When you are looking to hire a handyman in Seattle, there are multiple things to consider.
What type of job are you looking for, how clear and easy is the experience of working with the handyman, and what type of experience does the handyman have?
Your answers to those questions, will affect what type of handyman or contractor you look to hire.
HOW MUCH DOES A HANDYMAN CHARGE PER HOUR IN SEATTLE?
When hiring a handyman in the greater Seattle metro area, you can expect to pay between $100-$200 per hour, depending on the handyman’s skillset and experience.
Many handyman businesses, like North Seattle Handyman, offer both hourly and bid work. Many client’s like to have quotes that are bid as it allows the client to know about how much the final bill will be prior to starting work.
Handyman businesses range in skillset, experience and how they run their business, which will affect their hourly or bid rate.
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BID WORK AND HOURLY WORK?
When a handyman or contractor gives you a quote with a specific price, this is considered bid work. They have provided you a bid for what it will cost, and, other than the cost of materials, you should expect to pay the bid price at the end of the job.
For hourly work, they will give you a couple-hour range, and you will pay for the hours worked. Sometimes you pay less than expected, sometimes, you pay more.
When you get a bid from a handyman or contractor, they are not charging your by the time the job takes as they do for an hourly job. So you should expect to pay the bid price you agreed upon, even if the job takes less or more time than anticipated.
WHAT IF YOU WANT TO ADD MORE WORK DURING THE HANDYMAN JOB?
It’s common to have a client ask for additional work to be done once we are at their home. Often time,s this additional request needs a separate bid or a change order, as it will change the scope of the job.
If the handyman gives you a bid, they will create a change order to adjust to the new work you are asking them to do.
If the handyman is working hourly, often it depends on their schedule if they have the time to add work onto that days plan or if they will need to schedule a return visit.
WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A HANDYMAN AND A CONTRACTOR?
The difference between a handyman and a contractor depends on the handyman. Often it depends on their license and what the state allows them to do. Many low-priced handymen (under $100 an hour) are not licensed, insured, or bonded, so you are saving in initial costs but elevating the risk to your home and the quality of the work.
At North Seattle Handyman, we are licensed general contractors with years of experience in the industry, insured and bonded. We market ourselves as handymen and can legally do remodeling and contractor work throughout Washington. We found there was a huge discrepancy in quality contractors available that would do the small jobs as well as the bigger jobs. This is why we named and marketed ourselves as a handyman business. The advantage to the customer is the ability to see the quality of our work and experience with a small job before hiring us for a larger remodel. It’s the perfect win win for the clients.
DO HANDYMAN BUSINESSES OFFER WARRANTIES ON THEIR WORK?
It depends on the business you work with. This should be something you ask when hiring. We at North Seattle Handyman offer a standard warranty common to general construction on all our work and materials we provide, as we stand behind our work, and our goal is to have a happy client alongside a quality repair. You can reference our 80 plus five-star reviews between Yelp and Google Reviews to see what past clients have seen.
We offer warranties on our materials as long as we’ve purchased them for you. We have no problem with you providing your materials and saving from our standard 25% markup on material purchases. But if you do that, we do not offer a warranty on those materials since we didn’t purchase them. Many other companies do not have a standard markup. Some contractors exceed 60% markup on larger jobs and hide it in their invoice without clarity.
WHY SHOULD WE HIRE NORTH SEATTLE HANDYMAN?
If you are looking for high-quality workmanship, a transparent and well-communicated experience, and transparency in costs, North Seattle Handyman is a great option. If you are looking for a handyman or a remodeling contractor and you live from Ballard, east to Kirkland, and North to Marysville.
We have a minimum site visit of $250 and offer hourly and bid options. Our goal is to fit the style to match your needs. The majority of our jobs are bid unless you have a punchlist of smaller items, or you request an hourly rate. When we do hourly work, our rate is $125 an hour. Contact us to get a quote from us at North Seattle Handyman. Or reach out if you have a project and you’re looking for honest and expert advice.
