What is essential work when it comes to houses/gardens?

[SistemaAddict]

I'm hearing of all sorts of home improvements going on such as extensions being built, trees in gardens being felled, gardens being landscaped. It surprises me as I wouldn't have classed it as essential but I imagine being in the middle of building an extension would be awful if it had to be left for potentially months. And these workers can't work from home and need the income unless they are covered by the self employment help from the government?
What do you class as essential?

I don't quite understand why you are asking. Surely people can do anything to their home that they chose?

Also, people are still allowed to work if they do social distancing.

"Essential" doesn't apply in this instance. These are workers who can't work from home, therefore they can continue to work. Window cleaners, gardeners, landscapers, builders etc etc.

I have actually got really annoyed recently, not necessarily from a Covid point of view, but from and noise and disruption point of view by the amount of work going on around us at the moment. You couldn't sit in the garden, or indeed have windows open in the house, because of the combined mini diggers, patio layers, wood sawers, and jack hammers going on. Bloody annoying either if on holiday, Easter week, or trying to WFH.

I guess it's allowed but it makes social distancing difficult if you have a small garden and it seems illogical that you cannot have guests in the garden but can have people gardening.

As far as workers in the house- surely that involve people from other households mixing and is how Covid spreads.

Just musing really. It's not possible to socially distance when sharing a work van.
My mum is being driven mad by work at the back of her. They've had an extension and now are landscaping the garden. Drills, hammers, saws going most of the day isn't pleasant at any time but especially when you can't go out and escape the noise.
I was more surprised at the tree surgery.

Bercows this was really annoying me at first. Me and the kids are really stuck in. I'm trying to wfh too which is just hellish really. Then you'd look out and everyone seemed to just be carrying on as normal.

But the government has made it clear that people can go to work if they can't wfh. We do need people to keep working.

Like mine they are jobs that can't be done at home. Unlike mine they can be done safely, distancing etc. Though I may go back, if I can get assurances from tenants and landlords. That relies on cleaners being happy to do end of tenancy cleans... not something I'd be happy to do!

So they are allowed, encouraged to continue.

But you'll get a lot of push back from angry and scared people who don't believe that!

From my point of view I wouldn't want people coming to my home unnecessarily. But then it's up to the home owner to ensure distances are kept and if they dont then that's their call.

I think you’ve misunderstood “essential” it’s not a case of you should work if your job is essential, that’s a huge misunderstanding. Everyone other than companies on the shut down list, ie shops etc should be working, if you can’t do it from home and it’s essential you do it from another location, to be enable you to do it, then you should.

That's why I asked what posters consider essential. Having a tree taken down just because it's blocking the light isn't essential to me. However I accept that to that family who want to enjoy their garden whilst lockdown is in place that it might be essential to them.

you'll get the 'but its essential to ME for my mental health' brigade along

the 'essential' part is usually along the lines of a pot of paint for the kitchen or a new hebe for the garden!

But it doesn't need to be essential?

We had a plumber in yesterday, it was counted as essential as we had water dripping. I'm guessing on that basis essential is to repair something that could otherwise cause damage.

However work that I carry out is probably not subject to the same criteria and therefore I can landscape my garden or whatever.

mixing households @mynameiscalypso

But it doesn't have to be essential.

Tree surgeons are allowed to work.

My dh is still working outside the home. He can't socially distance in his job. His work isn't essential.

Think only internal work would need to be essential. Outside it is easier to maintain social distance.

But of course you're mixing households when you go out to work.

You're not mixing households, people are going to work. It's totally fine. I know several people who have building work continuing albeit their builders are socially distancing. The builders need the money.

no point in government guidelines at all is there??

do you have your family round to visit/go to them @Missingminieggs ?
do you bother with social distancing,2 metres apart?

Essential - anything that will stop the property falling down so fixing plumbing, mending/painting a fence, fixing a boiler plus things like finishing off building a kitchen extension when there is no kitchen and people live in the house.

Non-essential - landscaping a garden when only able bodied healthy adults live in the household.

The government have specifically not banned construction work etc (like they had in Spain) therefore it's still allowed.

doesn't need to be essential @mynameiscalypso ? so you are having people round? its to get the mobile hairdresser in and my cleaner then?

MIL lives on a 4 acre property and has a gardener weekly. He lives in the same village a 2min drive away, but walking with equipment would be difficult. Some things are not essential, but clearing paths so elderly MIL doesn't trip, removing dangerous limbs etc are. Regardless, he cannot work from home and guidelines say that people can still go to work if they cant do it from home.

2 weeks ago, police pulled him over. Threatened they had taken his details, and he'd be fined if he went out again for work! Some forces have been reprimanded for being heavy handed.

^*no point in government guidelines at all is there??

do you have your family round to visit/go to them @Missingminieggs ?
do you bother with social distancing,2 metres apart?*^

I'm following all of the guidelines. I'm barely leaving the house. I can't, because I'm stuck in with two dc.

But the government has made it clear that people are allowed to go to work if they can't wfh.

So that means people are still going out on public transport, contractors are working and potentially sharing vans/workspace.

Our gardeners have continued to come on Tuesday mornings. They don't come into the house anx bring their own equipment. We cannot manage the garden without help. It's very large.

We have a summer house at the end of the garden - no need to enter the house to get to it. I am contemplating setting it up as an ironing room for my cleaner who we have continued to pay in full.

But having building work done in your house isn't breaking any guidelines?

And yes, I haven't been out the house in 10 days because I'm higher risk. That doesn't change the fact that you're absolutely allowed to have building work on your house done, there's no rule against it at all.