Consumer News: hiring a handyman

It’s almost home improvement season again. Now might be a good time to assess if there’s any winter damage to your home and make plans for spring repairs.

According to Angie’s List, a handyman can help with projects around the house – but be careful who you hire.

“We are seeing a lot more of our customers, probably like 80 percent of them, are making improvements to the home versus packing up and moving to a new home. We do a lot of repairs in kitchens and bathrooms, a lot of basement refinishing,” says Handyman Dan Higgins

Angie Hicks of Angie’s List says, “If you have a long honey–do list hiring a handyman can be a great way to knock them out quickly. A handyman will typically charge by the hour so you can aggregate a bunch of different little projects together and hire a handyman for the day.”

Kris Wu keeps the number for her handyman stored in her cellphone when her list of repairs and projects starts to grow.

Kris says, “Our handyman’s been very helpful and done a lot of work around our house. He’s done everything from staining decks to hanging picture frames, electrical work, building a shelf in my son’s bedroom, tiling floors.”

“If you have a long honey–do list hiring a handyman can be a great way to knock them out quickly. A handyman will typically charge by the hour so you can aggregate a bunch of different little projects together and hire a handyman for the day,” says Angie Hicks

Higgins added, “When we meet with the customer primarily we take a look at they want to have done, then we develop our own list of materials, we go to the stores and buy all that and bring it to the job. They don’t need any tools, they don’t need any supplies. We take care of all of that.”

Hicks suggests, “When you hire a handyman, you want to be sure to check their credentials, but remember it will be dependent on the job they are doing and it’s going to be dependent on your city and state. For example, plumbing and electrical are typically required to have a license so if you are having those trades done you want to be sure you check that. Also, make sure your handyman is experienced in the work you want to do because you do not want to be the guinea pig for a new kind of project for them.”

Here’s another money saving tip when hiring a handyman: Anything you can organize or purchase ahead of time may save you time and money. For example, if there’s an issue with your sink, remove all the items from underneath it.