What is the usual etiquette for tea and coffee during renovations?

[DandyOliveSheep]

We will soon be having some renovation work done at our home and I just wondered what the etiquette is on making builders tea/coffee? Do I provide snacks etc? I’m currently on mat leave so will be home a lot..

As above we left out tea, coffee and biscuits for the chaps we had in recently and told them to help themselves. They were with us for 3 weeks and very rarely made a drink for themselves, which puzzled me until I twigged that they were working on our bathroom and there was no access to a toilet while they were in!

When we’re had people in doing work I tend to set up a tray with a kettle, mugs, tea/coffee etc and biscuits and tell them to help themselves from there . Top it up as and when needed

We offered them one each morning when they arrived and had a quick chat about the plan for the day, then left them the kettle so they could help themselves.

I would respectfully disagree! I’m 3 years into a renovation and living on site. I’ve had every single trade, working alone, pairs, teams and I can count on one hand the amount of times someone has declined a cold drink or a cuppa. I WFH so I’m here all day.

I've found the younger the workforce the less inclined they are to accept hot drinks or snacks. I used a mid 20s/early 30s plumber, plasterer and electricians who politely declined. However a 50 something year old carpenter spent a lot of time drinking my coffee. In fact a just under 2 week job turned into 4 weeks with a lot of unreliability and no shows. I won't use him again.

I made teas and coffee and provided a few packets of biscuits a week.

I Would be too busy with children/baby when they first arrived. Ours took tea break times quite seriously 😂 (my dh is a developer and so knew the trades down tools for tea break) If I was home I would make tea for 10 am, they would lunch around 12 and obv sort themselves and then tea again at 2 pm…if home I would make if not I had left kettle, bags, coffee, biscuits etc milk in a flask. On a Friday I would be generous and either cake or buy sausage/bacon rolls!

If it’s a day or two then fine to offer, but if they are going to be there for a while it will become a pain, so I’d get a cheap spare kettle and a few mugs and make a tea station close to where they are working. Then let them help themselves as they want it.

Tea/Coffee plus biscuits left out all the time. Buns/sausage rolls on Friday mornings.

I'm waiting for the appearance of the mumsnetter who makes her own sausage rolls and pies and forces them on the workies.

My husband is a carpenter and he doesn't mind if he's offered or if he's shown the kettle etc - either is fine. However he says there nothing more infuriating that having a customer walk past you to make themselves a drink whilst your 'slaving your bollocks off' and not offering one.

Edited to add: just saw you've got a baby. No one would expect a drinks on tap if you're busy with a baby. Show them the kettle and they'll be fine.

I offer brews when they arrive, around 10.30, lunch time and around 2.30. They always say yes

I leave out mugs, tea, coffee, sweeteners, biscuits and show them where the fridge and kettle are - they are welcome to help themselves throughout the day and if I'm making myself one I'll check if they want one too.

I wouldn’t feel comfortable with them helping themselves but bought a cheap kettle and set up a station for them with some of our older mugs (had some other builders chip some of my nice ones) and teabags, instant coffee, milk, sugar, biscuits.

I offered ours tea and coffee on tap, told them to help themselves if I was out, bought in biscuits specially for them. I also offered them lunch if I was home making my own, but they sorted themselves.

DP and FIL are tradesmen, don't over think it just do what suits you. They've been left their own kettle / tea / coffee, offered drinks regularly, offered food / snacks and some people don't offer anything so they take their own in a flask. The preference is probably having their own kettle and supplies though, most people wouldn't want to bother you especially when you have a tiny baby.

My rule is:

Here for just a few hours or the day: I offer and make.

Here for longer: I give them a kettle and tray with stuff and let them help themselves.

I am in the "getonwithit" camp. I set them up a station and they did whatever. I don't have the time to be offering them hot drinks. The most I did was top up whatever was finished.

If I’m at home and making a cup of tea I offer, but at the start I tell them where everything is and tell them to help themselves. Every once in a while I’ll bring back donuts or similar if I’ve gone out. Half seem to bring their own (thermos or what have you).

I was either at work or WFH in my study at the top of the house throughout our six month build, so I pointed them to the kettle and cupboards and left them to get on with it.

Honestly the notion that builders want to drink tea all day is a bit old fashioned

I already posted a long reply up thread, but I beg to differ. I'm generalising, but I found the older tradesmen did drink tea all day! Our roofers would stop every 2hrs for a cuppa so that was at least 4 cups each during their 'work' day. Some of the younger guys would bring along cans of energy drinks, so clearly those were their caffeine fix.

Etiquette? Just do your own thing. Treat them in the same way as you would anyone else coming into your home. Ask them when they would like drinks or make provision for them to make their own

Yup we had the same. Some wanted tea or coffee but one guy drank monster all day. I thought god I can’t be his mum and tell him to stop drinking so much of that 🙈🤣

I WFH so struggle to make myself several drinks a day let alone several brews for people

i always offer a brew to start and then tell them where the kettle is. I always get them trays of biscuits, some love them some don’t touch them. I get plenty of cans for them In the fridge

If you're home, just offer each time you make yourself one. Unless you don't drink them-in that case I would just leave a station set up in the kitchen, or outside, whichever suits you. I got biscuits for them and if I was home, I would offer sandwiches.