In what areas do you operate?
Working mostly in Red Bank, North Shore and Hixson keeps me efficient, but I can work all around the Chattanooga area.
Are estimates free?
Normally yes. If an estimate takes significant time or effort then the standard visit fee is charged.
Are you licensed and insured?
I carry a healthy general liability policy. Licensing is not required for the type of services I am currently offering. That said, I have had a number of inquiries for larger projects so I am planning to acquire a Home Improvement license soon, which allows me to take on jobs between $3000 and $25,000.
What is your experience?
In addition to a 22 year design background, I have several years experience building furniture and doing other fine woodworking tasks. Plus about 14 years doing home improvement work of all stripes, including but not limited to flooring, room renovations, window installation, roofing, shed building, trim, install/repair faucets, swap door locksets (including cutting holes in new doors), set up closet organization and more. There's very little I have not done at this point. I can do some appliance repairs, and things like smart home installations including cameras and thermostats. I can even put in new ethernet lines in some cases, and install PoE security systems. I pride myself on doing things cleanly and to code.
Can I see examples of your work?
Samples are always available on the front page of the site here.
How much do you charge?
Prices are set per job and there is a $125 fee for the initial hour of any visit. Check out my Services page for more details.
What payment methods do you accept?
I accept most major credit cards, PayPal, Cashapp, and Venmo. Payment is due upon job completion.
Do you require a deposit?
For some larger jobs, I require a percentage down before we start. Projects requiring larger material costs will sometimes need a deposit to pay for those items. You can view details on the Services page.
How quickly can you get to my job?
Depends on what's scheduled that day, but pretty quickly. Whether I can come right over or we have to schedule it a few days from now, I pride myself on being on time. You know when the cable guy says he'll be there between 10AM and 4PM or some other ridiculous range? I don't like that either. You're busy and that doesn't respect your time. The only time I will give a window for an arrival time is if we are squeezing your job in right after another one that has an unknown completion time. In that event I will communicate the situation and attempt to be as precise as possible. I come from the design world. Deadlines/timelines are life and we do not break them.
Do you work evenings or weekends?
It depends. I keep a small window of time open on the weekends to fit projects in, and those projects will not incur an additional fee. But for the most part, I like to be home for my family after 3:30 or 4 at the latest during the week and like my time off during the weekends for the same reason. I'm pretty flexible and reasonable so just ask if you need something. I will say that calls that fall well outside of normal hours or are drop-everything urgent emergencies could cost a lot more.
If a job goes over time and it's because of circumstances beyond our control or simply my fault, there's no extra charge there.
What's your cancellation policy?
Jobs that are canceled inside of 24 hours are charged the $125 initial visit fee. Cancellations with more than 24 hours notice incur no charge. If you have a sense that a project won't happen, please contact me as soon as you can.
Do you offer a guarantee on your work?
I offer a 30-day satisfaction guarantee on labor. Materials are covered by their respective manufacturer or seller warranties.
What kind of jobs do you NOT do?
As always, these sorts of things are negotiable, but I generally do not do yard cleanup or mowing, edging, etc. Incidentally, if you need your lawn mowed for a really good rate or some other basic labor, I can put you in touch with some boys on my street who would love the work.
Outside of that, on a case by case basis, I may reject a job on the grounds the work is too outside my comfort zone and might risk being able to deliver at a high level of quality. I haven't encountered many of these situations so far. Most things that are within handyman scope are pretty achievable.
What else can you do?
A lot. An acquaintance called me a "jackass of all trades" a while back and I really liked that one. I am a homebrewer, backpacker, woodworker,