Handyman Does All

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You’ve got a door sagging on its hinges, crumbling grout between the bathroom tiles and missing moldings in the living room. A major contractor probably would scoff at doing such small jobs, but you don’t have the time or know-how to tackle them yourself.

As the Ghostbusters famously asked, "Who ya gonna call?"

Handyman to the rescue!

The handyman fills an important niche in the home-improvement industry, as a Jack-of-all-trades for whom "no job is too small." Ideally, he will be more likely to return your calls promptly, to charge a reasonable fee and to stand behind his work than a contractor who’s eager to rush off to a big construction job. While some handymen prefer to remain independent, others today have become part of national franchises.

The Independent Contractor

Frank D’Amico of Hasbrouck Heights has been in the home-improvement business for about 20 years, operating as D’Amico Home Repairs since early 2009. He said he is called most often for small jobs such as "putting up a door, bathroom tiling and grouting or putting up cabinets." He also does small masonry jobs in warm weather.

Like most handymen, D’Amico is not licensed for electrical work or plumbing. He also prefers not to tackle big projects such as home additions. Other than that, he’s versatile. He said he charges "mostly by the job, but it comes out to an hourly rate" and has several longtime customers who call him regularly.

D’Amico advised anyone hiring an independent handyman to look for someone with experience, to ask for references and to check with the state and to make sure the person is licensed and insured. (See Sidebar.)

The franchised handyman

Bob Palmarozza, along with his wife Susan, owns Mr. Handyman Tri-County, Wayne, part of the national Mr. Handyman franchise. His father was a builder and Palmarozza worked for him from age five, doing little jobs on construction sites. After college, he spent some time in the food service industry and learned that he liked franchising.

"I thought there was a real need to professionalize getting things done in your home," he said. "This way, I can maintain a corporate overview but still get my hands dirty."

He notes that Mr. Handyman has its own strict guidelines for its franchisees. "We don’t do any licensed electrical or plumbing work," he said. "And we also don’t do roofing, because that’s a different category in terms of insurance."

Palmarozza explained that job applicants must be multi-skilled, with a minimum of 15 years paid experience in the construction trades. Mr. Handyman, which has more than 350 franchises nationwide, also runs background checks to screen out past arrests or drug use. The company won’t even take an applicant with more than two points on his driver’s license, because he’ll be driving a leased vehicle.

The handymen wear company uniforms so they can be easily identified by homeowners. Palmarozza said that while there currently are no "handywomen" in his office, he knows of some working in the franchise’s other locations.

"We schedule the (employees’) work and make sure they show up on time," Palmarozza said. "We run a full-time office, so people know they can call and anyone who answers the phone can deal with the issue."

Anthony Matos belongs to another national franchise, Andy OnCall, and has been operating for three years out of Hackensack. "My father owned properties in the city, and I spent summers and after school working in his buildings, (then later) as a super," he recalled.

Matos eventually found himself swamped with requests from family and friends to do work around their houses, and decided there was a niche market for such services. He spent a year researching the market in North Jersey before opening his business.

Odd jobs

Matos said the strangest call he ever received was to remove a raccoon from someone’s basement. "I referred her to animal control," he said.

Palmarossa’s most unusual request involved wild life of another kind — "A gentleman who taught pole dancing hired us to install several poles in his basement." He also gets a lot of calls to do cleanups, "like a junk room that’s accumulated stuff for 30 or 40 years."