Hello World! Welcome Friends! Some DIY projects are fun, like dip-dying yarn for wall-hangings or transforming your old T-shirts into a cozy quilt. However, most other DIY projects are a major pain — they require extensive knowledge and skill or else they make use of expensive tools and equipment that you don’t have access to. For these projects, use a local handyman.
If you know your DIY abilities aren’t up to major challenges but you aren’t sure when a handyman is an appropriate hire, here is a guide to what a handyman can do and when you definitely need his (or her!) help.
What Handyman Services Entail
It’s likely you have no idea what a handyman can do — and that’s normal. Decades ago, “handyman” was a common job, like “doctor” or “lawyer;” professional handymen were available to perform jobs around the house for homeowners who lacked the time and skill to do the work themselves. However, as careers became more specialized, handymen started to disappear. In their place emerged electricians, plumbers, painters, furniture assemblers, gardeners, etc., who could charge more for the intricate and complex services they provided. Meanwhile, homeowners learned how to DIY the smaller stuff, like hanging pictures and painting walls.
Unfortunately, while modern homeowners have more knowledge than ever about how to complete tasks around the home — thanks entirely to the internet — many simply don’t have the time to do those smaller jobs themselves. What’s more, specialized service providers maintain high rates, meaning it simply isn’t economical to hire an electrician to install a new light switch when one is on the fritz. Thus, more and more homeowners are looking for handyman services without quite knowing what they’ll get.
When you hire a handyman, you are getting a generalist. This is a person with a whole heap of expertise in fixing a host of basic problems around the home. Some of the most common handyman jobs entail:
- Painting
- Framing
- Roofing
- Tiling
- Drywall repair or installation
- Minor plumbing work, like repairing or installing a faucet
- Minor electrical work, like repairing or installing a light fixture
- Furniture assembly
- Auto maintenance
- Deck repair or installation
- Fireplace cleaning or maintenance
- Garage door maintenance or installation
- Pest control
Where to Find a Handyman
You can probably find signs advertising handyman services along busy roads or in your newspaper’s advertisements, but there is no telling what quality of service provider you are likely to get when you use these sources. You might instead ask your social circle, such as local family, friends and neighbors, if they have “a guy” they recommend. Even better, you can turn to the internet, using review and ratings websites to find the best possible handyman out there. However, you should be careful to search only in your region; for instance, search Tampa handyman services if you are looking in the Tampa metro area. Otherwise, you could easily contact trustworthy service providers who operate in California or Maine.
What to Look for in a Handyman
If you can’t find a highly recommended handyman — and even if you are hiring someone off the web — you should vet your options thoroughly before hiring anyone for any job. Because handyman should be skilled in multiple fields, you would do well to develop a relationship with just one, which means the one you choose should be top-notch. Lazy or unskilled handymen can do real damage to your home, which will require more time, effort and money from you to fix. Worse, unethical handymen could easily inflate their prices if they believe you are an easy mark. Thus, it’s worthwhile to be patient, consider your options and make an informed choice.
You should interview potential handymen to get a sense of their capabilities, customer service competence and work schedules. Anyone who cannot perform the tasks on your list should be eliminated, as should those who struggle to communicate well or seem excessively busy. You can ask your remaining options to give you quotes for your most pressing jobs; prices shouldn’t be absurdly low (which indicates hidden fees or shoddy workmanship) or absurdly high — choose someone with a quote right in the middle.
Finally, you shouldn’t be afraid to shop around again if you find your first choice was less than ideal. Eventually, you’ll find your Cinderella handyman — a service provider who fits your needs and lifestyle just right.
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Toodles,
Hi ! This is a very informative & interesting article. Nice to read your blog post first time ever. I really appreciate this post. Thanks for sharing this awesome post.