To lock my bathroom during renovations in the flat

[Hocuspoc]

The flat has just one bathroom/toilet which has just been refurbished. Considering this is in London, the price of the renovation was extortionate.

Now we have painters and decorators coming in to paint the walls, skirting boards etc.
I really don't want them to use the bath or sink for keeping the tools and washing up.
It still bothers me how much the bathroom renovation has set us back and if someone was now to scratch the bathtub or break a tile I think I'd have a mental breakdown.
I want them to use the kitchen sink instead, or to set up some buckets on the kitchen floor - whatever they can come up with - just to stay away from the bloody bathroom.
I am tempted to lock the bathroom to prevent any damage or soiling.

And I feel this is horrible - it is as if I don't want them to use the loo or something (and it is not about that at all).
But then, the guys who did the bathroom had nowhere to go for 10 days while renovating it - so this is not an impossible set up.

I feel I am being unreasonable but honestly with the prices the contractors are charging at the moment I could not care less - they can certainly afford a quick coffee in a nearby cafe and use the loo there.
Thoughts.

I don't know if you're being reasonable or unreasonable here but I'd probably go the other way with this and not only provide the restroom but also greet them when possible, provide cold drinks, etc. I don't live in an urban area but I always feel like you're more likely to get better treatment from people by giving it.

Use your words and ask them not to wash things in the bathroom, could they please use the kitchen sink instead. Simples.

You could do what we did and leave the door unlocked and toilet available. We put tons of cardboard over and around the new sink and bath and taped it down with masking tape then added big thick moving blankets over the top. We got that plastic floor covering and put it down with cardboard on top. Bucket on floor for hand washing with paper towels - men never wash their hands anyway! Buckets for brushes etc otherwise you’ll get paint stuck in the pipes. Plenty of tea/coffee with biscuits also did some pies or pizza for lunch. They respected our boundaries especially when they were fed!!

Double fitted sheet over the sink and a big thick blanket over the bath tub , be honest and friendly and tell them you have just had a new bathroom and you're paranoid about it getting damaged . Sweeten them up with lots of tea and biscuits 😄

That's my general principle, too, Bertha, but my experience of godawful workmen is that they're also the most demanding of creature comforts. Skill & efficiency seem positively correlated with adaptability & stoicism!

I suspect it's wiser to proceed as if you were letting a posse of primary school kids run amok in your home - thoughtful yet cautious.

OP works

As if some tradesmen actually comply with what you ask them! Hilarious to think they all will just because you asked nicely.

So if the guys who did the original bathroom renovation had nowhere to go for 10 days, where did you do your business?

I agree and tbh
I find if you pander too much they take the p… and walk all over you.

A good professional will do a good job irrespective of whether you give them rich tea, chocolate hobnobs or nothing. I don’t provide a worse service because my clients don’t make me a sandwich
I would expect a toilet though of some sort anyway

I can't imagine denying any workmen on my property the use of toilet facilities.
There is a toilet but you're not allowed to piss in it? Weird controlling stuff.

Sadly there are a lot of Neanderthal knuckle dragging tradesmen who will deliberately take the piss when a woman tells them to do or not do something - they take it as an insult coming from a mere woman as it offends their “big man” attitude.

They like the tea and biscuits because that suits their narrative of woman’s work, ie a woman pandering to the men.

If you don’t trust them why on earth have you employed them to work in your home alone?

It is completely unreasonable to deny them access to a toilet. They are not some subclass of human. Would you accept it if your boss denied you access to the work toilet for 10 days, in case you damaged the sink? Of course you bloody wouldn't.

just tape cardboard over the bath and sink. Job done.

What a horrible snobby attitude. You get some arseholes in all jobs, not just tradesmen.

I was listening to a podcast with Sarah Beeny recently and she was asked about her experiences working in a mainly male environment, particularly in the earlier days of her career.

She said she had far less respect and more misogynistic behaviour from some of the TV big bosses/executives than any tradesmen.

Tell them the toilet is broken (you could take the top off it) and you have a plumber you usually use, but they’re not available until next week. Tell them you’re annoyed cos you’ve only just had the bathroom done and spent a fortune on it and really value it. Hire a portaloo instead and tell them that’s what you’ll all be using as you didn’t want them to be uncomfortable and you ‘also need a working toilet haha’. Then, tell them the kitchen sink is for washing brushes.

Simple: “use the bathroom for a pee but kindly do NOT wash your paintbrushes in there.”

Isn‘t it a legal requirement to provide toilet facilities? !n Germany it is. When we had our bathroom refurbished we were obliged to hire a portable toilet. Which is perfectly reasonable. Who wants to go to work and not be able to use the loo? I‘m shocked the people who did your refurbishment had no facilities provided, and can‘t imagine denying use of necessities, although I understand your concerns. But as others have said, just politely and clearly tell them about their tools etc.

I would put a sheet over the bath, a cloth over the sink held in position with an ornament or something and say to them the bathroom is just finished and could they use the kitchen sink to wash their hands. Maybe also put an old curtain or something on the floor.

How much did the bathroom cost? You could just put towels or sheets in and over the bath and floor etc which will remind them that they need to be careful. Using the loo and washing their hands shouldn’t be a problem.

My builder BIL always hires a portaloo for him and his tradies to use. He adds the cost of it to the estimate when quoting for jobs.

OP's in a flat though, there might be anywhere to put one!

I have never had a decorator or tradesman use my sink to wash brushes or my bath to store tools.

My guess is that you don’t want them using your toilet but you know you’ll get absolutely roasted on here if you say that so you’ve gone with this other ridiculous scenario which would almost certainly never happen.

Why can’t you tell them you are v concerned about damage and you don’t mind them using the loo but any damage to the bathroom will be at their charge and insist that they put down felt protection for the floor and over bath etc!?? It’s perfectly ok to tell them not to wash paint in the bath and that the bathroom is off limits other than the toilet! Just be clear and honest and I would probably gaffer tape felt roll over the bath floor etc myself to make sure it’s done.

If you’re happy to pay for a portaloo then yes by all means lock the bathroom. On renovations we’ve been asked what toilet access we’ll supply.

Absolutely lock it. If you're not there they WILL use the bath and basin, whatever you say. Failing that, get duck tape and heavy wrapping and carefully wrap them so they CAN'T be used, you'll have to manage with the kitchen sink. Personally I'd lock the door, or they'll track paint all over the flooring anyway.

A plasterer used my loo for pouring away his plastery water which caysed a huge mess. But I would never stop people using the loo as a loo. You jyst have a chat with them beforehand about using kitchen sink for tools etc. Why are you contracting people you don’t like/trust?