Leaving door open for contractors?

Question

I'm having some contractors work on the outside of my house this weekend.

I will be gone for about 5 hours while they work.

I don't know them except for a few references.

I feel bad about locking the door when I leave in case they need to use the bathroom. Would you give them unsupervised access to the house in this situation?

Answer 1

no- you can lock your door (I would suggest it). they can just drive down the road to use the bathroom at a gas station if they need to, but I'm sure they will just find a quiet bush to do their business on! lock your door.

Answer 2

nope they can pee in the bushes or run to the gas station

Answer 3

As a General Contractor, I do not like to use a customers bath room for my crew or subs. I rent a Porta-Toilet. On smaller jobs men usually take a morning break, afternoon and go to convienience store for drink,etc., so they use restroom there.

I would not want people using my bathroom without someone being there. On larger jobs I usually do need to get in the house to shoot floor elevations, check other things, subs need to get in. I have a meeting with all subs, myself, and owners to bring this up. I also give the owners a few days to have a chance to meet my carpenters and get familiar with them, and then it's easier to trust them. Our carpenters have nice homes so they know how to treat others.

So no, do not leave your house open for them. Check to make sure they have an outside outlet if they need power. And give them your cell phone if something comes up.

Don't be overly suspicous, but do take note of what things you have left outside. Some contractors hire new people every summer, and they really don't know much about them.

Put common sense on your side.

Answer 4

no i would not they work outside long enough to know what they are going to do

Answer 5

No. As a heating contractor myself with many long time customers, I'm not real comfortable being in a house alone. I know that I'm not going to do anything dishonest , but I have no control over what happens after I leave. I don't wish to put myself in that situation. I also won't let little kids in the basement unsupervised, again, I won't do anything wrong but kids can lie to get attention. They're not gonna ruin my life because Daddy won't pay attention to them! Don't forget to provide power outside and if they have to use a bathroom they can go for lunch.It's considerate of you to care about that.

Answer 6

Can you ask someone to stay there like to you have a sibling you can just hang there for a couple of hours or something. You can never trust anyone too much especially if they are no relation to you or even friends.

Answer 7

If you were going to be home, it would be one thing to allow them use of your bathroom.  But if they are not working inside the house, then there is no reason for you to allow them unrestricted access to it while you're gone.

Answer 8

h**l No!! let them p**s in the bushes or whatever. I would never leave my house open to strangers whether they were working for me or not. Call me untrusting but I value my stuff to much to do that.

Answer 9

No way.  Is there someone that can house sit for you while you're gone?

Answer 10

No.If they need to use the bathroom, they can run to the gas station or something.