I met my new handyman today and he is a keeper. He spent most of the day with me, discussing the things I need and/or want to have done around the house, providing very helpful suggestions, telling me which things I can do myself (to save money) and providing estimates on an item by item basis. I felt no pressure, and he assured me that we could do the work at my own pace (in other words, when I could afford it).
He realized that it's important to me to do as much of the work as I can and interestingly, rather than feeling like I'd "sold out" by reaching out to a handyman, I actually felt empowered. He was very honest about the things that I could do myself, he offered to teach me how to do the things that I really want to do that I'm not so sure about, and he confirmed that if I ever found myself in over my head on a project (like the 2" concrete mortar behind my backsplash tiles), that he was always just a phone call away.
My biggest worry, after realizing that I will indeed get the concrete off the wall, was what to do about the existing countertop. It never occurred to me that the company that installed the new countertop wouldn't remove and discard the existing one. Well, that's not entirely true, they will take care of it, for a nominal fee of $7.00 per linear foot. I think not. In less than 15 minutes, Jim had the entire countertop off and out in the back yard, ready to be disposed of... and for much less than the installers would have charged. And, as an added bonus, he gave me some tips on getting the rest of the backsplash tiles off.
So... no matter how much of a DIY Diva you are, it always helps to have a handyman handy, waiting in the wings, just in case you need him.
He realized that it's important to me to do as much of the work as I can and interestingly, rather than feeling like I'd "sold out" by reaching out to a handyman, I actually felt empowered. He was very honest about the things that I could do myself, he offered to teach me how to do the things that I really want to do that I'm not so sure about, and he confirmed that if I ever found myself in over my head on a project (like the 2" concrete mortar behind my backsplash tiles), that he was always just a phone call away.
My biggest worry, after realizing that I will indeed get the concrete off the wall, was what to do about the existing countertop. It never occurred to me that the company that installed the new countertop wouldn't remove and discard the existing one. Well, that's not entirely true, they will take care of it, for a nominal fee of $7.00 per linear foot. I think not. In less than 15 minutes, Jim had the entire countertop off and out in the back yard, ready to be disposed of... and for much less than the installers would have charged. And, as an added bonus, he gave me some tips on getting the rest of the backsplash tiles off.
So... no matter how much of a DIY Diva you are, it always helps to have a handyman handy, waiting in the wings, just in case you need him.
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