My next door neighbour’s have the builders in laying a patio. 2 or 3 guys coming and going since Monday. Plenty of large deliveries including a skip, piles of concrete etc. We live down a tiny cull de sac where everyone else is sticking to the letter of what’s intended by a lock down. We also have several vulnerable people in the road.

Is this explicitly banned or just frowned upon – I cant seem to find a definitive answer. Obviously I know what I think of the situation but if I lose my rag with the idiots I’d like to know I have the backing of the law

Sounds like your neighbours need decking

Are they staying 2m apart and/or wearing PPE?

If not call the council and ask them for advice

You are allowed to go to work if you can’t work from home. Unless the builders are going up to the vulnerable then they are not doing anything wrong by working. They obviously have to try and social distance between each other, anyone else in the house and anyone doing delivery but as long as they are doing that I don’t see what rule you think they have broken?

Is this explicitly banned or just frowned upon

I don’t think it is either. You are allowed to work if the work that you do cannot be done from home (as it is in this case). Obviously there is the general “stay at home” message which this does fall foul of, but that is a general message, not a rule for all. They do need to observe the 2m rule and any required PPE, if they cannot then the site should shut down, if they can then in theory it is fine.

As TheBrick says. The Government is trying to balance virus risk against economic risk – if the country becomes effectively bankrupt because people aren’t working, the number of indirect deaths could be large – they want people to work if they can. There’s a bit of a modification in London, where the advice seems to be to stay off public transport unless you’re a key worker. The point of the ‘lockdown’ isn’t to stop transmission 100%, it’s to get the rate (R0) down below 1 so that the NHS has capacity to treat everybody that needs it.

I haven’t worked for more than two weeks but still see them two in a van havin their piece together and then there is the minibus or two for field workers how can that be safe. Construction in Scotland new orders last night to close but then yesterday saw 3 council vans, guys fitting new heating system in a council house is that essential

Don’t get me started on builders
Speed limits no longer apply anywhere
Mobile phone use is encouraged
Ihave 2 or 3 transits on mydrive all day as the neighbor up the drive is having an extension
They have errected a load of scaffolding on my property, ad a fait accomplis so i cant get my windsurfing kit to the beach
None of them has asked if it is ok to use my land as their free car park
They block my garages access and, as they are thick builder’s i am loath to open the door as you wi see a rack of bike’s in there
They work all day Saturday when the local noise team state no noise after 1pm to be heard outside of the property boundary
I’m in the middle of a breakdown as i am at home and know if i start to have a words the floodgates will. Open up and i will loose my temper and start throwing lots of 4 letter words im their direction
Grrrrrrr

Builders are just being builders. Obvs no ppe or 2m.

It just seems to show a lack of common sense and consideration from the neighbours as every delivery and person that comes into the road increases the risk of transmission. Still it’s not been banned and so it is what it is. Nrighbours are in their 60s.

guys fitting new heating system in a council house is that essential

Possibly, yes.

Work has not been banned, but social distancing should be observed and it’s possible that failing to do so/provide PPE might leave an employer open to some sort of official H&S argument.

Quite a few builders and landscapers working round here. Suspect that they are not all family businesses.

But as already said, measures are intended to control the rate if transmission, not stop it.

Sounds like your neighbours need decking

This needs much more appreciation than it got

…is that essential

I understand the sentiment, but officially, the nation is still supposed to be working, apart from those on the list (shops, cafes, gyms, etc…).

If you can’t work from home, then people will still need to travel to do work. It’s ‘non essential travel’ that has been banned, not ‘non essential work’ (although that may come like it did in Italy). The imprecise language being used in media coverage does not help.

It’s legit, the advice / rules are to “Work from home if possible” well obviously you can’t lay a patio via Skype.

They *should* be staying 2m apart and/or using gloves and masks, not to mention all travelling separately unless they live together.

Large sites are open, including new hospitals etc. It’s a ‘Red Card’ offence to break social distancing rules, but it’s still going on. Sometimes because its’ impossible not to (well unless you don’t work) masks and goggles are being used but it’s not 100%.

The construction industry, as usual, doesn’t fit into the usual norm of things. Lots are self-employed working for a day rate, no work, no pay and the deal for self-employed isn’t an easy or generous as it is for PAYE people there’s lots of ways honest self-employed people won’t be entitled to any help, and yes lots of people in the industry are more than a bit cavalier with their self-assessments and don’t have ‘profits’ to claim against.

The word I’m getting from my friends in the industry is that they’re mostly working as much as they can as the moment to get some cash in, materials are getting harder to get and with the usual lag in the trade they’re expecting a long dry spell even after the lock-down is over.

Lots of individual tradesmen are hoping to pick up some work on the local Nightingale / Bevan field hospital, if they’re lucky enough to be close to one.

Technically construction activities can continue, as long as they are undertaken in accordance with the Site Operating Procedures recently updated by the Construction Leadership Council.

I would doubt that your neighbours builders laying the patio are even aware of the site operating procedures, never mind coming close to complying with the requirements.

Site Operating Procedures during Covid-19

Wow Singletrackmind! Builder=thick=thief. Brilliant!
Sounds like they are preventing you from doing non essential activities like surfing… I’d get the police involved in your shoes…

@singletrackmind that is an absolutely wonderful attempt at trolling. Well done.

It’s not just builders sitting together in their vans. I saw a two man John Lewis delivery in their truck the other day. How can they possibly be social distancing in a lorry cab with no face masks etc. Was surprised John Lewis still did this.
As said before…. If builders are keeping two meters from each other (which I’d say was pretty much impossible during a day’s work) there are no laws to stop them working.

They other option could be to mind your own business?

I think this thread needs flagging

It’s not just builders sitting together in their vans. I saw a two man John Lewis delivery in their truck the other day. How can they possibly be social distancing in a lorry cab with no face masks etc. Was surprised John Lewis still did this.
As said before…. If builders are keeping two meters from each other (which I’d say was pretty much impossible during a day’s work) there are no laws to stop them working.

Tesco Vans are going around double crewed at the moment, it might just be 2m if they sit in the door pockets.

singletrackmind – if that is really true about using your land I would be having a word and also telling your neighbour that the scaffolding is on your land and you want paying for it

Out of order to be on your land without your permission

I’m a tradesman that’s sitting at home (unpaid) at the moment as I’m supposed to be re-fitting a Bathroom in someones house.

They still wanted me to do it but morally it wasn’t right as A) it’s not essential, they still have a working bathroom, B)I don’t live there so shouldn’t be in their house and after running out of morals, I can’t get materials even if I wanted to do it.

I am however going to a new house build in a couple of weeks to fit a kitchen as it’s unoccupied at present and I’ll be the only person there, so no risk to anyone else.

I dont troll
Not clever enough
Remember the storm Ciara thread.. They started errecting the scaffold on the Friday amd Saturday before then
So the boo hoo you shouldn’t be windsurfing 5 weeks before the new social dostancing regs holds no water
And if i am 500m out to sea i reclon its safer than going on a bus or a train n or tesco or walking downstairs as more people get hospitalized falling down staors than windsurfing, even if you pro rata it.
The fat tubbers who have all of sudden started running are waaay more likely to have a heart attack due to putting their heart under pressure that it hasnt been under for a decade. I saw a guy running in green cords ffs and he was well old

What’s the scaffolding for? Repairs or elective work like an extension? Did you give your consent for them to trespass?

@singletrackmind. If there’s anyone available at the planning office it may be worth having a word.
Otherwise break out the Bombers.

I’m a tradesman that’s sitting at home (unpaid) at the moment as I’m supposed to be re-fitting a Bathroom in someones house.

If you’re a plumber near Derby, I have an essential need to get a leaking radiator sorted!

Its a new dormer roof, on top of a bungalow
Local planning office are imept buffoons. I had to tell them to refetence the gov. co. uk site explaining that 2 months notice prior to works was required where boundaries might be an issue.

Guy at the back of us just had scaffolding put up, now roofers are in, all stood on the same part of the roof like it’s an ordinary day.
He has 2 kids playing in the garden, let’s hope no one catches anything or they could be ex roofers.

And if i am 500m out to sea i reclon its safer than going on a bus or a train n or tesco or walking downstairs as more people get hospitalized falling down staors than windsurfing, even if you pro rata it.

As long as you don’t want rescuing if you get into difficulties, crack on son 😉

Blazin-saddles hits the nail on the head

“They still wanted me to do it but morally it wasn’t right as A) it’s not essential, they still have a working bathroom, B)I don’t live there so shouldn’t be in their house”

(t’s that second bit, regardless of builders/workers not observing PPE/distance etc, they simply shouldn’t be somewhere with other people.
Lot of people are using the ‘can’t work from home’ as a loop-hole to crack on as normal.
I get the need to keep the economy going, but it’s not on that some get to cherry pick what suits them while others are suffering by sticking to guidelines.

Solution to the scaffholding.

Overnight take it down and stack it neatly to obstruct their front door.

Say nothing.

It depends where you are – I work in soil testing in Scotland and Nicola Sturgeon asked all non essential (essential as in hospitals) construction work to stop even before the lockdown. The big new housing developments are all shut down, the roadworks near me have all stopped and I am not going to do even little bits of site work. Even in England all the large housing developers and a lot of the soil testing companies have stopped site work.

If you’re in Scotland get them shipped to your local authority. If you’re in England they’re just idiots.

Just heard them discussing the government guidelines on 5 live and as long as they are the distance apart they can work away on roofs, extensions etc. No mention about whether the taking a slash against your property is ok and visible from your top window

UK Gov does appear to want construction to continue in England and are perhaps even encouraging it by including comments such as ‘paying tribute to all those who work tirelessly within the industry’. – The latter is within the opening paragraph of a letter from Alok Sharma on 31st March.

Work should be taking place in accordance with the recommendations within he Site Operating Procedures, which in Version 1 accepted that maintaining a minimum 2m between workers may not be safe / practicable. Interestingly, a Version 2 of that document which stated that where it is not possible or safe for workers to distance themselves from each other by two metres then work should NOT be carried out was almost immediately withdrawn. – The inference from the above could perhaps be that Construction Leaders / UK GOV are willing to accept some construction works will require people to be closer that 2m and that the risk from that closer working may be acceptable.