Renovation and Home Safety
We just closed on a house and work needs to be done (Oil to Gas conversion and finishing basement). This probably will require 2 groups of people to work in the span of 4-6 weeks. Would it be safe to give the people the keys to the house (vacant) and expect them to do no…
We just closed on a house and work needs to be done (Oil to Gas conversion and finishing basement). This probably will require 2 groups of people to work in the span of 4-6 weeks. Would it be safe to give the people the keys to the house (vacant) and expect them to do no evil? Please advise..this is our first purchase. We just want to know what the best (normal) way would be, safety concerns and also to make sure they are doing their job. We do not currently live close by the new house.. it will take us 1 hr to go there. Plus we work the 9-5 schedule. Thanks
I’m a fireplace and chimney contractor and customers has given me keys all the time. Many years I’ve done this it seems to be normal practice. Always make sure you get references of the people you using.
Will keep a note of all the advices above, definitely very helpful. Thanks again.
Boy, I would hate not to see the work at least daily. If you don;t have much stuff, not much need to worry. Like AK says, change locks when finished, unless you had the foresight to install locks with keys that cant be duplicated.
And never use a guy who says: They Are Very Trust Worty
Should have added that with my people, you will have to go by–though not every day–just to check in and answers questions that emerge as the job progresses. (And they do.)
Above posters are right: you can leave people to work in your place while you are not there, but you have to make sure you have references.
I’ve done five renovations with the same people and recommended them to another dozen or so, and we have all left our keys with these guys, both when the house was empty and full. They are doing work for one friend I referred then to right now, and he is in Europe.
Let me know if you want a reference.
I’d also change all the locks after the work is done.
‘Safe’ is a relative term. Even if there is none of your personal property in the house, things like fixtures can walk away in an unattended house. I’d ask for 3-5 references from the contractors, including current jobs, and talk to those clients about their comfort level with the work crews. Once you’re satisfied, you can hand over keys.
BUT there’s NO WAY you should not go over every single day after work to check the house, not only to check progress but to make sure doors and windows are properly secured, water is not running, tools are unplugged, etc. When our house was vacant for renovation, we were also in temporary housing an hour away but we went over every day. The daily inconvenience was more than offset by peace of mind and a feeling of control over the job.
I’ve never had a problem giving keys to my place to any contractors, even places that I was occupying and had furniture & other valuables. That said, they came highly recommended and they always gave me a feeling that they were sympathetic to issues of safety, security and property. One of the indications of that is that they bring up these subjects before you have to ask them about them.
Your situation is a bit different. I usually came home every night and could see just what they were doing or not doing on a daily basis and that will always give you more of a sense of security. You need to monitor even the best of crews although in a vacant house there’s far less a chance of the irksome little things being problematic.
I think it largely hinges on how well they were recommended to you, by whom and how comfortable you are with those references.
The contractors doing my facade work right now have my keys. Right up front he said they’d never let anyone in while they were there even if some lady came along and said she was my mother! I have to constantly remind them though to take their work boots off as they go up and down the stair runner to get to the roof!!!!
If you are comfortable with their references and have spoken to previous clients about hwo that process worked then it’s fine. Typically if it’s someone new I hang out a day or so and make sure they are doing as they say.Make sure they commit to a schedule , i.e., we are demoing Monday, boiler is being removed Tuesday, new lines installed by Wednesday etc….and see if initially it’s on schedule and then check in daily for oral reports…you can also drop in unexpectedly.If it’s a flat fee then they will most likely get in and out as soon as they can compared to a per diem agreement.
There are good contractors out there but it is also a field that is inundated with lots of dishonest people (like politics)…not sure why but especially in NYC I’ve found this to be the case.
Off-topic why are you converting to gas? Ever consider installing radiant heating?