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.

Agree, offering tea and having a friendly chat with the builder about the work to be done, sets aside the customers who the builders will go that extra mile for and those that are seen as rude and uppity.

People seem to think that builders are these oafs that live in shit holes and just come out to so manual work and eat with their hands.

Having come from a family of builders and living in a leafy london suburb full of expensive houses, owned in many cases by builders and tradies, I can tell you the rough and ready exterior (paint stained old clothes and cockney accent) belies the truth.

That most builders have a heart of gold and a beautiful home and would give their last pound away to someone in need.

I would ask them not to use the sink or bath for tools but obviously they will need a toilet! Cover the bath to protect it. If there is any damage they'll have to replace it.

Ps - how can you lock the bathroom door from the outside??

Will they even wash the brushes?

The decorators I have had wrap brushes and rollers in plastic at the end of the day and use them again next day. When the job finishes they take everything away with them and presumably do the washing then.

As pp said, I think you don't want them using your loo.

I think if that’s what you want them to do you should pay for the coffees.

Honestly you sound a bit ridiculous. If you weren’t happy with the price you were charged either don’t accept it and find somebody else or do it yourself.

Denying access to a toilet is not a normal thing to do. I’m not sure decorators would wash their brushes in your sink. I had my (old) flat painted several times and didn’t have that issue once.

Totally agree with this. We had a huge amount of work done a few years ago and the builders were very careful and were lovely guys. I made them bacon rolls and tea and coffee and biscuits every day which really meant a lot to them because it was more than the food, it showed we valued them. One of them said to me that you'd be surprised, at some of the houses they'd been there wasn't even a single cup of tea offered, or nice word said to them.
I hope it's only on MN that they are locked out of the toilet!

"Decorative beams" - might be a mock-mock Tudor house?

A friend had a renovation done and the builders ruined her new bath and sink with scratches by rinsing and washing out plastering and painting equipment. She was so upset and they denied doing it.

You are being unreasonable. Why did you get contractors in that you don't trust to follow simple instructions? This is your problem and you shouldn't have agreed to the work if you didn't think they could complete it as agreed.

Yes, that's been my experience. Treat them like humans. They're at work, giving them tea and access to a toilet are the bare minimum. I've had two complete kitchen renovations, everything ripped out, plastering the lot, and the bathroom and the rest of the house was left in a good condition.

1. Talk to them in advance/when booking the decorators about the problem. Ask for their solutions, and don't hire someone who doesn't care.
2. Hire a portal to if they need one.
3. Get copies of their insurance and make it clear that you will hold them liable if the sink and bath are damaged. Take dated photos of sink and bath then fill them, as others have said with towels, covered with sheets which are taped down.
4. Take the time off work and be there. I know that you didn't manage to protect your beams that way but you can learn from that.

Just tell them not to use the bathroom for their tools. Don't lock it.

It’s not unreasonable to say don’t use the bathroom for washing tools. I had a stone basin fitted and the painter used it to wash the paint brushes but didn’t clean it afterwards and left paint residue on the basin. It could be cleaned off with a bit of scrubbing but I don’t see why I should have to tidy up after paid professionals - particularly when I have three young children and a husband I pick up after! They are good decorators so I had them back to do more work but this time said you must use the kitchen sink not the bathrooms for washing your brushes, they all agreed and I could tell the senior guy was pretty cross when I pointed out that my bathroom had been used again and there was more paint residue left on the stone basin. Needless to say it was properly cleaned by them by the end of the day. I’ve also caught workmen tipping dirty water with building residue/sand into a brand new Thomas Crapper toilet that’s just been fitted into a beautiful bathroom at great expense. Sigh. I cleaned that all up obviously it wouldn’t have flushed away and if it had it would have clogged our external drains/pipes. But you’ll look unreasonable if they have nowhere to pee so I think you need to have a frank conversation. The cost of a portaloo is probably minor if you’ve got somewhere to put it.

As someone who goes in and out of other people's homes for a living, bathroom access is a non-negotiable for me and if I was expected to work in someone's home all day without access to basic toilet facilities, I would leave and not come back.

Thankfully it's not something I've ever experienced IRL, but MN seems to think it's okay to treat tradesmen etc. like second class citizens for some reason, then they complain when the work takes ages or they're over-charged.

Don't be a dick, OP.

There is a statutory requirement under the Construction (Design Management) Regulations 2015 to provide welfare facilities and in a domestic setting that means you need to provide a WC and means to wash hands.

Lol at all the optimism here. Recently had my bathroom redone because of massive flood (insurance claim), moved out while they did the works and came home one day unannounced to have a hammer whistle past my head. They were throwing tools down the stairs.

They drilled all the way through a stud wall so the plaster fell off the other side.

They kicked in one of the treads on the stairs.

I actually had to make an insurance claim against my insurance company.

100% sod their feelings. Ask them what their arrangements are for toileting. If they say your flat let them know they need a second option.

Then the onus is on the builder. This isn’t their first rodeo.

You want people to piss or shit in your kitchen sink?! I guess if you don't mind that, then go ahead and lock it

Cover your bath and sink, with a plastic protector so they can't be used. Problem solved

Client is one of the parties giving consideration to H&S issues

Men are dicks though. I work in manufacturing and am so done with shitty ladies loos used by carriers to do their morning crap and them telling me I’m ‘too sensitive’. Bleugh.

Client has considered and has decided to keep a dangerous animal in bathroom thus…

I’d rather they piss in the kitchen sink tbh

Omg this thread has triggered every work and renovation man related bathroom memory 😭