diff --git a/pisi/operations/build.py b/pisi/operations/build.py
index adf9bedb..d3c63273 100644
--- a/pisi/operations/build.py
+++ b/pisi/operations/build.py
@@ -488,7 +488,10 @@ class Builder:
         # we'll need our working directory after actionscript
         # finished its work in the archive source directory.
         curDir = os.getcwd()
-        os.chdir(self.srcDir)
+        if os.path.exists(self.srcDir):
+            os.chdir(self.srcDir)
+        else:
+            raise Error(_("ERROR: WorkDir (%s) does not exist\n") % (self.srcDir))
 
         if func in self.actionLocals:
             if ctx.get_option('ignore_sandbox') or not ctx.config.values.build.enablesandbox:
diff --git a/pisi/util.py b/pisi/util.py
index 2809a4ff..bb39d7a2 100644
--- a/pisi/util.py
+++ b/pisi/util.py
@@ -446,7 +446,10 @@ def uncompress(patchFile, compressType="gz", targetDir=None):
 def do_patch(sourceDir, patchFile, level=0, name=None):
     """Apply given patch to the sourceDir."""
     cwd = os.getcwd()
-    os.chdir(sourceDir)
+    if os.path.exists(sourceDir):
+        os.chdir(sourceDir)
+    else:
+        raise Error(_("ERROR: WorkDir (%s) does not exist\n") % (sourceDir))
 
     if level == None:
         level = 0