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Read this before you hire a handyman for home improvements, home remodeling, etc.
Remember the song by great James Taylor where he claims to be a handyman who repairs broken hearts? How often have you hummed the song and secretly desired for such a person? Well, if not exactly for fixing the broken heart, then maybe for that nonfunctioning tap, or for broken electrical switch plate cover?
Honestly, handymen are the persons whom we need to mend almost all the broken, nonfunctioning items in our everyday life. It’s no wonder that they have fast become an indispensable part of our daily chores. However, sometime we expect our handyman to do more than they are qualified for and thats when you can have additional problems that you never anticipated.
Who are the handymen, exactly? A simple answer would be that they are the Jacks of all trades, quite literally. They are out there to save you from the trouble of fixing the peeled off paint in the garden fence, changing the old light bulb high up there, or pruning the overgrown grass and limbs in your yard.
The list of works that a handyman does, or can do, is broad and it varies from tasks like hanging the curtain rods or adding a coat of paint to your fence. However a word of caution goes out to those of you who are hiring a handyman for more extensive projects such as; changing out an air conditioning unit, doing electrical work, plumbing, removing walls, building an addition, installing a new bathroom, installing new exterior doors and windows, etc.
What you need to know is that these more extensive projects typically require special expertise and typically in the form of a license that is regulated by the State and Local Contractor Licensing Regulations. These, lets call them contracting trades, require proof of competency and proof of a license that has been issued by your State Business Regulatory Agency or sometimes even your Local Building Department.
Handymen are; semi-skilled workmen who do not qualify as expert electricians, home builders or plumbers. But sometimes in their effort to lend their hands for almost all the household chores, some often cross the boundary line and get themselves, as well as their customers, into trouble. Your best defense is to always contact your local authority which is typically a building department and ask them directly if the handyman is allowed to do the work you desire.