Handyman price check

[Anonymous]

I just paid $1000 for about four hours of work. I feel like I overpaid, but it’s a recent datapoint.

[Anonymous]

He charges what the market will bear (bare?). He has plenty of work. No different than any other profession.

[Anonymous]

I’m a remodeler.

I do not offer handy man services.

I found this thread enlightening.

People have absolutely no idea how long things take.

People do not understand what it takes to run a business nor the cost to do so.

People do not fairly judge the value-skills of tradesman. A handyman’s labor rate should be more than a cleaning person.

The inherent issues running a handyman business - they need to equip themselves with tools for a myriad of trades and are expected to charge less then the specific trades (plumber,electrician,etc).

In my area a mechanical trade on a service call will charge 150.00 per hour after charging for the trip and likely markup materials 50-100 percent. So not only do they make money on the materials but they have the advantage of actually sourcing what they need. Invariably when clients source materials they fail to order and source the required ancillary components.

A number of my colleagues (full service remodelers) I know have tried to start handyman businesses. Most of them have left the space because the business was inherently unprofitable.

[Anonymous]

Have you ever assembled and installed ceiling fans yourself?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How many hours work ?

My guess is an hour per fan, an hour or two to install a pantry door and an hour for the sash, 30 minutes for flood lights. So it’s a days worth of work. If handymen are even getting $100 an hour it shouldn’t be more than $700 not including materials.

Back in 2012 my handyman charged $75 per hour or $500 for an 8-hour day. Travel time to procure supplies was on the clock, so make sure you have everything ready. So around $700-800 today sounds fair. $2500 is too much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How many hours work ?

My guess is an hour per fan, an hour or two to install a pantry door and an hour for the sash, 30 minutes for flood lights. So it’s a days worth of work. If handymen are even getting $100 an hour it shouldn’t be more than $700 not including materials.

Your guess based on what ?

Your average install times based on previous jobs ?

Estimate based on industry norms or unit pricing ?

Having walked and inspected the job and site ?

The pantry door could easily take the better part of a day.

Are they hanging a new slab in the existing jamb ?

Are they installing a new prehung unit ?

If the former they will have to route in for the hinges, likely cut the door to size, maybe bore the lock set, install the hinges, etc.
Who is painting the door ?

If prehung then they need to demo, hang, reinstall casings.

How much time have you allocated for mobilization, protection and cleanup ?

Sounds like the guy figured it was a little more than 2 days work.

Hard to tell without seeing the rotten sash and accurate spec for the door.

Also the construction level of the house matters. Door casings, hardware, etc.

More importantly than price ~ where did you find the guy ? Recommended from trusted friend ? What was your visceral reaction ?

If you are not sure start him on a subset of the work to see how he does.