Hiring and finding good handyman services to help out with chores and projects around the house is one of the best things you can do as a homeowner to free up some of your valuable time. If you're a busy homeowner and you're having trouble keeping up with all the projects and chores around the house than you should seriously consider hiring a good handyman. While hiring a good handyman can be pretty difficult, it's pretty safe to say that it's well worth the effort considering all the time you stand to inherit.
Unfortunately hiring a good handyman can be a bit of a challenge. While there seem to be plenty of folks offering handyman services; there also seems to be a dearth of stories from homeowners who have had bad experiences hiring a handyman to help out with projects around the house. The problem seems to stem from the large variety of services that handymen are thought to offer.
So What Services Does a Typical Handyman Offer?
To be frank all handymen offer a different set of services and when you're looking for handyman services to help out around your house you should look for a handyman that has experience in the specific trade you need help with. For instance if you need help with the plumbing you should probably hire a handyman who has plumbing experience. A lot of times, and if you look hard enough, you can find a semi-retired plumber who's still working as a handyman to earn extra income. For more tips on how to find and hire a good handyman please check out: How To Find A Handyman.
In other words, unless you're actually looking for a handyman to help out with several projects around the house, you should specifically be looking for a handyman that is experienced in whatever you need help with. One thing is for certain, just because someone defines themselves as a handyman does not mean that they are a “jack of all trades†and it's really up to the homeowner to decipher exactly what the handyman's skills are and what they're not. The unfortunate truth is that some handymen and contractors in general will take whatever work is available when times get tough and to keep themselves busy between other jobs…
What Skills Does the Average Handyman Possess?
If you get anything out of reading this article you should get this: all handymen are unique in their skills, experience level and services they offer. There really is no standard when it comes to defining the experience or skill level of a handyman. Every handyman offers a different set of abilities and capabilities.
It's important to note that the average handyman will not be able to help you out with everything you need help with around the house. As noted above some handymen will take on whatever work is available to keep themselves busy but that may lead to less than stellar results if you haven't done your homework and ensured that the handyman has experience for the job you hired him for.
So the answer to the question, “what skills does the average handyman possess?†is there is no set of skills that the average handyman possesses. Each handyman is unique in what they offer as noted above and it's up to you to ask what their specialty is.
Different Types of Handyman Services
Generally speaking you're going to be running into a few different categories of handymen… here are a few “rough†categorizations of the type of handyman services you might encounter out there:
Handymen that have a specific trade background - For instance they may have specific skills in carpentry, masonry, plumbing or electrical. Often these folks are just looking to fill in their work gaps and trying to stay busy between bigger jobs but if you can find a handyman with a specific skill that you need, than hiring them for that particular job is almost a no-brainer.
Handymen that are looking for odd jobs - These types of handymen don't typically have a specific set of skills or area of expertise but are great when you need a bunch of small projects taken care of around the house. From doing a yard clean-up to installing garbage disposals, these types of handymen typically deal with a lot of chores and projects that you could probably get done on your own but no longer have time for.
Handymen getting started - If you're looking for a good deal than this is probably the type of handyman you're looking for. This type of handyman generally doesn't have too much experience but is willing to work at a lower rate in exchange for obtaining some much needed experience on your home. Hiring a handyman that is basically learning-on-the-job can be risky but you can also save some money this way and who doesn't want to save some money these days! The key to getting the most out of this type of handyman is making sure that you don't hire the handyman to do anything that is out of the range of his capabilities and again only a knowledgeable homeowner can determine that.
The bottom line is that every handyman is unique and it's up to you, the homeowner, to decipher what each handyman is capable of and incapable of.
Finding and Hiring Good Handyman Services
If you took anything away from the above paragraphs it's that each and every handyman is unique in the skill and services they offer and it's up to you to determine what you can trust the handyman to do or not do. Ultimately it comes down to experience and the key to finding and hiring good handyman services boils down to finding a handyman that is experienced and skilled in the work you need done.
Too often the mistake a lot of homeowners make when hiring a handyman is they simply hire the handyman that a good friend or relative recommended to them and as they probably discovered that's not a good way to hire a handyman. Generally speaking there are 4 steps to finding and hiring good handyman services.
Step 1 - What Work Do You Need Done?
Determine the work you want to have done. As stated above not all handymen bring the same set of skills and experience to the table so creating a list of all the projects you want to get done will give you a better idea of what type of professionals you will need to hire to get all that work done.
For instance some of the work you need to get done may require a licensed professional like a plumber or electrician. Unless it's a really minor job you probably want to use a licensed professional to decrease your chances of hiring a bad contractor. This is why it's a good idea to make a list because you may not be able to use a handyman for all the work you have planned. And the more expensive the job, the more sense it makes to hire a specialist that is specifically skilled and experienced in the work you need done. Once you put together a list of projects that are suitable for a handyman you can proceed to the next step of the process.
Step 2 - Putting together a List of Prospects
Putting together a list of handyman “prospects†is next on the list. For a step by step “how to†on how to find and hire handyman services please check out: How to Find a Good Handyman.
To put together this list of prospects you can ask friends, neighbors and relatives for any referrals they may have of handymen they've worked with in the past. For more referrals you can also try local real estate agents. Real estate agents work with handymen often as they use handymen to prepare homes for sale. The local home improvement store or materials suppliers may also be able to help with referrals. To fill out the remainder of your list, which should have at least 3-5 prospects depending on the size of your project, we recommend you try the HandyAmerican handyman directory at Handyman Services.
Step 3 - Screening the Handymen
Screening the handymen on your list is probably the most important step in the process. When hiring a handyman one of the things you have to focus on is hiring a handyman that has experience in the area of work you are seeking help for. For instance if you need plumbing assistance, you should seek the help of an experienced plumber. Seems simple but this is exactly the reason so many homeowners have bad experiences with handymen; they hire a handyman based on a referral rather than looking to see if the handyman has the right experience for the job. A few more things you can do to ensure you hire a good handyman:
- Look for reviews and feedback from past customers by doing searches in Google for the handyman's name or business name.
- You can also look for reviews and feedback on websites like http://www.trustedpros.com, www.citysearch.com, www.insiderpages.com and www.yelp.com. It should be noted that TrustedPros is the only website we know of that verifies all reviews and feedback for authenticity.
- Check to see if any complaints have been filed for the handyman at the Better Business Bureau.
- Check to see if the handyman has been involved in any scams or rip offs at www.ripoffreport.com.
- Look for a handyman that has been in business for a while and definitely look for one that has experience in your field of need.
- Ask for and contact references. This is one of the best ways to ensure the handyman is capable of doing good work.
- If the handyman is going to work on any part of your home you should require that he have some form of liability insurance to protect yourself in the event that he causes additional damage to your home.
As many homeowners have discovered there are many advantages to finding and hiring good handyman services to help out with the work around the house. Follow the tips and steps outlined above and you'll be sure to reap all the benefits that good handyman services have to offer!
Posted by: TrustedProsSuggested Reading For You
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