I was working at a clients place in Mosman when a plumber pulled up. Without even looking at the job he had to do, he grabbed two wrenches and a rag and dashed inside.

I looked down at the tools I had spread around me. It looked like an explosion at a Bunnings.

Being a handyman has a tremendous variety of work, which is why I like the trade so much. BUT each type of job has a required range of tools: woodworking tools, painting tools, plastering tools, tiling tools etc. As a result, handymen need many more tools than a regular specialist tradesman. 

So when my quote comes to you please bear in mind, a lot of that money goes into overheads ... such as tools.


PS. If you have a painter or handyman with ALL the gear click here and I'd be happy to help.

I’ve just been alerted to a possible handyman job from an online job registry.

A guy wants a handyman to renovate a bathroom ... completely ... in 7 days. It will need demolition, full waterproofing, full tiling, carpentry and plumbing.

Not counting demolition, that's 4 skilled trades – one of which (plumbing) is illegal to carry out by anyone but a fully licensed plumber.

We handymen pride ourselves in having a wide skill set, but this is ridiculous! A big part of being a Mosman handyman in is knowing when to say NO. I tried to give this guy my opinion but I think I have to pay to reply!

Maybe he thinks he’ll save money. He won’t. A good handyman will tell our friend to use specialist tradesmen. A bad handyman will have a go and do a very bad job.

I hope he goes for the former.

(PS. If this sounds like you and your name is Luke I’m talking to you)

Most home owners know that grout goes between tiles on a wall. 

But did you know that where the tiles meet a bath, sink, bench or even the corner of the bathroom silicone should be used?

Why?

Because silicone is very flexible and grout is not. So when a house moves a bit or the bath expands a bit - the grout falls out and dirt moves in.

Making a good silicone join is harder than squirting  goop along the join. It's very sticky stuff and very hard to remove.

The photo above shows the masking that is needed before the silicone goes on. And masking is the slow part.

But fear not! I've been using masking tape since I painted a car at age 17 ... and I've gotten a lot better at it!

If your bathroom or kitchen has unsightly and unhygienic corners let's see what HomeRite Handyman  can do to clean it up ... with silicone.

PS. FYI Caulk (pronounced 'cork' in Australia) is any 'toothpaste like' filler that comes in a tube. Silicone is one kind of many caulks.

PPS. If you have a silicone or painting problem click here and I'd be happy to help.