You need to fix a pipe leak, have the living room painted or replace an old shower with a new one but you don’t have a lot of spare time on your hands or you simply lack the tools and the skills for that task. But you are not worried because you can always call a pro, right? The question is who should you trust with such home repair and maintenance jobs – a contractor or a handyman? There is a difference and it is more significant than you probably think it is. To make the best choice possible, you need to take into account:
- The project you have at hand
- Your set budget
- The size and scale of the project
- The complexity of the job
You also need to understand the difference between a contractor and a handyman.
What is a contractor?
A contractor is a licensed, insured and equipped professional who specialises only in one specific line of work. There are plumbing contractors, construction work contractors, electrical contractors… you get the deal. To gain a permit to work in this field, they need to pass an exam and to a certain amount of experience.
What is a handyman?
A handyman is a pro that can help you with a long list of home repair and maintenance tasks – from electrical repairs, carpentry jobs and toilet fitting to house painting, furniture assembly and more. Some businesses and experts who work in this sphere also have an extensive list of additional services. Such is the case with True Handymen which offers not only various handyman solutions and odd jobs assistance but also home removals and helpful end of tenancy cleaning in London.
Who should you hire?
As it was already mentioned, to answer this question, you need to carefully consider four main factors – the type, size and complexity of the project, as well as the amount of money you can afford to spend.
The size of the project
If you need to have your door fixed or replaced, you should not hesitate to hire a qualified handyman to help you out. Such small tasks can be easily tackled by such an expert. The same goes when it comes to simple home maintenance tasks such as baby and draught-proofing your house. A contractor is a more suitable choice for large-scale jobs. That is, for instance, when you need to have your entire electrical system replaced or to build a second garage.
The complexity of the project
The more difficult the job is, the better it is to rely on contractors. But don’t even bother calling them if you need a hand hanging a mirror in your bathroom, assembling a piece of flat-pack furniture or some other small-scale tasks. Reserve those for your local handyman.
The type of job or jobs
Imagine that you want to do some minor renovation work in your new home that will involve repainting the walls in some of your rooms, fixing a few broken tiles in the bathroom, installing a few additional bookshelves here and there. If you choose to go with a contractor, you will need to hire one for each of these separate tasks. However, one or two general handymen would be more than enough to tackle all these chores because they are multi-skilled and equipped for a wide range of projects.
Your budget
If you are looking for a low-cost solution, hire a handyman. Contractors, even general ones, always have higher rates mainly because they are experts in a specific niche and they are used to offering assistance mainly for the completion of big-scale jobs. In contrast, handymen have considerably lower prices which will stay low even if you decide to hire them for a more complex job.
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