How much are you paying for Handymen these days? I'm looking for one. I found someone good who wants what I consider too much money per hour.

I will pay well for trades that require skills I don't have, but it seems silly to pay handyman rates that are as much as some other trades bill per hour. Maybe I just have a reasonable electrician.

I think it depends on the handyman and his quality of work. I've hired guys to do odd jobs at $20 or more per hour and it would seem sometimes they would just drag their feet to get in more hours. Now I only pay by the job not the hour. I have 2 or 3 guys I give work to on a semi-regular basis and I have them give me a finished project price on what the job will cost me, before I have them start. If I don't like their price I get someone else or I do the job myself.

If they give me a total project price and then go over a little bit because something came up I'm okay with that. But the minute I think you are gouging me... you'll never get called back again.

Totally unskilled labor (clean up, trash out, brush hauling) I pay hourly. All other jobs such as flooring, electric, plumbing, painting, etc. I pay by the job.

The issue is this: what is common pay in my area will differ VASTLY from what it is across the country. So it's silly to say $40 is too high or too low. Depends on the going rate in your area.

I suggest a percentage rule. For a licensed tradesman, you pay 100% retail. For a very skilled, detail-oriented handyman, I'd pay somewhere between 50-60% retail. For a run-of-the mill handyman, no more than 50% of retail. Anything LESS than that and I won't hire because he'll cut corners and screw it up.

My philosophy behind the pricing is the handyman typically doesn't have a store with rent, utilities, and taxes, nor does he usually have the overhead of an office staff. He needs to cut me in on those savings or I might as well just hire a pro.

In my town, I get two choices. Either hire licensed pros or settle for the services of hungry hacks who have various skill levels but lack any professionalism. A true handyman who has good set of skills, has his own tools, his own transportation, and insurance is almost non-existent here.

The current guy I am hiring to paint an empty is charging me $55 per hour.

He works like a demon and is very reliable and will finish fairly quickly.

Miss Ally,

Thanks Roy but Bill will get the whole place done really fast so it will be more like paying $10 per hour to a slow guy.

LL,

I HATE and AVOID paying by the hour.

I make a work list, estimate the time for each task, and multiply by $10. I offer that price. They usually hem-haw and complain, so we bump it up a bit and I look like a hero.

I use a list I've developed over the years based on my own ability to work.

$50-75 to paint each room.

$20 hang ceiling light

$5-10 to install a simple light

$.50sf to lay flooring

$10 to lay quarter round

$10 to remove, $10 to reinstall toilet.

$65 to clean a basic house

$10 to clean each appliance

$50 to trash out - medium

$100 to trash out - heavy

$35 to drive to the dump and unload

$3 to hang mini-blind

$100 to swap out water heater (he collects the metal)

$15 to replace broken glass or screen

.

I pay $10 trip charge and first 30 minutes to go check a house.

I pay a lady $5 per house to check the vacants and refill the flyers. I also pay her $5 per sign she puts up.

Licensed electrician and licensed plumber: $35 /hour. Most want more - ask around to find a good one.This is where the association pays off - we SHARE licensed trades and keep them busy. The tradesman also gets a better client and knows he will be paid.

too quick...

Our two main handymen get 15 per hour...

Any of our 3 handymen can properly change out a water heater in less than 2 hours - Heck my licensed plumber only charges $75.00 for a water heater swap.