What is a Handyman/Person

I am a handyman.
I was born to Puerto Rican immigrants in 1957 on the Island of Manhattan, New York City.

I've lived in Brooklyn but grew up in Queens. I've been working with my hands for as long as I can remember - from salvage yards removing parts from cars as a young man until my later years when I worked as a carpenter's apprentice - plumbers apprentice - electricians apprentice - floor covering [carpet-vinyl tiles and linoleum] appliance home delivery and installations etc...

Now I work for myself; I am the owner and operator of Big City House Calls a Handyman service provider in Houston,Texas, and I enjoy every minute of it.

I started this company, of course, to make money but more importantly because I enjoy serving people and using all the skills I've acquired throughout my life.

It seems like I have always been helping someone fix something or replace something that they didn't know how to do or they just couldn't afford to pay a professional to it.

So now I'm a Handyman serving the Houston Greater Heights area. I'm not saying I know everything or that I can do everything, but if I can't I'll
be the first one to tell you.


Handyman
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Gustave Caillebotte, Les raboteurs de parquet (The Floor Scrapers), (1875), Musée d'Orsay, ParisThis article is about persons skilled in home repairs. For the popular song "Handy man", see Handy Man. For the tugboat, see ST Handyman.
A handyman, increasingly known as a handyperson or handywoman, is a person skilled at a wide range of repairs, typically around the home. These tasks include trade skills, repair work, maintenance work, both interior and exterior, and are sometimes described as "odd jobs", "fix-up tasks", and include light plumbing jobs such as fixing a leaky toilet or light electric jobs such as changing a light fixture.

Contents [hide]
1 Handyman projects
2 Handyman businesses
2.1 Market estimates
2.2 Independent operators
2.3 Franchise businesses
2.4 Assessment of Handyman Options
3 Legal issues
4 Handymen in popular culture
5 List of handyman jobs
6 See also
7 References


Handyman projects
The term handyman increasingly describes a paid worker, but it also includes non-paid homeowners or do-it-yourselfers. Tasks range from minor to major, from unskilled to highly skilled, and include painting, drywall repair, remodeling, minor plumbing work, minor electrical work, and furniture assembly (see more complete list below.) The term handyman is occasionally applied as an adjective to describe politicians or business leaders who make substantial organizational changes, such as overhauling a business structure or administrative division.[1][2] In the past, handypersons have usually been men, and home repair tasks have been seen as a male-oriented activity, but handywomen are becoming more prevalent as well as women using the term handypersons to describe themselves.


A handyman built this mailbox from particle board, with hinges, and exterior paint; the rounded edges were made with a sanderMany people can do common household repairs. There are resources on the Internet, as well as do-it-yourself guide books,[3] with instructions about how to complete a wide range of projects. Sometimes the fix-it skill is seen as genetic, and people lacking such skills are said to "lack the handy-man gene."[4] One trend is that fewer homeowners are inclined to do fix-up jobs, perhaps because of time constraints, perhaps because of lack of interest; one reporter commented "my family's fix-it gene petered out before it reached my generation."[5] A primary rule for all do-it-yourself repair work is focus entirely on one thing at a time.[6] For example, focus on getting a nail; then focus on hammering the nail; but don't try to do both tasks simultaneously. In this manner, injuries and mistakes are avoided.Assessment of Handyman Options
How well do the franchise chains perform? One Wall Street Journal reporting team did an informal assessment by hiring "handymen all over the country and asked them to fix a wide range of problems, from a relatively routine leaky faucet to a sticky door."[9] The reporter concluded that "with few licensing requirements and standards for the industry, prices are all over the board."[9] One quote was ten times as large as another.[9] Further, the reporter concluded "A big corporate name is no guarantee of quality or speedy service."[9] One corporate firm took three weeks to fix a stuck door.[9] Service varied from spotty to good, with complaints about unreturned phone calls, service people standing on dining room chairs, leaving holes between wood planking, but liked getting multiple jobs done instead of just one.[9] Customers liked handymen wearing hospital booties (to avoid tracking dirt in houses).[9] The reporter chronicled one experience with repairing a water-damaged ceiling. A franchise firm fixed it for $1,530; a second (non-franchise local handyman) fixed a similar ceiling for $125.[9] The reporter prefered the second worker, despite the fact that he "doesn't have a fancy van -- or carry proof of insurance."[9] Tips for selecting a good handyman include: ask questions, get written estimates on company stationery, make sure handymen guarantee their work, pay with credit cards or checks because this provides an additional record of each transaction, check references and licenses, and review feedback about the contractors from Internet sites.[1

List of handyman jobs
The list of projects which handymen can do is extensive, and varies from easy-to-learn tasks which take little time such as changing a light bulb, to extensive projects which require multiple steps, such as kitchen remodeling. Here is a partial list:

Air conditioner installation
Barbecue pit maintenance
Cabinet refacing
Carpentry
Ceiling repair
Cleaning
Concrete work
Curtain hanging
Decks repair
Doggy doors   
Door installation
Door repair
Drain cleaning
Dryer repair
Dryer vent cleaning
Dryer vent installation
Drywall repair
Fan installation
Fence fixing
Fireplace cleaning
Flooring Installation and Repair
Framing
General Maintenance
Gutter Cleaning
Gutter Repair
Lamp repairs
Lawncare
Lockset adjustment
Molding installation
Moving
Painting
Patio stone installation
Plumbing repairs
Sealing driveways
Shelf installation
Shelving
Staining furniture
Storage area repair
Swapping a toilet
Tiling
Waste and junk removal
Window cleaning
Window installation
Window repair



Handymen in popular culture
The handyman image recurs in popular culture. There have been songs about handymen recorded by Elvis Presley in 1964, Del Shannon in 1964, James Taylor in 1977.[17] There are femme-fatale TV characters who fall for handymen.[18] Handymen have been portrayed in books and films, generally positively, as do-gooder helpful types, but not particularly smart or ambitious. In a book by author Carolyn See called The Handyman, a handyman is really an aspiring but discouraged artist who transforms the lives of people he works for, as well as sleeping with some of his clients, and his experiences improve his artistic output.[7] The book suggests handymen discover "the appalling loneliness of the women who call him for help" whose needs are sometimes "comic," sometimes "heartbreaking," and deep down "sexual."[19] A 1980 movie called The Handyman was about a carpenter-plumber who was "good at what he does" but is "too honest and trusting", and gets taken advantage of by "women who find him handsome and understanding;" the movie earned negative reviews from critic Vincent Canby.[20] Other movies have used a rather tired formula of sexy-handyman meets bored-housewives, such as The Ups and Downs of a Handyman, a 1975 movie in which "Handsome Bob also finds he's a fast favorite with the local housewives, who seem to have more than small repairs on their minds."[21] In Canada, there's a television show called Canada's Worst Handyman which is a reality-show in which contestants work hard not to become labeled as the worst handyman. Home Improvement was an American television sitcom starring Tim Allen, which aired 1991 to 1999.



Now we/you know