handyman hourly rates

My landlord’s handyman will offer a day rate closer to what you’re looking for — I wouldn’t trust him with any intricate work, but if it’s general know-how with low expectations of finesse, then he’s a good go-to guy.  Angel

annep

in Handymen and Odd Jobs 12 years and 7 months ago

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r-squared | 12 years and 7 months ago

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We’ve been looking for a reliable handyman to perform some simple, yet tedious and time-consuming jobs around the house. Our neighbours gave us a few recommendations, but those guys are quoting us $40/hr or even $50/hr.  I never had to hire handymen before, but those rates seem preposterously high to me. How much do people in brooklyn normally pay for a reliable handyman?

Master Plvmber | 12 years and 7 months ago

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$40-$50/hr seems “preposterously high” to you?
Do you place any value whatsoever on trade skills, or is it only what _**you**_ do that’s worth any money?
god help whoever you do hire

brooklynhome | 12 years and 7 months ago

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$40-$50 is not high. If you want to pay less, you need to do it yourself.

r-squared | 12 years and 7 months ago

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Masterplvmbe take a chill pill and relax.
I don’t want to get into a flame war here, but as I said, I’m hiring for some simple jobs, that require very modest, if any, trade skills.

anotherposter | 12 years and 7 months ago

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If it doesn’t require skill, you could probably go somewhere that day laborers hang out (like the UHaul place on 4th Ave in Brooklyn) and just hire a guy for the day and that would probably be cheaper.

greenmountain | 12 years and 7 months ago

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Actually, this work is governed by the NYC Dept of Consumer affairs.  Who you hire is required by law to work by contract, not by the hour.  They are obligated to collect taxes for maintenance work, and they are required to hold a workers comp insurance policy.  These NYC and NYS laws are not imposed on home owners, it is only ilegal to be a residential day laborer or hourly handyman.  You can hire anybody you like for what ever rate they will accept.  But, Masterplumber is correct.  There are abuses.

Master Plvmber | 12 years and 7 months ago

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Watch the video I linked to. It’s long, but very entertaining.

cupolacoffee | 12 years and 7 months ago

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Brownstoner should really make a template for posts like these: “I want someone reliable. The job is simple. It’s tedious, time-consuming and backbreaking. Simple as it is, I don’t have the skills, and would never do work like this anyway. Nor do I have the time,  focus or muscle. And did I forget to say, paying more than carfare is preposterous? My neighbors gave me references, but they must be fools considering the price they pay. I know this crowd understands my dilemma, so send me more references.”

Springs | 12 years and 7 months ago

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OP, how much do you charge by the hour for anything that you do?

MyGoodEye | 12 years and 7 months ago

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I completely agree that skilled trade should be compensated accordingly.  $40 – $50 an hour is reasonable for a skilled tradesman, but my sense is that the OP isn’t looking for skilled-trade so much as a generalist to help around the house with some minor tasks that they’d either rather not do or simply don’t know how to do. (OP, correct me if I’m wrong).  I see no harm in that and think that the “negativity” may be spawned from the phrasing of the question.   There are most certainly handymen of a more “generalist” nature that can get “tedious and time consuming” work done at a lower rate while it still being done well.     That said, I have a handyman that I love working with and has done both big and small jobs around my house at reasonable rates with good results generally below that which the OP posted.     He is a “generalist” and while I would not hire him to rewire my home, I have hired him to clear out and redo my cellar, patch some walls, repaint in places, regrout some tiles, do some pointing, so on and so forth.    His name is Samuel Fonseco;My name is David.  Should you decide to call, feel free to mention my name.