We are having some work done to our house this week, and I work from home a few days a week. I’m hiding in the bedroom right now listening to the banging. I did the same thing when we got some of our windows replaced and got to wondering if the guys mind having the homeowner home, or if its pretty usual for the homeowner to stick around doing his or her own thing while the guys work. I’m always friendly and make coffee, and hand around bottles of water and will bring them lunch etc… but don’t stand there watching or anything.
If you are having work done that leaves other areas of the house habitable, do you stay home or do you find someplace else to be?
Do the contractors have access to the inside of the house where I keep all my toys, computers and financial records? Yes, I think I’d prefer to be home. Not to mention that it’s a good idea to be there for when they pry open a wall, purse their lips and make concerned noises about what unexpected things they found wrong in there.
If I’ve got electricity and plumbing, I’ll stay in the house. That’s been my experience 90% of the time (that I stay) and no one ever minds.
When I was 12 we had an addition put on our house, and the bathroom re-done. My parents were at work and my brother and I just stayed home and listened to the dudes work all day. They brought us donuts.
When I’m doing the work, I don’t mind one way or another. As long as I’m allowed to do my work without undo interference. I had to tell one guy I charge extra if he helps.
I like being able to have access to what areas I need to be in (incl a guest toilet) without waiting for someone to clear out, and I also like having someone there if I need input/permission/discussion on the unexpected things that sometimes come up. But, a phone works for that, too.
I am bonded and insured, you should always makes sure of that.
I stay out of non work space as much as possible. Please stay out of work space as much as possible.
No. And it sucks. My gf is currently having her master bath gutted and redone. It is a big project. I have been waking an hour early so I can leave before they arrive (taking the dogs). Then I cannot return if I am done at work early, so I goof off a few hours each day.
My work is mostly window replacement, drywall repair, and painting. Other types of jobs will be somewhat to very different. Noise, dust, fumes, insurance, etc… can all have/cause their different needs.
Last week I had all my windows replaced. If I would not have been thier a lot of damaged wood that was contracted to be replaced would have been hidden. I stay out of the way but I do look at things I feel I need to look at. I simply don’t trust anyone, once they understould I was not going to settle for shortcuts they seemed to get with the program pretty well. A lot of contractors will take advanatge of the client if they feel they can get away with it. If I know thier work habits I just come and go as I please and don’t worry about them.
Husband says he doesn’t care either way - more often than not, they’re home. Or in and out. But he’s known most of these people for YEARS - they’re longtime customers. For new ones, he prefers they be there - then there can be no misunderstandings.
Wow, I’d forgotton all about that one. Didn’t quite go as she expected, wouldn’t you say?
Yes, Hedda Rosa, we usually try and insure that at least one of us is home when workmen come over and we keep ourselves available but out of the way in another room, the garage, wherever. I like to discuss specifics with them early and then be available for whatever questions might come up. Relegated to different parts of the house, often it’s a good opportunity to do some chore you’d been putting off for awhile. And yeah, we’ll point out where the bottled water and a bathroom is, make sure they’re stocked and leave 'em be. Most everyone we’ve used before or they’re recommended by trusted friends so not too much to worry about here.
I’m a renter, but when maintenance is around, I prefer that my husband and/or I be present. Privacy concerns, wanting to make sure pets aren’t accidentally allowed to escape, etc. I stay out of their hair as much as possible, do offer refreshments if it’s a fairly long task, etc.
I would normally plan to be gone but that’s more because I’ve had bad experiences with the dogs and contractors. For some reason they aren’t immune to the puppy dog eyes and feel they need to bribe for good behaviour so Mojo ends up with stomach issues.
I work from home now so it will be challenging in the future, particularly if it’s noisy since I’m on the phone most of the time.
My wife works from home, so leaving would be a major pain for her. We have a big enough house so there is no problem moving for window replacement and the like, and our main contractor was a good guy.
We did move out for a few days when we had our hardwood floors redone, since there was massive amounts of dust and fumes. Otherwise, we just dealt with it, and let them work. I suspect that is harder if you are in a small place.
We’ve had two 3-month remodeling projects done during the past few years, and a lot of the time we were out of the house while they were working. We generally preferred to be gone, because they were usually so noisy, but in any case we were working.
The second project was downstairs. Now, they knew they had permission to use the upstairs bathroom, but they had to take their boots off (I later realized I could have put contractor paper down for the duration). One time I came back and found one of the carpenters peeing in the back garden, I can only presume (since he only spoke Chinese) that he didn’t want to go to the trouble of taking his boots off just use the bathroom.
That was another reason there was no real point to hanging around – if they had a question, they couldn’t ask me (they had to call the contractor, who then called me, and then called them back). On the rare occasion when I had to see what was going on in order to answer the question, they just worked on something else until that could happen. Once it was urgent, so I had to go home at lunch time.
I am intrigued by the OP’s question as to whether “the guys mind” the owner being home. Mind? It’s my house, I’ll be there if I want to be, unless there is a health hazard involved like lead abatement or tenting for pests. If the guys mind, they can suck it up or else I’ll find someone else to do the work.
Roddy
We had contractors come work on our apartment, and the first thing I noticed after they left is that my wedding ring was missing from a table they had clearly moved. This was months ago. We tore the house apart looking for it. Every inch of this place was examined at least four times. We tore out the bottom of our sofa, for god’s sake. I’m pretty sure it was stolen. There’s no other good explanation. My wedding ring, which I LOVED, is gone forever.
This is what happens when you are entirely too trusting like I am. From now on I not only stay in the house, I stay in the same room.
Sure they have to suck it up, but as a person I wonder what other people think about some aspects of their jobs especially when those jobs are happening right in my house. Not saying I’m gonna change my habits or start leaving every day if they do mind. But yeah, I wonder whether having a homeowner around is an annoyance or no big deal. Thanks to the replies here I see it leans towards no big deal.
Thank you. I have no problem either way but prefer someone be home. I don’t even mind if they watch as long as they stay out of the way. I have asked people to leave the area when working with large pieces of glass.
Yes; even though they’re working and don’t usually require your input, at the same time they’re guests (of a sort) in your home. They’re not additional appliances.
*Caveat - unless there’s no way you wouldn’t be in their way and slow their work or it’s a service-person you commonly have.
I used to go into people’s houses for TV/VCR repair (back when people had VCRs) - as well as Cable TV repair. I was somewhat amazed at how trusting people were. Not sure I remember the percentages - I think more than half would leave us alone if it was taking a while. We didn’t really care as long as they weren’t in our faces. We weren’t usually around for THAT long, but more than refreshments or using the bathroom (which I almost never did - as we’d usually be back at the shop before too long) - what I remember appreciating the most was…
Air Conditioning!!!
It gets hot bending over running wires and stuff. Just cause you might be ok with it being 85 degrees out - doesn’t mean everyone is.
I usually leave repair people alone. I wouldn’t usually leave the house though, but haven’t had anything that took more than a few hours yet. I wouldn’t leave any jewelry or cash laying around - but I wouldn’t do that normally anyway.