the start.

Now I can use my bathroom I just shout 'im in the bathroom' (sliding door, no lock) and they'll deal with it, on lots of sites they won't have a bathroom at all to use so they will wee in a bottle in their van (or in your back yard if you're less lucky!)

Shout at 'em if they leave piss on the seat! Not in a nasty way in a 'oi, you wouldn't do that at home would you?' friendly but making a point way...

Or just "oh, someone weed on the seat, please clean it up, there's some spray in the loo".

on lots of sites they won't have a bathroom at all to use so they will wee in a bottle in their van (or in your back yard if you're less lucky!)

What do women in the trade do when there is no loo?

I don’t know who the wee culprit was as I was in my room and he just shouted to ask if you could use the loo. So he got away with it…this time.

@WiddlinDiddlin musical Tourette’s 🤣. Yeah that would be annoying alright.

They’re really putting the hours in today, they’ve normally buggered off by now. So I’m in the bath as I have to go out in an hour or so, they’re going to have to wee in the garden if they need to go.

I think you need to have a word with them all when they come in tomorrow. Remind them that it’s your home and you need them to treat it and you with respect. That means no loud music and keeping the place tidy. They should be tidying up before they leave every day and they can only use your loo facilities if they keep them clean and tidy.

I’m not in social housing but I expect all of the above when workmen are working in my house, it should be no different for you.

Bucket in the back of the van (the orange b&q ones are ok but better is an old grout bucket with a lid!)...

Go when you go on lunch break or to Screwfix to pick something up.

@SENwoes Checking in to see how you're doing! Everything x'd for you that it's going well and quickly!

@WiddlinDiddlin ah bless you, I’m ok thanks, hanging on in there. Tiles went up today and units all finished, so now it’s just decorating and flooring, although apparently the guy who normally does the decorating has gone off sick so we’ll see if anyone turns up tomorrow. Hopefully he just had a touch of Monday-itis 🤣. It’s not too bad now the noisiest jobs are done, still trapped in our bedrooms all day but it’s a bit more chilled. The guys who have been here the last few days have been great, they’ve really gone the extra mile to problem solve and make it look as nice as possible. I asked them if I could have my washing machine plumbed in for the weekend so I managed to get about 10 loads of washing done. Food wise we’ve been managing, just not really eating during the day while they’re here but when they go I can use the air fryer and microwave, now that I have worktops again. New cooker being delivered tomorrow but won’t be able to connect it until everything is done. The animals have all got used to eating off paper plates 🤣. So excited for the end being in sight and being able to use downstairs normally again.

Oh I am so glad its been manageable, I know I felt total fucking despair (hence my thread 'how the fuck ...' ) being told with a weeks notice, over bloody christmas...

Its been yuck, but like yours, the lads here have done their best to keep it tolerable, keep me informed, ensure ive got as much functionality around the house as possible. Dogs have totally got used to builders all over, they can't even be arsed to sniff them if they meet one in the back yard now!

My new dishwasher comes tomorrow.... I have wanted one for as long as I've used a wheelchair so theres no more plates piling up that i can't do anything about!!!! Back on the diet once they've finished and I am looking forward to real plates again hehehe!

Nice to have such a positive update OP. (And from @WiddlinDiddlin)
There's light at the end of the tunnel!

So glad its all going well.

@WiddlinDiddlin glad you’re getting there too, your dishwasher will be life changing! I’ve got 3 guys working downstairs today and the painting is on track, so should still be done by Friday, thank god. I hear you about the diet, I don’t think I’ve put any weight on due to just not eating a lot whilst I’ve not had a kitchen, but what I have eaten has all been crap. Looking forward to eating things containing actual vitamins 🤣. My mum is taking us out for lunch tomorrow which is exciting, a proper meal!

Im starting to plan what to cook for my first meal from new kitchen (and first meal I'll have cooked in YEARS too)... mmmm, I miss cooking so much.

Dishwashers here and in but not plumbed in as he needs some bits so it'll be done in the morning. Its neaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarly there....

Enjoy your lunch out tomorrow, yum! :)