Homeowner Agency

You own your home - a huge investment that is built to last a long time. But, homes need maintenance as things wear or break, the house settles, or to adapt to your changing needs. Sometimes you call a skilled professional, sometimes you call a handyman and sometimes you can do the work yourself. One of my goals handyguy goals is to help homeowners to help themselves by doing more of the work themselves. Of course, some of my clients are able to do the work themselves but have no time for it, they already have the agency I wish to spread to more of my clients who lack it.

Most of what I do requires tools. I can’t do those things without them, regardless of my experience or imagination. Without tools you can’t do them either. And, lacking the tools for any job makes it seem daunting and can sometimes be dangerous! My Home Toolkit page lists many common tools you might need over time. If you have no toolkit, this is a good starting point. If you do have a toolkit, compare it’s contents to what is on that page to see if there are some useful tools you are missing. Tools are an investment because they generally last a long time and can be used many times. Each tool you buy increases your Homeowner Agency to some degree because it adds to your repertoire of repairs and improvements you can make. So, the first step in increasing your own Homeowner Agency is to acquire some tools. If your tools are broken or damaged, get better ones.

You can learn a lot from videos on youtube.com. Want to know how to caulk like a pro? Fix a broken sash cord for a counterbalanced window? There are plenty of videos. But, not everyone likes to learn that way or learns effectively that way. Sometimes it isn’t as easy as the video makes it seem. One of my handyguy goals is to show you how to do whatever I am doing. I’ll be happy to teach you how to do it. For example, if you planned to replace six light fixtures, I might do the first while you watch, and you might do the second while I watch, and then you’d do the rest without my help. Not only does it cost you less, you can then replace any of your light fixtures from then on because you’ll know how to do it. From that point forward in time light fixtures are something you can change whenever you want. Your Homeowner Agency would have increased and yet another system in your house would be something you can control without paying anyone.

Increasing your Homeowner Agency might feel difficult at first because each new system you encounter has its mysteries. One of my handyguy goals is to de-mystify household systems for my clients. I’ll tell you a secret: most household systems are quite simple and are not actually mysterious at all once you understand them. But, you’ll start to see that the same techniques get used over and over in different systems, and suddenly what you know about light switches helps a lot with electrical outlets. What you learn about hanging curtains helps when you need to hang a heavy picture. Some of what you learn about fences applies to gates too. Homeowner Agency doesn’t mean you won’t call professionals anymore, or even a handyman, but you might call them less often, and you might be interested to watch what they do to see if it is something you’d like to learn.

I teach power tool certification classes at Ace Monster Toys - you can see details on my Classes page. The major woodworking tools like the table saw and the drill press give people agency in the workshop. I can and do use them to build whatever I wish, including wood of any dimensions that might be needed for one of my own or my client’s projects. Teaching people how to use these tools is fun and easy. These tools were meant to be used. Similarly, many of the systems in your home were meant for you to be able to work on them. They were designed to be easily maintained or replaced. I have both the skill to do the work, and the skill to teach you how to do the work. I’m happy to do either or both and I invite my clients to participate to reduce costs and to learn how this repair or improvement is made. And, all projects involve choices and when my client is involved those choices are easier for them to make.

Your Homeowner Agency will increase over time. If I can help, I certainly will. My time is yours to spend. What matters most to me is that you feel the time was a good value for your money.

Why I don’t Make Bids

(From the “Handyguy Way” page).
One of the biggest differences between my service and most other handyman services is that I don’t make bids. I work hourly. I work diligently and I remain focused. I take the time to do a good job but I don’t add time to a job to increase costs. In short, the time it takes to do a job is dictated largely by the job itself, and it includes potentially unknown aspects. Any time I work on something there is a risk that an obvious symptom of a problem actually hides a more serious problem we don’t know about. If I made a bid I’d have to inflate that bid enough to cover the risk that the job might be harder than I think. That is what most contractors and many handymen do. The bigger bids make more money but the worker accepts more of the risk in the project.

Sharing the risk differently has an important effect on our business relationship. If I take all the risk, I’d have to inflate my “bid” to cover the potential cost, or else I’d be losing money every time a project had an unexpected problem. Whereas, if my client accepts the risk, there is no need to inflate any costs, and if the project goes as well as we all hope, it costs a lot less than it would have if a bid had been made. If a project becomes more complicated and takes more time, it is obvious why when we see it together. My client can see how the additional time is being spent. If a project runs into unexpected problems, those problems were there waiting for us to uncover. I happen to believe that most of that risk is owned by the owner of the property, and when we share risk this way the cost of the projects is kept to a minimum and is never inflated. My work is lower cost because it isn’t inflated. I bear some risk too - if I cause a problem myself. I do my best to avoid causing problems but I also take some responsibility if I do cause an accident. I do my best to fix any problem I create. If there is cost associated with the problem, I may return some or all of the payment for the job. There is always some risk in any project, but it is good to separate my personal responsibility for my own actions from intrinsic risks in the project, such as unexpected dry rot, unseen obstacles, etc., that were not of my making. I own the former and my client owns the latter. We share the risk because the most I can lose is the entire fee I would have been paid.

I do make estimates, and they’re generally pretty good. But they aren’t a bid because they aren’t a concrete promise that it can be done in that time. They are estimates based on what I know up to that point. It might take more time, or less. How often does it happen that I’m wrong? For small projects like replacing a door or a light fixture it is pretty rare. I know how long it takes to do these things in general because of how many times I’ve done them (countless). If I’m wrong it is more often the case that it takes less time, not more. Larger projects are harder to estimate and I am usually within about +/- 10-15%.

Obviously I have to win your trust before you’re going to feel comfortable with a bid-free project. Most of my clients start with a small project to see how it works.

I work transparently. I will answer any questions you have before, during and after the project. You can work with me to reduce the time needed and therefore the cost, and you can see what I’m doing at any point. You can watch me work if you wish. Whether you do or not, I’ll be sure to bring any important choices to your attention. Choices come up in the same way that problems do. Sometimes there are choices we didn’t expect. But, choice is power and it is my goal to make you powerful during the project. This is when your choices can take effect and lead to a better result, according to your definition of better. I make sure to bring such choices to you without bothering you with details that don’t really involve meaningful choices. Working transparently is consistent with “Trust but verify”. I make it easy to verify your trust in me at any point in the project.

One problem with bids is that it creates an incentive for the worker to do things in ways that have problems later, simply to reduce the cost of the project. Bids create a race to the bottom to reduce costs in any way possible to make the most profit on the project. Bid-free work neatly avoids this pitfall by involving the client in decisions that have long-term effects and by avoiding any incentive for the worker to use one solution or another against the wishes of the owner. I am happy to use the kind of materials you want to be used if they will work. I am happy to install things so that they can be more easily removed later if you wish, for example with screws instead of nails. I have no incentive to use low-quality materials or to skimp on using enough materials. I take your side and unless you tell me otherwise, I assume you’d like all the work I do to last for years and solve problems, not create them.

I make no bid because I work for you, not for me. I am determined to earn and keep your trust.

What can I do for you?