ᐅ Catering for Construction Crews on Projects with a General Contractor

Lol, my husband and I were just joking about what our house would look like if we supplied the masons with ecstasy every day.
He then said, "let's call it the Escher House."

Water is always a good choice. Cola or similar drinks are really only recommended if you can store them cool or preferably cold. Nobody really likes warm soft drinks, right? Iced tea in different varieties could be another option. It tastes better chilled but can also be drunk as is.

Provide a coffee machine or at least a kettle with instant coffee (which sometimes tastes better than coffee left for hours on a warming plate) along with milk and sugar. This was also well received by our construction crews. Some enjoyed cookies or pastries, but I think that’s not necessary.

Beer was not welcome.

We always made sure there were plenty of drinks available – but definitely only non-alcoholic. Any responsible general contractor or site manager will strongly forbid any alcohol. Over time, you get to know what the guys prefer to drink. Still water was also very popular with us. We also had one guy who was happy with Sprite (but only Sprite, no other lemon-lime sodas). Surprisingly, cola wasn’t consumed much, and apple spritzer was also quite popular. I would occasionally bring a few different soft drinks to offer some variety. Flavored water was also quite popular. Iced tea works well too.

In addition, I always made sure there was a basket of sweets available. The selection was always changing (I stocked up when there were special offers), and it was always well received and helped create a good atmosphere. Preferences developed here as well.

Once the basement was completed and we had electricity, we set up an old refrigerator and a coffee machine (including cups). I regularly collected the cups and ran them through our dishwasher, even though the guys usually rinsed them – but cold water alone isn’t very effective. They also appreciated using the fridge for their snacks. At times, we even had tropical temperatures on the construction site.

When we were almost ready to move in, we placed our old freezer in the new basement and stored various types of ice pops for the guys to help themselves. This was last July/August when it was really hot. They were truly grateful. Even our Sprite guy, who usually didn’t eat anything all day and only drank, helped himself then.

kati1337 schrieb:

Hello everyone!

I heard that the masons are starting today. We’re planning to bring some drinks for the construction workers.
I was thinking of providing 1-2 cases of mineral water and some soft drinks like cola.
Do you think that’s appropriate?

Unfortunately, I can’t provide full catering like some people do, neither financially nor time-wise (we don’t live right next door).
But I guess that’s not absolutely necessary, right? After all, we’re not building with friends who are volunteering, but with a general contractor.
Still, we want to avoid having a “dry” construction site. Occasionally, I thought about bringing some sandwiches or cake as well, but maybe not every day.

Do you think this would be okay?
And would you also offer beer, or just non-alcoholic drinks?

Best regards,
Kati

We always have mineral water (medium carbonation), cola, and two types of isotonic drinks available. These are very well received by the various trades.
Based purely on consumption, the two isotonic drinks are the most popular. Cola is hardly consumed anymore since the structural work started. Water is also consumed less.

FÖRSTINA ISO-AKTIV Lemon-Grapefruit (or alternatively from Rossbacher)
ROSBACHER ISOFIT Orange-Mandarin

There are certainly equivalent products available from discount stores as well.

I also provided still water, sparkling water, cola, and juice, a pod coffee machine with pods, milk and sugar for coffee, as well as cookies, salted and cheese sticks, and cake for self-service.

...good tips here. We will do that too when we build