Questions and Answers About Our Handyman Services

What areas do you service? We provide a full range of handyman services to all suburbs in Sydney’s eastern suburbs including Bondi, Coogee, Randwick, Tamarama, Waverly, Bondi Junction, Paddington, Centennial Park, Clovelly, Elizabeth Bay, Bellevue Hill, Rose Bay and all surrounding suburbs.

Can you install pictures on all types of walls? Yes! We have installed literally hundred of painting, pictures, prints and canvasses on all types of wall surfaces. The most common would be rendered brick walls. Most older homes and units in the eastern suburbs are of brick construction. The brick walls are generally cement rendered or plastered. To hand a print we assess its weight first and the type of fitting (like chains or eyelets) that is on the picture to hang it from. We then decide on the best type of hook to use on the wall to suspend the print from. We carry a wide range of picture hooks and some are rated over 20 kg. For brick walls we use a masonry drill bit and hammer drill to drill the hole and then use an appropriate plug into which we can safely fasten the picture hook or hooks. For gyprock walls we have a variety of methods to hang pictures.These include dry wall anchors and a range of gyprock quick fit picture hooks.

Can you install shelving systems? We have installed many different types of shelving systems and single shelves and associated brackets. Shelving systems can not only be highly functional, in terms of adding extra storage, but can be aesthetically pleasing to look at. These days many of our customers ask us to install floating shelf systems that have no visible brackets, giving a very neat and clean appearance. We can build custom made shelves for you using solid timber, melamine or whatever material you have in mind.

Can you do Carpentry work? Yes. If you need a deck built or timber doors fitted or custom timer screens made we can assist you. Our carpentry skills can be put to good use in maintenance also in areas like timber decking replacement or repairing rotted timber work around windows etc.

When painting what paint do you use? We get many requests for painting from home and apartment owners and tenants. We generally recommend using ‘brand name’ paints such as Dulux, Taubmans or Wattyl. These paints are ‘premium’ quality and the price difference between brand name paints and ‘no name’ paints is typically less than $30 for a 4 litre tin of paint. The difference in finish, mould resistance and long term wear are worth paying the extra, in our opinion. Of course clients can supply us with whatever paint they would like to use.

The Hinges Are Broken On Our Kitchen Cupboards – Can You Assist?

We certainly can. It is surprising the number of requests we get to repair broken hinges, not only on kitchen cabinet doors, but also on built in wardrobes and vanity units. Hinges we replace include soft close hinges, 100 degree, 110 degree, nickel and stainless steel hinges. Broken two door corner cabinet kitchen hinges commonly break as the leverage and stress placed on them is greater than single door kitchen doors. We can source a wide range of hinges from a number of manufacturers so (generally) do not need to modify the cabinetry.

I want to change our door handles – can you help?

We have worked with many different styles of door handles and door knobs. Many people looking to spruce up their home prior to selling change their door handles to give a more modern look to their door hardware. A nice looking door handle set can be very inexpensive, often costing less than $30 but can make a huge difference to the appearance of internal doors. We can install most passage and privacy door handle sets. In some instances the holes cut to accept the door latches may need to be enlarged or striker plates may need to be changed.

Can you assist with a few small property maintenance jobs?

Most definitely. Most of the jobs we do typically are 2 to 3 hour jobs, so we welcome any small jobs to do around your ho,e. be it hanging a few pictures on the wall to fixing those loose hinges on the bathroom vanity to repainting that timber handrail.

We are installing a new kitchen. Can you remove the old kitchen?

We can assist in removal of old kitchens provided the electric connections and plumbing have been terminated in a safe manner. Old kitchens vary enormously and we have seen some old kitchens that date back to the 1930’s! We have written a post on kitchen removal which can be accessed here.

We need a handyman for regular property maintenance of our rental home. Can you assist?

We certainly can. We have plenty of experience in property maintenance and we can perform most jobs needed to keep your property in tip top shape. From repainting, to trimming the bushes, to changing light bulbs, replacing door handles or fixing those sticking windows we can help you.

Can you replace rusty hinges?

Yes. In a lot of older properties in the eastern suburbs we see many times where the hinges on bathroom doors, for example, have older style mild steel hinges which can be well over 50 years old. It is very common to find that these hinges have rusted over time or oxidised due to the damp air they are exposed to. We generally replace these types of hinges with modern stainless steel hinges which will never rust and maintain their appearance.

Do your services include changing our light bulbs?

Yes, provided no wiring is involved (that would require a licensed electrician). we can change light bulbs and clean out light fittings. We have experience with L.E.D. lighting, and other high efficient bulbs. These modern light bulbs can save up to 90 percent of the energy used by the ‘old style’ incandescent light bulbs so the ‘payback’ period (the time taken to recoup the higher cost of the L.E.D. bulbs) can be only 6 to 12 months and they typically last 5+ years.

Our Deck Has Faded – Can You Apply A New Finish?

After years of facing harsh Sydney summers and coastal conditions many decks require regular applications of decking oil to bring them back to their former glory. Prior to doing this we can often replace any timber that has weathered or rotted. Decking oil is a cost effective way to refurbish and protect your homes decking.

How Do You Price A Handyman Job?

Good question. We think it is always good business practice to offer transparent easy to understand pricing for any work that we do. For any work that we are asked to quote on we will generally take into account the following factors:

• Cost of materials used. We will assess what materials are required and try and accurately cost those materials and build them into the quoted price for the job. For a painting job, for example, it is fairly easy to estimate the
  amount of paint that will be required. We will ask the client if they have a preference for the brand of paint as this will effect the price. In the case of paint we have a good idea based on experience that the cost of various brands is, allowing for a prompt quotation. In the instance where specific hardware is required, such as brackets, locks or door handles or brand specific kitchen door hinges for example, we will research the price and often call the suppliers to get an accurate as possible price for those items to build into the quotation. The alternative way is to simply quote based on the estimated time for the work and let the clients source the appropriate hardware to complete the work.
• Labour Cost. From having done hundreds of handyman jobs and projects over the years we can, in most instances, give a good estimate as to the time any specific job is likely to take to complete. Examples of this would be the average time to paint a laundry ceiling, the time taken to hang 5 pictures onto a rendered brick lounge room wall, the time taken install a towel rail onto a tiled bathroom wall or a shaving cabinet installation. We can then have a basis to work out the labour cost of the work based on our hourly rate. Occasionally clients may want us to source, for example, custom timber for a new set of shelves or to go to the distributor and purchase those ‘brand specific’ kitchen cupboard hinges, in which case we need to factor the time required into going to buy those parts.
• Travel Time. For short ‘hops’ travel is not a major factor however, if several trips are required to and from a clients property to perform the work, this can really add up and needs to be factored into providing a fair and accurate quotation.

The bottom line is we always aim to offer fair and clear quotations and strive to operate ethically and keep our valued customers happy at all times and are happy to discuss any issues around pricing for the handyman work we perform.

Can You Help In Our Home Renovation?

There are many homeowners looking to renovate their bathrooms and kitchens. We can assist in many ways with your renovation project. Recent projects have included kitchen strip outs. More often than not when you look to have a new kitchen installed you are faced with the issue of removing the old, existing kitchen units. Kitchen installation
companies generally do not offer to remove the old kitchen. This is where we can assist by dismantling and removing the old kitchen cupboards and bench tops. This process may require having a licenced plumber and electrician secure existing hot and cold water lines and isolate electrical power from the kitchen. Once this has been done we can generally remove wall units, range hoods, kitchen bench tops, kitchen floor cupboard units and kick boards. In some instances people may want to reuse the existing kitchen tap ware and stainless steel sink so we take care to carefully remove these items to avoid possible damage.

In the case of bathroom renovation we can work with you to get the project done in an efficient and cost effective way. We have experience in removing old wall and floor tiles, removing old vanity units (once the water has been isolated) and taking down shaving cabinets, towel rails and other bathroom hardware that will be replaced in the forthcoming renovation. We can recommend skilled plumbers and tilers and give you ideas on how to keep costs down on any bathroom renovation. It can be far more cost effective to organise your own tiler, plumber, electrician and possibly carpenter when creating your new bathroom compared to using a ‘bathroom renovation’ company that often will subcontract out the work and then add a margin on the trades they call in.

Assembly Of Garden Sheds and Flat Packs

It is surprising how many people buy a ‘kit set’ garden shed and then realise that putting it together can be a daunting task. The same can be said of ‘flat pack’ furniture. What looks like a simple piece of furniture, an office desk, a bed or a wardrobe, can actually consist of hundreds of individual parts if you take into account every nut, bolt, washer and component. We can do all the assembly work for you. We will often take a look at the plans and parts list on the internet for your shed or piece of furniture that needs assembly and attempt to estimate the likely amount of time required. We can then quote a price for the work, otherwise we can agree on an hourly rate to put the item together for you.