Builders starting tomorrow, top tips please

[tasmaniandevilchaser]

Hi, we’ve got builders starting tomorrow, we were expecting them to start in a few weeks so it’s a bit of a surprise!

I’m not really prepared, any top tips? Apart from getting in industrial quantities of tea, coffee and biscuits?!

Get a portaloo. Do not under any circumstances allow them to use your bathroom.

A portable loo so they don’t need to traipse through the house. Not sure if you could organise in time for tomorrow though? The costs of our extension included this and it was brilliant

loads of toilet roll, loads of cheap biscuits, old hand towel, use mugs that you are not bothered about since they will be filthy.

Omg! I hadn’t even thought about the loo!! While they’re building the ‘shell’ of the extension they won’t have access into the house so I’m assuming they’ll bring a portaloo....

A portaloo should be in the break down of costs that you agreed in the quote.

Sugar lots of sugar, some of em will take 3 sugars in their tea also get some gin (or whatever is your poison) for yourself 😉

not sure I can take any more booze after Christmas

Hide your vacuum cleaner. Take it apart and put some essential components in the boot of your car and some under the bed.

Buy a dozen cheap mugs, a dozen cheap teaspoons, two trays, a stainless teapot and a value kettle, and two boxes of sugar cubes, a large box of teabags and a large jar of coffee. Hand them over on a tray. Tell the builders to either wash up themselves or return them to your kitchen because you won't be searching for them and you won't be supplying more. Give them a carton of milk a day and padlock your fridge.

When they drop sugar cubes on the floor and table it will be less messy than granulated.

Provide plastic garden chairs and table if you can.

Buy ten industrial sized crates of bog roll and some rolls of paper towel

Definitely hide the hoover. Preferably hide it in a bedroom well out of the way. PigletJohn's suggestion to supply them with some cutlery, etc is a great one - I had to replace a knife and fork from a set when they wandered off in someone's lunchbox.

Thanks, I’ll definitely be hiding the Hoover!

Bacon sandwiches are a must on a Friday!

Have you warned your neighbours? The plasterers we had in were great but the builders prior to them insisted on having a radio full blast while they were working. We were at work but I don't think the people next door appreciated it at all.

Give them an area (not in your kitchen) to put a kettle. They should supply their own tea/coffee/biscuits etc, but you can supply it yourself if you want to be extra nice. Definitely make sure they have a portaloo. Don't make them tea and coffee or else you will be making it endlessly!!

Hide anything you don't want them to use.
Ours wrecked Hoover, buckets, dustpans and brush, nice tea cups etc
Put down stuff to cover carpets.
Ask them to tell you when it will be dusty so you can put up dust sheets.
Ask them to tell you when it will be noisy e.g. demolition so you can warn neighbours.
Show them on the first day where the stop cock is

Minor hijack if you don't mind op. Can anyone add to this some tips for kitchen being ripped out and redone on Monday

Go and see you neighbours. Please, please be completely honest and open with them and let them know exactly what’s happening and if plans change.

Please don’t treat them like utter mugs which is what our neighbours on both sides have done for 7 months.

I hate them and will never forgive them.

Ledkr it will take at least 3 days longer than you think.

Hot plate, microwave and toaster in the spare room. Washing up bowl in the bath.

Eat out. A lot.

If you have an outside tap and you're on a water meter, keep an eye on its usage and make sure they don't leave it running.

"it will take at least 3 days longer than you think."

days?

hahahahaha

If you have a dishwasher, try and keep it connected somewhere as washing up with no proper kitchen is awful.

Pin them down each morning to tell you what they are doing that day. I took my dog for a walk and returned to find a man I'd never seen before emptying my wardrobe as they needed to drill through the wall. And assuring me there wouldn't be much dust. Thank god I work from home. Although it's hell.

You can hire a portaloo on a month by month basis ours costs £90 per month, they come and exchange /empty it every week.
We've had builders at our house for about 4 years and I've never made them tea or coffee, they supply their own. The first day I made tea and coffee for 12 of them and said, that's it no more.
It's been roughly the same group of builders so it can't be that bad. They've always had a place to sit with a table, cheap gazebos for shelter

Dust sheets everywhere in your house😊

We didn't have a portaloo when we had our extension built and we had no issues at all. I second the tea/coffee and biscuit stash though! Hope all goes well. We quite enjoyed having builders in and actually quite missed them when they left! We have a loft conversion starting in a few weeks and I'm weirdly looking forward to it!

Builders should bring dust sheets - ours did, along with their own dustpans and brushes etc. And they never used our hoover!!