What is the fair price for handyman services?

[Vikas]

Well the one guy who showed up came with an estimate which back of the hand calculation says is charging in excess of $350 per hour! All the honey-do list is less than eight hours even if I were to do it myself. I got a quote of $3610. And this was while being told that this is a minor job and it should not cost you much during the walk through.

The outside work involves replacing some wood/trim, replacing a piece of siding and some cleanup.

Frankly, I was expecting about $700-$1000 number and I was generous in assuming $100/hr in the Boston Metrowest area.

Am I way out of ballpark? Or am I supposed to bargain it down that much? Or the guy really does NOT want to do this job?

 

[Finz]

That's seems like an awful lot of cash

I've never used a Handyman Service but would expect a fair wage to be something quite a bit less than $100/hour

I wonder if he's using some kind of price schedule to develop his numbers?

Since he's been there, I would simply ask him how he derived the price and why it's so high compared to what you expected

 

[Ethan1]

We all have our specialties. I personally have no clue how much that should cost, so I would just get a couple more quotes.

 

[OtisBlkR1]

If your living in a nice home and they see that they will ABSOLUTELY take advantage.. also if they are small simple tasks that most men would handle on their own and your calling in help they may assume your clueless and ready to break out the checkbook. I know several handy men, most say at least $200 a day with no crew helping, if they must bring help and depending on the difficulty of the job the price goes up. for basic, simple tasks that do not require they bring in equipment like saws or work tables.. (like painting, or things of that nature) $25-$40 a hour four Good help in Central Indiana is very fair. I paid a carpenter $300 for 4 hours of work last year and I supplied all the materials.. however he was a very skilled tradesman and did excellent work.. all labor is negotiable.

I would highly, highly , highly suggest you hire help that is bonded and insured for your work and ask for proper references.. many, many times if you go with the cheaper guy your going to get a cheaper job.. that's 80% of the time.

 

[19jacobob93]

I do labouring work on the side for my dads little handy man side business, we normally work for $25-35 an hour or just give a price for big jobs

 

[Shannow]

I wouldn't pay anyone $1000 for something that I could do in 8 hours...unless I was getting $200 an hour during the same hours that the guy was doing the job for me.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Are we talking a handyman service or a general contractor? I thought handyman services were always really, really expensive.

 

[Pop_Rivit]

Originally Posted By: Vikas
All the honey-do list is less than eight hours even if I were to do it myself.


Then why hire someone when you can do it yourself? Most of what you mention sounds so simple that anyone can do it.

If you don't want to do the work yourself then you're at the mercy of those who charge you to do simple stuff. After all, just a month or so ago you were talking about buying a Mercedes, so apparently you can afford it.

 

[Vikas]

Used Mercedes! There is a distinction, although I am not sure if that actually reinforces your point!

Since this would be the first time I would be doing that kind of work, "the boss" does not think I could pull it off, so she is willing to write the check. She really does not know if that is a fair price or not.

I am glad that I did ask it here though. Later I will post few pictures and get an idea from collective you to see what should be generous but fair price for this type of work.

 

[Spector]

I have paid $55/hour and he will also quote by the job if you wish. So much depends on the job, skill level, trust and end product. If you have the tools, expertise and time then DIY is the way to go.

 

[4D-56]

$35/hr.

 

[eljefino]

I'd be one thing if he had to sub out to a licensed guy for wiring/ plumbing etc but it sounds like, no.

Way too much $$$.

My BIL drove 2 hrs each way down from Maine to the Mass north shore for a year to work for a contractor. The money was that good/ demand that high. Shop around.

 

[gman2304]

I had my handyman rebuild my walkin basement door that had rotted around the bottom of the brick mould and frame itself. I was ready to buy a new door and frame but he said he could rebuild the old one cheaper and better by using treated wood on the bottom of the door, which he did. He is a cabinet maker by trade and an exceptional carpenter. I also had him put up new crown moulding and baseboard moulding and new solid bi-fold closet doors in a bedroom that we're redoing. He charges $35 an hour and lets me buy my own materials.

 

[philipp10]

the key to dealing with this is multiple quotes. He gave you the "I don't really want the job" price. Get 4 quotes and out of those you'll have 1 and maybe 2 people that are honest, resonable and want the job.

I had a job where I needed a sliding door taken out, a new door brought in along with two double hungs installed, all located on one wall. I supplied the materials, got 3 bids, one at $5600, one at $2800 and a third at $2600. The guy at $5600 was obnoxious and pretensious, then other two seemed ok. I took the guy at $2800 and ended up at $3100 with some other minor things thrown in. He did great work.

 

[Yah-Tah-Hey]

Originally Posted By: gman2304
I had my handyman rebuild my walkin basement door that had rotted around the bottom of the brick mould and frame itself. I was ready to buy a new door and frame but he said he could rebuild the old one cheaper and better by using treated wood on the bottom of the door, which he did. He is a cabinet maker by trade and an exceptional carpenter. I also had him put up new crown moulding and baseboard moulding and new solid bi-fold closet doors in a bedroom that we're redoing. He charges $35 an hour and lets me buy my own materials.
Hold him and squeeze him and never let him go. Send him a prepaid card at Christmas and remember his birthday.

 

[Wolf359]

Keep looking. I have a pretty good handyman that I pay $25/hr. I've got another guy who is ok for basic stuff that I pay $15. For a licensed guy with insurance, found a guy on Craigslist that was $35/hr. $25/hr is no license. I think guys that stand around the Home Depot lot in the morning are $10 hour, but they're basically unskilled and I've never used them.

 

[sleddriver]

Need more information + photos. Labor + material rates vary widely, depending on the region. NE = $$$$

 

[BRZED]

What's the local going rate and what is having the work done worth to you? If comparing bids, I definitely wouldn't go for the guy low-balling everyone else.

 

[Benito]

Originally Posted By: Vikas
Used Mercedes! There is a distinction, although I am not sure if that actually reinforces your point!

Since this would be the first time I would be doing that kind of work, "the boss" does not think I could pull it off, so she is willing to write the check. She really does not know if that is a fair price or not.

I am glad that I did ask it here though. Later I will post few pictures and get an idea from collective you to see what should be generous but fair price for this type of work.


Sounds like you need to negotiate with the boss, not the handyman!

Seriously, ask her if you can do the one job that is the simplest and quickest. Tell her when you start and call her when you finish to inspect the result. And then together calculate what the $ per hour rate was.

 

[HTSS_TR]

Originally Posted By: OtisBlkR1
If your living in a nice home and they see that they will ABSOLUTELY take advantage.. also if they are small simple tasks that most men would handle on their own and your calling in help they may assume your clueless and ready to break out the checkbook.

Few years ago a construction guy gave me an estimate to cut down five 8"x10"x96" beams on top of the atrium on front of the house. Do you know how much he wanted to do it ? $12,000 USD, not 12,000 Peso. Just to cut down the beams, not to replace it with new beams.

Last year I had a termite company do the work (cutting those beams and replaced with new beams) along with repairing other termite damage area which was fairly extensive, the total cost was $14,000.