Anyone needing some sort of maintenance work done at home will talk about getting in a handyman. The work they are usually referring to includes electrical, painting, or replacement/repair of pipes, to name but a few.

What exactly does a handyman do?

Unlike a specific tradesman, who has the skills to do a specific type of work that requires plenty of training over many years and legal certification, a handyman is able to do a whole variety of jobs.

The tradesman could be an electrician who only takes on electrical work, a plumber would only take on jobs that involve plumbing, a tradesman experienced with tiling and plastering will only accept work that involves the tiling and plastering of walls and floors and so forth. A handyman however, can do the work of a few different tradesmen, but because he is not normally certified, will charge a lot less and normally do all the work in a shorter time.

If, for instance, you call in a plumber to do a job that requires him to break through tiles and cement to get to the pipes he needs to repair or replace, the chances are good that he won’t be able to do anything more than the pipes he has been called in to repair or replace. Once he has done that part of the job however, someone else will have to be called in to repair and replace the tiles and cement that have been broken out so that the plumber can have access to the faulty pipes.

When is it a good time to call in a handyman?

It is times like these, when you have a whole variety of work on your premises that needs to be repaired, replaced, or altered, that a handyman should be called in. Of course, there are times when someone is lucky enough to hire a certified tradesman who is capable of doing all the jobs they have lined up for him, but this doesn’t happen very often.

There are many types of tradesmen available and we are not talking about the neighbor’s husband who professes to be a tradesman simply because he has a garage full of every type of equipment and power tools imaginable. The tradesmen we mean those who are fully skilled and experienced to work with air conditioning, carpentry, plumbing and so forth – those who have completed their training and have a certificate to prove their qualifications in their field.

The handyman you need to call and hire for the variety of jobs you have that need to be completed, are those who have tried their hand at many types of maintenance work over the years and have become extremely skilled in all of them. Apart from the incredible skills they have developed over the years, they have also created their own work ethics that give them the reputation with many people, as being the best man for the jobs you have in mind.

Why should you call in a handyman rather than a highly skilled tradesman?

As mentioned earlier, tradesmen have spent many years studying and undergoing training in a particular field. Because of the extensive training, their experience and the certification they earned at the end of their training period, they charge accordingly, which is normally pricey.

There are several reasons why you should call and hire a handyman instead of a specified tradesman.

A handyman is the person to call when you have a few different types of jobs that need to be done, but only want to make that one call to one person, who is able to do the main job you have in mind, as well as do all the other smaller jobs that need to be carried out.

The fact that you only have one person to deal with, means that you will save a significant amount of time and money, instead of having several tradesmen come in and do the separate jobs they are qualified to do, with each of them charging you according to their time, skills and experience.

In the event that you call up a maintenance company with a list of the jobs you need done, there is the likelihood that they will send out several tradesmen, each of them trained to do one specific job. Besides this costing you a lot of money, it will also take up a lot of unnecessary time, because each tradesman will be waiting until the last tradesman is finished with a job, before he gets started on the one he is trained and hired to do.

The sensible to do in this case, is to call up and hire one good handyman that is skilled and experienced in a wide variety of jobs and more than capable of doing all the work you need done, on his own.

How to choose a good handyman

The trick to having any job well done is to find someone who is entirely capable of covering everything to do with the job. The same applies to choosing a handyman. When you’re looking for a handyman, find a person who has been in the business for many years as this almost guarantees that he does have the skills to carry out the job properly. He should communicate with you constantly and be willing to solve problems, if any. The handyman you choose should have all the tools and equipment needed to carry out any work that needs to be done and he should exude a confidence that will give you the peace of mind you’re looking for, that he will do the job to the best of his ability. Above all, speak to family, friends and work colleagues about a suitable handyman. After all, word of mouth is the best advertising for any business, whether large or small!