Trusting work people in your home...help!

[Theonlyfatmiddleagedwomannotonmonjaro]

We are about to commission a series of home improvement projects to our home. We both work full time.

Im.wondering how the hell do I trust these workman in my home unsupervised?
Do I install cameras?
The work wont be all be one job but will cover bedrooms and living areas overall.
I jave one room which is lockable and considering moving all valuablesnin there and locking it however, this i one room we will be having improved so will need to unlock it.
What do others people do? Do we just trust and hope or remove all valuables/private documents or what?
For context we live in a 3 bed 70s semi an no valuable jewellery etc butni have inherited some items of huge sentimental value.
I have been looking online at Eufry cameras. Is this over kill??
Also, for context...we have relocated in the last 18 months to a new area with jo long term contracts. We will be employing a small primarily 1 man workman with 2 "trusted staff" he uses occasionally. Found on FB but with a website with glowing reviews.

Any advice appreciated.

Please excuse my typos. Ive chopped my finger today along with an onion and am sporting a dressed finger!! 😬

Take any valued items out of the house for the duration, then trust the workmen you have employed. Would you want to work with cameras on you?

I assume you will be at home while it is going on? I would move anything precious out of the room which is being worked on and if you are worried, check it is still where you put it occasionally, or keep it on you.

You have chosen these people! You know where their business is based. They have reputations to protect. Give them tea and biscuits, chat with them about their kids and chill. You really can’t have cameras without their knowledge and consent.

Fucking hell. Do you realise how awful you sound. These are people you are paying to work in your house and you’re already treating them as potential criminals.

I’m very never had an issue with tradespeople stealing things! My last lot were amazing. Word of mouth recommendation fur the main guy and he got all the subs. I just let them in in the morning and left them too it.
You have to trust people.

No. We both leave at 6am for work. My partner gets home around 7pm and me around 8pm. They will have to have a key and be left free reign of the house.

We are new to the area and have had no recommendations and chosen these people from thier website.

No im not but essentially im opening my door to strangers. I was asking what others do.

I don't think being nervous about this is treating them like criminals.

The camera idea came from the fact my parents have cctv in most rooms of thier house so we can check on them for falls etc. Which sadly has been an issue, but thankfully the cameras have saved any long periods stuck on the floor All thier carers etc are glad the cameras are there as they say it protects them too. The cameras they have are obvious and not hidden. I would never use hidden cameras. This isn't about trying to catch anyone out or being sly, im just being security conscious and wonder what others do.

We've never thought to worry about it. Do you have a safe? If so, keep any vitally important papers and valuable items in it.

Make sure the company you're employing is legit and they and their employees are insured. This is vitally important, not because they're not trustworthy, but if anything goes wrong, your home insurance will give you a very hard time in paying out if they're not.

I have never given this any thought. I have previously left a key hidden in the garden and instructions to people to let themselves in while we were on holiday.

If anything went missing I would know who they were and all their company contact details.

You are hugely overthinking this.

Hmm. I left a heating guy in my rented house as letting agency vouched for him. He set fire to a load of my bedding (I can only assume) as loads was missing - odd bits from each set making it even worse and what was left had all burns in. He totally denied it. Letting agency was shite. I never let people work in my house alone now.

A heating engineer stole my ring, I had left visibly in the kitchen, I should have known better, but I didn't consider it (it was on a saucer on the windowsill where I'd removed it to do some cleaning), I was in the house the whole time. Since then, when we have workmen in, I scour the house for precious things and store them somewhere discreet that I check from time to time.

The heating engineer was a personal recommendation from a school mum, and had great Check-a-Trade reviews (seemingly just couldn't resist a diamond eternity band).

Cameras will only work if they’ve got an independent power supply or they’ll stop working when they turn the power off

i would move any valuables out of sight. I tend to spend the first few days at home so you can see who’s working, is it the manager there or if there’s a lot of random people coming or going

then do the work yourself? These aren’t just ‘people’. They’re tradesmen who are carrying out work in your home. If you think they’re going to steal from you, don’t have them in.

You have to trust them but also use common sense. I.e dont leave your diamond engagement ring by the sink. As previous people have posted you do know who they are and are able to track them down but if somebody is an opportunistic thief they will just say they never saw it/ you misplaced it.

I have had a lot of workmen in over the last year and I trusted them, but I dont have anything at all worth nicking. I just made sure I had my wedding jewerly on me. To be honest I dont even think I would have approached it any differently had my house been full of fine art and antiques. Just use common sense

Use people that come well recommended and have a strong presence - i.e. are known in the community, have been in business many years etc. seek references and follow your gut.

I’ve had a lot of work done in my homes over the years but ultimately I’m a believer in trusting that most people are good, decent people. I know some people think that is naive, but it’s served me well and means I don’t tap into the swirling anxiety that everything could go wrong.

Not the point of your thread, but your parents would be better getting a Lifeline and a falls detector.
I'm really surprised that their carers are so happy with the cameras. I've been a carer for many years, and I don't know anyone who enjoys their every movement at work being filmed.
What do they mean by 'it protects them too'? Protection from what?

I wouldn't leave tradespeople that I didn't know alone in my house. Regardless of whether they steal stuff, which is unlikely, they will make on the spot decisions which won't neccessarily be what you want, because you are not there to ask. There will be mistakes with the job if you are not there. It is inevitable.

You need to ask them for some people they’ve worked for and speak to those people to see how trustworthy they feel they are. Are there frequently “boards” outside local houses advertising particular tradesmen? Could you knock on those doors and ask?

I would remove the items of sentimental value too, so they don’t get damaged or broken.

If only they would keep the damn life line thing around thier neck. Its a whole other thread for the elderly parents section.
We have built up.a team of carers over the last couple of years from different agencies and private independents as both arents needs have dictated. We were open about the Cameras with every person we dealt with and no one ever said it is an issue. The basis of the cameras is not anyone watching the carers but when my parents don't answer the phone we look to see and its usually because one has not bothered with the hearing aid /has been in hospital and the other is on the floor and stuck.elsewhere in the house. Anyway...
.off to the elderly parents topic I go.....

My partner is an electrician and he couldn’t care less about your jewellery ffs. Would you assume any other profession are opportunistic thieves or is it just trades that you deem scum?

I’d love to know the tradespeople that are suspected of being thieves and tell them what you think of them.

Talk about 0 to 100. Im not accusing anybody of being a thief and most of the tradesmen I dealt with were really lovely. If you read the thread some people have had jewelry go missing. And no of course this doesn't apply to just tradesmen! I dont walk around city centres with my phone out for example as they have been snatched out of people hands. Calm down.

Exactly. We only use people we have got to know personally and trust. We had two guys in decorating whilst we went away on a weeks holiday. We left them milk, tea, coffee,biscuits etc. came home to a tidy, hoovered house all washing up done. The vast majority of trades are just like you and me, want to do a good job and treat your home like their own.

Why are you hiding your jewellery? Do you hide it when a cleaner is in the house or a babysitter?