To pay to hire portaloo for workmen when they could just use the toilet in our house?

[CandidAzureReader]

I'm planning on having some renovation work done in my home which will take about a week to complete. I'm aware that the tradesmen will need to use the toilet while performing the work. I simply can't bear the thought of letting them use our toilet. We have no downstairs toilet, just the one upstairs. I wouldn't want them using a downstairs one even if I had one.

My reluctance in allowing it is due in part to the stories I've read on MN over the years about workmen "shitting nuclear waste" and stinking out the whole house. DH thinks I'm mad to want to hire a portaloo. It would cost around £50 to hire one for a week and around £60 for delivery and removal of the loo. That to me seems a fair price to not have to deal with them using the toilet in the house. What are your thoughts MN?

It's pure luck as to whether one of the tradesmen causes an 'incident' in your loo. A couple of years ago I had a lot of internal work done on the house. 5 different tradesmen coming most days over several months - not a single issue. Clean, respectful, opened a window if necessary, tidied up after themselves. And then the one who came just once who had the biggest, smelliest shit half an hour after he arrived that stank the entire house out for rest of day. He made no attempt to clean up or mitigate the smell. I felt physically sick and kind of oddly violated that this man, a visitor, had done this in my home and expected me to clean up after him.

You may get lucky and everyone will be lovely. You may not and have multiple 'incidents'. The portaloo is worth every penny.

IME builders bring their own port aloo these days.

hire the portable loo

its not just about any potential poor toilet habits, I insisted on one when we had downstairs work done as I didn’t want all the dust, grit and splinters that arrive with having work done being dragged throughout the house with tradespeople trampling up and down stairs for the loo

We had building work done for around a year. Very few of them wanted to use the loo (I believe it’s fairly common to have some facility in the van, for wee anyway) and those who did use the loo, no issues. Not sure why you think there would be? Unless you’re othering them like animals or lesser beings.

First post.
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5518439-aibu-about-these-tradesmen?reply=151772294

And you are being naive if you think the builders are pissing in the van, they are in the garden doing it.

After too many poor experiences, I always get tradesmen to quote including a portalloo for any bigger job needing several workers/days. It’s really cheap in proportion to the cost of the job in total.

Ive suffered oily boot stains on the loo seat where someone has stood on it to poo! Another time someone wiped their shitty arse on the towel despite there being several loo rolls and then skid marks, sprinkling floor and even shit on the wall!

For a hundred quid or so, it’s a no brainer. Also avoids the stroppiness of the ones who make a song and dance of taking off their boots or putting on shoe covers to come into the house.

Yes, most are polite and respectful but you can’t tell who’s who until afterwards!

I don't get this obsession with tradespeople not using the toilet. I've never had a bad experience and I'm on my third home doing it up with the help of tradespeople. It's a basic human right in my view. I wouldn't get a portaloo unless there were no facilities at home.

I don't get the obsession either. But in Ops case I maybe would but that more to do with the hall carpet and boots.

My garden is all very visible and I WFH. No garden pissing I can assure you. But then I hire decent workmen.
more othering. Either MN people hire terrible tradies or you’re all being classist.

I'm having my roof refurbished and 3 workmen have been using my downstairs loo all week.

Absolutely no problems at all. No mess, smells or anything objectionable.

Tradespeople arent a different breed of human whose shit smells worse than other people OP you sound a frightful snob.

I wouldn't dream of refusing any person working in or around my home the basic right of using the loo I'd be embarrassed to ask any visitor to my home in any capacity to use a portaloo outside, how awful!

The only exception to that would be if I only had a loo upstairs and the work being done was really muddy dirty work outside and I was looking to save the guys some time in removing muddy boots or whatever.

I've had absolutely loads of different tradespeople in my home over the years from plumbers to builders to plasterers, scaffolders and electricians and never once has any left the toilet in a state other than they found it this snobbery around decent working men is unbelievable. Because I'm guessing that if you had a mobile hairdresser visit you wouldn't dream of asking them to use a loo outside?!

its not so much the mess and smell re toilet it’s also the security risk
of them being in your house upstairs and stealing things or nosying in yoir bedroom! Are you covered for this if they go and steal things when they use your toilet? Or what happens when they block the toilet with a giant morning turd as workmen always do? Who’s responsible for that and who deals with it?
get a portaloo and make it clear to the contractor manager that any problems with it - blocking it etc - THEY unblock it or pay the portaloo people to

Have you ever actually met a tradesperson or employed one?! This is just such utter nonsense it's laughable.
Much like the myths about builders all wanting 10 sugars in their tea and biscuits all day etc. In recent years I've had several tradesmen refuse the biscuits as they are being mindful of their health and none ever take sugar in their tea or coffee bar an odd one!

My experience has generally been that the tradespeople in my home have been very particular about keeping the place clean and tidy, one also fixed my dodgy kitchen tap while he was making himself a cuppa in the kitchen.

While they are working in my home it's their workplace for the week - would you like it if your workplace suddenly announced you'd to use a portaloo at work? Of course you wouldn't portaloo's are bloody grim.

OP only has an upstairs family bathroom loo. Please read!

I had an engineer at the house this morning, and I’d like to put down on public record that I let him use the downstairs loo 🚽 Obviously, I will now have to tear it out and completely replace it.

I’ve never had anyone leave my bathroom in a bad state. But it’s a pain to have to let them in, and no one really wants to chit chat with a stranger just to use a loo. Porta loo is a great solution for everyone.

A couple of trades came to the house last week.

First one asked for the loo within 5 minutes of arriving. Was in there for 20 minutes. Then the second guy went straight in afterwards. The toilet was left in an absolutely disgusting state. I had to get the gloves and bleach out.

I'm feel so upset and disrepected. I had to clean grown men's shit out of my toilet. There was loo brush, bleach, toilet paper in easy reach. I'm not sure if it's even worth complaining (they were doing contracted work for the company carrying out a major job on my house)?

I will have a bunch of different builders from the main company starting work next week and I've now decided to get a Portaloo in the back garden as I can't face potentially cleaning more shit up for the next 6 weeks or so they will be here. I also don't want my poor cleanig lady to have to deal with this as she will be in while we are away on holiday and I've been asked to allow the builders in during this time (now debating this).

I'm aware this is controversial on MN because it's considered snobbish not to allow trades to use the loo but frankly...I don't give a shit!

Bloody hell, my dad was a builder, nice to know I was raised by an animal .

I'm would just let them use the loo, but then I'm not a snob.

Builder here , any job over a week we hire a porta loo in as part of tradesmans welfare , no awkwardness from either party then , we pay about £30 a week and loo company come and clean and restock with loo roll once a week , one porta loo per 6 tradesman

I've only got an upstairs loo as well. I'd still let workmen use it, though the stairs and landing have carpets so if their boots are particularly muddy, I might ask them yo remove them.

The complete and utter snobbishness on MN is unbelievable sometimes. And yet it's probably the same users claiming to be working class because their great great grandad was a miner.

I’ve had builders working in my house for weeks at a time over the years and I can’t imagine telling any of them that they can’t use my loo. I think it would be really insulting to hire a portaloo and not let them use my bathroom. In all of my 50+ years as an adult Ive never had a builder who has left a mess, other than an occasional drop of wee, which takes 30 seconds to clear up. The only incident We've ever had was 30 years ago when a builder who was renewing our drains shut himself in the toilet halfway up the stairs for ages. He eventually crept out very sheepishly after a number of flushes, and the stench that he left behind made our eyes water for a couple of hours 🤣🤣. Since then Weve always referred to a particularly pungent crap as a builder’s poo. But we’ve all done a real stinker st some time, and Ive yet to meet anyone who wouldn’t let someone working in their house use their toilet. Many years ago, my milkman often used to knock on a Saturday morning for his payment and a dump, and he then used to settle himself down for half an hour to watch the racing and ask for a cup of tea 😆

If you had a downstairs loo i wouldn't, but only one upstairs I would.

Only on MN could “I don’t want to clean a complete strangers excrement out of my toilet for weeks on end” = being a snob.

It does when people suggest only "workmen" ie the working classes leave the bathroom in a mess. I presume if a doctor, nurse or one of their kids teachers were visiting the house they would be good to go to use the bathroom. Because obviously the middle classes don't poo in others houses, or if they do it smells of roses and Chanel No 5.

I've never had a "professional" stand on the loo seat, wipe their arse on a towel or leave shit smeared on the wall. All of that has happened with tradesmen.