My life in construction many decades ago before I even turned 20. Smaller, handyman type jobs were more my style. I wanted to be able to control my work and preferred more variety. I enjoyed it for the very same reasons that many construction professionals find it difficult and frustrating. It’s often much more challenging than ordinary construction because you may not be dealing with previous work that was decent. Or may be as old as the hills. And from that point you have to either fix or improve something for a customer in a cost effective way.
That last part is sometimes the hardest and often takes the most ingenuity. I can’t always come up with something, but I’ve also been surprised. Sometimes when a handyman job that looked like it was going to cost thousands of dollars ended up not being quite so bad. It feels like a win when that happens.
It’s Not Super Profitable
It’s not a particularly profitable profession and it depends on steady work. Handyman work only becomes profitable with multi day jobs. I take the really small jobs (2 hours is the minimum) only when I have no other work or when it’s a repeat customer. Otherwise it generally isn’t worth the expense. Customers don’t see that the driving and handling adds at least an extra hour to the effort. It’s not practical for me to schedule more than a couple of those a day, so I lose the ability to make more money that day. I can’t make a living doing those, but they are a way of getting new referrals. It’s about making initial contact with a customer and building trust.
High End Handyman Work is a Niche
Handyman work at its highest levels is a very specialized niche. I require tools from a wide variety of trades while not having the truly expensive specialized tools. Plumbing is one of the jobs that I do, but I’m not only a plumber. Electrical is a job that I do but I’m not an electrician; It is the same with tiling. And so on. I do these jobs at a high level; in many cases I’m superior to the average journeyman specialist because I see the job as a whole, but I’m never as good as the very experienced professional in a specialized trade. Most of the time it’s not a problem because a lot of jobs in construction are relatively simple.
For customers I am the ideal person to have for smaller, less complicated handyman jobs that require several different trades because I do all of them well enough and they only have to hire one person, not several different crews.
What I’ve really enjoyed over the years are the unusual handyman jobs. Replacing faucets, electrical outlets, fixing drains, adding lights and replacing filters are all very common things, but sometimes it’s a lot different. Clients asked me to install several different heat pumps in various situations. That was cool. I’ve had a couple of times where I raised the ceiling in a home. That was certainly different as well.
Interesting Jobs
There was a little room for a washer and dryer, but the room was too small for the new ones. So I made it big enough. I put a huge Murphy bed furniture set into a closet and designed a front piece that matched the furniture so that all the edges were hidden with trim. The set did not fit through the front door and I had to widen a window opening and then repair it to get the largest pieces into the room.
I love the challenging stuff. And tile work. I’ve always found tiling to be interesting work and the tools that are available these days make uneven walls a lot easier to handle. In showers now you can put recesses in that can hold all of the bottles and stuff and don’t stick into space. They’re big enough. It’s one of the more skilled Handyman things I’ve done.
I’ve always liked my clients as well and in many cases the line between friend and client has blurred. I’ve gotten truly excellent reviews because I am very focused on doing a good job. It’s not just a paycheck, it’s a responsibility to me.