Allowing Contractors In House When You Are Not Home
![[Post New]](/jforum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Anonymous
| We are considering doing a kitchen remodel which, according to our contractor, will take about 3-4 weeks to complete. Contractor has suggested using a lock box on the front door to allow workers to access the home during the day when we are at work. Has anyone ever done this? Any tips? Should we change the locks when the job is complete? |
Anonymous
|
We just left the door unlocked almost all the time..safe DC neighborhood..not saying it would work for you..but worked for us.
|
Anonymous
we have given contractors a key before. I have to imagine it is common as most people can't take 4 weeks off from work. |
Anonymous
|
We had contractors in our home and gave them a key and it was a total NIGHTMARE. The GC was supposed to be on site at all times when the subs were here. That didn't happen.
My daughter caught one of the 'employees' sneaking onto the main level of the house (She was in her twenties and they had no idea she was home). He walked right up the stairs - he turned the corner and ran into her. He muttered something about wanting to light his cigarette on the stove  We were fairly certain he was up to something else. He was killed in a drug deal gone bad less than a week later. Two of the other workers were witnesses and fled.
The subs did subpar work if the GC wasn't around to supervise (and sometimes even if they were there). This was a company that came highly recommended to us as well. Never again...... |
Anonymous
|
The only time I did this was before we moved in to the house we had just purchased. We had all the carpet removed and hardwoods installed/refinished. There was nothing in the house of ours and we were planning to change the locks before we moved in anyway.
When we had a kitchen redone on a previous house my dad (who is retired) came down and stayed with us for 3 weeks while it happened so there was someone in the house at all times. |
Anonymous
| Unless you have someone who is at home during the day, you don't have much choice. I would give the general contractor a key and make him responsible for letting in the workers. And I would change the locks afterward. |
Anonymous
| We live in a condo with a porter who works on the grounds, and he would often supervise people who needed to come in to finish work when we first moved in. That was all fine and good until someone tracked dog shit into our bedroom. On the white carpet. |
Anonymous
| We did an addition and moved out. We gave the keys to our contractor. We made sure there was nothing of value in the house that was accessible, especially jewelry. It was fine. Our builder was a family-run company from Frederick. |
Anonymous
| We did this but knew our GC as an acquaintance beforehand. I took jewelry to parents house but they had free run of all three levels of our house. I was comfortable bc I knew GC. |
Anonymous
| We gave the GC the keypad code to our garage door and left the door from garage to house unlocked. When the work was done, we changed the code on the garage keypad. |
Anonymous
|
yes, we had a lockbox. We don't really have anything worth stealing. We trusted the company, but there were probably 30 different people going in and out during the renovation.
It is a risk you have to take, and everything was fine. We should probably change the combo on the lockbox though, now that I think about it... |
Anonymous
| We have plenty of times and haven't had a problem. |
Anonymous
| Remember to put the combo box out of sight to make sure thieves casing the neighborhood don't see your house as an easy target. |
Anonymous
| We gave the contractor a key. But this is a one man and max two man operation and he has done work for my parents, their neighbors etc etc so a known entity. |
Anonymous
|
Gave my contractor the key.
Granted this is a guy who does all the work for my family. But, to be safe the jewelry is in the safe. Nothing happened when he did our kitchen two years ago, he is currently doing our bathrooms. |