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Original poster

Builders.

23 replies

cupcakes · 05/05/2006 12:59

Hoew many cups of tea should I make in one day? Offer every 1-2 hours or more? or less (hopeful emoticon).
And where are they weeing in my garden?

OP posts:

babyonboard · 05/05/2006 13:10

i'd set up a kettle, tea bags, coffee, biscuits etc close to where they are working and tell them to help themselves..

but maybe i'm just lazy..lol

golds · 05/05/2006 13:15

you got the drinks about right or do what Bob suggests as for weeing in your garden, well thats plain right discusting

babyonboard · 05/05/2006 13:16

as for weeing in the garden..they're probably doing it in the local pub when they sneak off for a quick pint..

sorry..mean generalisation there..but from experience!

zippitippitoes · 05/05/2006 13:24

we have set up a titchy fridge for milk,(14.99)coffee, tea sugar and assorted mugs and teaspoons with a kettle and asked them to make it for themsleves and there is a toilet next to it for them to use..if they don't make it themselves then I offer occasionally but it's worth making the effort to get them to become self sufficient..

it is a legal obligation for you to provide toilet facilities for them

Original poster

cupcakes · 05/05/2006 13:47

There is a toilet but they haven't used it once!

OP posts:

zippitippitoes · 05/05/2006 14:02

did you see that builders from hell where he peed in the fireplace?

babyonboard · 05/05/2006 15:26

i worked in a pub on the thames riverbank..there was a house next door that was being renovated ( the owners lived in america and had none to oversee it) and it took 3 1/2 years..
the builders were in the bar at our pub between 10 and 4 everyday..and openly admitted and joked about ripping those poor people off
it made me so mad

HandbagAddiction · 05/05/2006 15:34

Cupcakes - I would never offer to make builders tea - nor would I be prepared to provide the teabags, etc. Seriously, it will end up costing you a small fortune.....

Over the past 3 years we have had a whole series of builders - sometimes up to 8 at a time - in the house at various stages. I have always made it clear at the outset that they are allowed to use the kettle, mugs, etc. but would have to provide their own tea, coffee, sugar and milk.

Now sometimes this doesn't always happen and they always 'forget' to replace their own when their supplies have run out - but if you're not careful they will take liberties....one of mine even thought it acceptable to go into our freezer, retrieve a 4 pint container of milk out in order to defrost it because they couldn;t be arsed to go to the garage up the road and pay for some more themselves. It was only when I threatened to report them for theft, that I got it and more replaced - plus a box of chocolates, bottle of wine and an apology!

As for the toilet thing - well for any major build, I would always recommend getting a portaloo as part of the project, otherwise, unless you're willing to give them access to your house toilet - I can't really see where else apart from your garden that you expect them to go to the loo?!

zippitippitoes · 05/05/2006 15:41

I think it isn't much to spend in the context of their work

Original poster

cupcakes · 05/05/2006 16:02

there is a loo just inside the backdoor and I have told them to use it - but I'm pretty sure they never have. It's quite a small job and doesn't warrant hiring a portaloo!
we've had men from the sewage works out for the past 3 weeks and they've had loads of tea - but no toilet visits at all.
I don't mind making the tea (they're nice workmen) but just wondered how many cups is normal!

OP posts:

zippitippitoes · 05/05/2006 16:05

if they work from 8.00 to 4.30 then I would say 10.00, 12.30 and 3.00 if i was making it

Original poster

cupcakes · 05/05/2006 16:26

I've been doing roughly:
8am (before I go to school)
9.30 (when I get back)
11
lunchtime
2ish (before I go to school)
3.30ish (when I get back)

OP posts:

joelalie · 05/05/2006 16:27

DH is a carpenter and he has a rule about tea offering. There is a direct inverse ratio between the wealth of the client (usually indicated by the number of cars on the drive) and the number of drinks offered. The little old lady who's having a shed put up never stops offering tea and home-made cakes, the rich ba*stard with the merc and 2 jags doesn't offer a single one.

I would suggest one first thing, one about 11 and then one around 3/4 o'clock. Not all builders are wasters and TBH it really hacks me off that the only ones you ever here about are the bad ones!! . They are often doing a really physically hard job and need liquid and a break every now and again. . It's a pita to take your own tea bags, hot water and milk so believe me being offered drinks is much appreciated.

For what it's worth I don't know any builder who sneak off for a pint - for a start it would be bl**dy dangerous if you're using power tools or up on scaffolding. DH's public liability insurance is high enough as it is.

zippitippitoes · 05/05/2006 16:34

one first thing yes...if you are happy cupcakes then just carry on

zubb · 05/05/2006 16:39

I think what you do sounds about right. I had builders here for about 6 months, and would offer them one before the school run if they were there, one at about 10, one at lunch, and one mid afternoon.

A couple of bags of teabags, a jar of coffee and a couple of bags of sugar isn't much in the scheme of the building, and I liked to keep them happy! I also bought a big bag of doughnuts every Friday for them.

TBH making the tea gave me a chance to talk to them all so I knew what was going on, and as they were here for so long they became less like strangers.
As for the loo - only 2 of the builders we had here (out of about 12 over the course of the job) used the loo inside, god knows what the rest did!

Original poster

cupcakes · 05/05/2006 16:46

it's a lot more tea than I drink but then I'm not doing manual labour!

OP posts:

HandbagAddiction · 05/05/2006 16:46

Joealie - I'm assuming your post is probably aimed at my response to cupcakes....! Well can I just say that my negative comments about taking liberties and particularly the raiding of my freezer were an example of inappropriate behaviour in the context of tea and coffee making and bore no reflection on the quality of the work produced or the general decency of the blokes themselves.

I agree that the majority do work bloody hard and in my exxerience of having continual builders on-site for almost 3 years - have seen this practice. However, catering even on an occasional basis for a large quantity of builders over a significant period of time is costly - even in the scheme of the overall job cost and I don't see why I should have to foot the bill. Oh and by the way - we are by no means one of the well off 'mercedes' brigade - we have robbed Peter to pay Paul in order to get our house into a semi habitable state.

Given that Cupcakes is happy providing what she currently is doing and the job is small then I see no problem with her continuing to do what she's is doing if that is what suits.... On her OP, there was no mention of the job size, hence my comments - which in the context of what she has later said, are maybe not so relevant.

babyonboard · 05/05/2006 17:06

joelalie..the reason why i added that 'disclaimer' to my post..is that not all builders are like that..not at all..

but some are and you'd never know about it.
and if (and i know many do) they want to drink on the job then thats their fault for risking their own safety and the livelhoof their employert..

phew..

but cupcakes..what you are offering sounds fine..I bwouldn't stress over it!

Original poster

cupcakes · 05/05/2006 17:08

stress over

OP posts:

HandbagAddiction · 05/05/2006 17:09

Glad to hear you're comfortable with what you're providing Cupcakes! Hope the work goes well.

joelalie · 05/05/2006 17:21

HandbagAddiction and BabyonBoard (the user names are all so looooong on here!!) my post wasn't aimed at anyone in particular...honest. It was just a knee jerk reaction to the word 'builder' on a forum I guess....so used to people instantly mentioning the cowboy-that-came-to-mend-the-roof-but-who-ended-up-demolishing-the-house stories that I have to leap to their defence

And I think that CupCakes has it about right.

babyonboard · 05/05/2006 17:27

joelalie..for future reference..i am mostly known as bob on here..lol

I see what you mean though..we get a lot of sarky comments and wild assumptions when i mention dps job..but the comon assumption is far from the truth..teehee

PinkKerPlink · 05/05/2006 17:27

just one

sometimes it has been none, but never more than 2

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