Tradie stunned by homeowner's 'dirty' portaloo request

Photos of a portable toilet sitting on the side of a suburban road has highlighted the “very interesting and funny” requests tradies receive while on the job.

A tradesman — who wished to remain anonymous — told Yahoo News Australia he spotted the portaloo sitting alone in the street’s left-hand lane at a worksite in Balcatta, Perth, earlier last year.

“When I got there all the trade vehicles were parked all along that side of the road so I couldn’t see it,” he said, explaining that because he is often one of the last people on a job site, it’s bizarre location was only revealed later. “I thought that was a very strange place to have a toilet,” he laughed.

Homeowner didn't want 'dirty' portaloo on property

After snapping a few images, the man said he was told by other tradies that the “customer didn’t want the loo on the property during renovations as it’s dirty”. The strange placement — which partially blocks traffic — added “a little bit of danger to the morning loo trip”, he joked, pointing out that it is “not a very wide road”.

The homeowner’s loo request is an example of some of the odd things tradies encounter at job sites, the Perth resident told Yahoo. “It’s interesting working in some higher income areas and what they want and where they want it,” he said.

“I worked for high profile couple a few years back and their landscapers all had to eat lunch on the verge because they were militant vegans and didn’t want them eating meat products on their property. Some [requests] are to keep the property safe but some are just random. They have to do what the owner wants and that’s what it is.”

Council say toilet on road is 'not permitted'

“No site toilet would ever be permitted to be placed on the road under any circumstances," a City of Stirling spokesperson told Yahoo News Australia.

"The City of Stirling generally does not permit site toilets to be placed on the Council verge either, except in extenuating circumstances where there is no room on the property. If this is the case, the company would have to apply for this exemption to the requirement for all equipment to be stored on private property.

"Both the builder and resident may be liable should a road incident occur due to the current placement of the site toilet depicted in these images.”

Tradies using toilets riles up Aussies

Tradies and toilets have always been a bit of a contentious issue, the Perth tradie said, with many homeowners not comfortable with workers using their home’s bathroom. A couple of years ago, a furious Aussie lashed out at tradies for “taking the virginity” of her toilets in a lengthy note.

A Sydneysider also previously criticised a bunch of tradies who started to use her outside toilet without permission.

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According to WorkSafe WA’s code of practice, employer’s must provide all workers access to clean toilets, and “where reasonably practicable, toilet facilities should be provided for workers, rather than relying on access to external public toilets”.

“Where it is not reasonably practicable to provide access to permanent toilets, portable toilets need to be provided,” the Building Code of Australia states. “These must be installed securely, and be provided with a lockable door, lighting and ventilation. Toilets need to be accessible, preferably located inside a building or as close as possible to the workplace, to eliminate or reduce any risk to employee safety while accessing them.”

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