What to expect when a handyman comes to your home
Updated · KeystoneProGuide editorial team
What happens before the visit?
Paperwork, on any job of real size. For a home improvement over $500, Pennsylvania requires a written contract signed by you and the contractor, with a description of the work, approximate start and completion dates, the total price and notice of your right to cancel. If the job is billed by the hour, the contractor must give you a written initial estimate before starting, and the contract must say that the total cannot rise more than 10% above it without a signed change order.
Check two things before the day. First, the registration number on the estimate, which a business doing $5,000 or more of home improvement work a year must carry. Second, if a permit is needed: in Philadelphia, the city says the contractor should have the required permits and post them on your property before work begins.
How should you prepare the space?
Clear the work area and a path to it, and keep children and pets away. The CPSC advises keeping children and pets at a safe distance from power tools and ladders. If the work will disturb paint in a home built before 1978, expect more: the EPA's lead-safe setup removes furniture, rugs, curtains and food from the work area, covers the floor with plastic sheeting, seals doors and turns off forced-air heating and cooling with the vents covered.
What does the start of the job look like?
A walk-through. Go over the list against the contract together, so each job is seen before it starts and anything that would change the price is raised then. In an older home, that includes whether any of the work will disturb more than the EPA's small-job limit, six square feet of paint per room indoors or 20 square feet outside, which would bring the job under the lead rule and require a certified firm. Window replacement is covered at any size.
What if they find something unexpected?
They should stop and tell you. Three surprises come up in older houses:
- Mold. The EPA says mold can hide on the back of drywall and inside walls around leaking pipes. A patch of less than about 10 square feet can usually be cleaned by a homeowner; beyond that, or after sewage, the EPA points to professionals experienced with mold or contaminated water. Patching over it does not work: the EPA says moldy surfaces should not be painted or caulked.
- Possible asbestos. The EPA's advice is to treat a suspect material as asbestos and leave it alone; sanding, sawing, drilling or scraping it can release fibers. Removal needs trained and accredited professionals.
- Wiring or piping that needs changing. Adding or relocating wiring or piping is not an ordinary repair under the state regulation, so it may need a permit and, depending on the town, a licensed trade.
Any change to the agreed work should be written down. On an hourly contract, anything beyond the estimate plus 10% needs a change order signed by both of you.
How long does a job take?
It depends on the list. ENERGY STAR, for one example, puts sealing behind window and door trim at about a day when a contractor does it, against one to two days for a homeowner. Lead-safe setup and cleanup add time to any paint-disturbing job in an older home. Ask for a time estimate for each item when you get the quote, and expect the start and finish dates to match the contract.
What should cleanup include?
Debris removed, surfaces wiped, and in lead work, more. The EPA's do-it-yourself guidance gives a sense of what thorough lead cleanup involves: it says to bag waste in heavy plastic, vacuum with a HEPA vacuum, mop floors and wipe surfaces with wet cloths until the cloths come away clean. You can also hire a certified dust sampling technician, inspector or risk assessor to test for lead dust afterwards.
If something was anchored or mounted, check that it was done to the manufacturer's instructions; the CPSC points to those instructions for securing TVs and furniture.
How should you sign off and pay?
Walk through every item before the final payment. The Federal Trade Commission advises never paying the full amount up front and never making the final payment until the work is done and you are satisfied. The Attorney General adds: do not sign a completion certificate until all the work in the contract is finished.
If the job needed a permit, the state regulation says a code official must inspect the work, and the permit holder must say when it is ready. Ask whether that has happened before you treat the job as closed.
What if something goes wrong later?
Contact the handyman in writing first. If that fails, the Attorney General's Bureau of Consumer Protection takes complaints, and Bucks and Delaware counties have offices that mediate home repair disputes. The questions that prevent most problems are in what to ask before you hire, and local businesses are on the handyman services page.
Sources
- Consumers Should Spring into Safety with the "New Normal", U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
- Lead-Safe Renovations for DIYers, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- A Brief Guide to Mold, Moisture and Your Home, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- 34 Pa. Code § 403.62. Permit requirements and exemptions., Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (Pennsylvania Code)
- Sealing Behind Window & Door Trim Project, ENERGY STAR (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency)
- AnchorIt.gov, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
- Pottstown-Based Home Improvement Contractor Jailed at Least 3 Years for Taking More than $156K for Jobs he did not Complete, Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General
- 34 Pa. Code § 403.64. Inspections., Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (Pennsylvania Code)
- Consumer Protection/ Weights & Measures, Bucks County
- Consumer Affairs/Weights & Measures, Delaware County
- Frequently Asked Questions: Home Improvement Contractor Registration, Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General
- Find a licensed contractor and contractor information, City of Philadelphia
- Renovation, Repair and Painting Program: Contractors, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- Protect Your Family from Exposures to Asbestos, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- How To Avoid a Home Improvement Scam, Federal Trade Commission