[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by ronwinger

OMG... $40-50/hour. That seems insane to me. I wounder where they park the Vaseline Truck when they are preforming their service. To me, they are taking advantage of some reitired people. I for one, am not even close to being rich (what ever that means) but, I like getting up in the morning after a good night of sleep.

How much do you pay to have your hair cut? The person who cuts my hair charges $20, including tip, and does 4 haircuts per hour. Do the math. Why should a skilled handyman make less than a barber?

[chrissy2231]

Originally Posted by ArkOuFan

Any thoughts of a fair cost to pay for simple projects performed around the house? Parents need a bi-fold door rehung and would like to have their a/c, fridge and microwave filters changed. No idea what the going rates are in TV

$40. Create a post "looking for handyman," etc.

[Trayderjoe]

Originally Posted by ArkOuFan

Any thoughts of a fair cost to pay for simple projects performed around the house? Parents need a bi-fold door rehung and would like to have their a/c, fridge and microwave filters changed. No idea what the going rates are in TV

PM sent

[OhioBuckeye]

Call & ask a few handymen, only you know how much you want to spend. I’m sure most people will tell you who they use but your budget might be less than theirs. Call TV office they might help you!

[CoachKandSportsguy]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

How much do you pay to have your hair cut? The person who cuts my hair charges $20, including tip, and does 4 haircuts per hour. Do the math. Why should a skilled handyman make less than a barber?

There is down time when the shop is empty, so figure 50% occupancy rate, and $20*2 = $40 per hour * 2000 hours per year and that $80K annual income.

Same with other skilled trades, so to live and afford the required costs to own/rent with a car and eat, $40+ an hour would be very appropriate, if not higher.

and yes, a good financial planner would help you with a budget which includes the costs of random maintenance of a house, both planned and unplanned. Then you might find out that you are living above your income level, or your attitude about the working class may need to change. . .


finance guy who is also still in the working class

[lpruettusa]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

I used to buy generic filters from Amazon for my Whirlpool refrigerator for about $20 each. But recently, Amazon stopped selling all generic brands for my frig. The retail price for the Whirlpool "Filter One" filter is $60. What a rip! I can't figure out if Amazon got sued or was paid off.

Be very careful with generic water filters. There are studies (and youtube vids) that you can find on the web that show that, for some of these generic brands, the filters are not truly filtering the water because they are so poorly made that the water goes around the filter material. The think is, you cannot determine whether your filter is really filtering, or not, at home. Perhaps, that issue had something to do with Amazon not carrying your filter. Although, I'm not saying that is the reason.

I stick with OEM filters for that reason. I stock up when they are on sale at LG or elsewhere (today, the OEM are less than $20 at Newegg with FREE shipping).

On a related note, most refrigerators allow bypassing the filter and one should consider running the fridge without a filter for a day or two to allow the chemicals (e.g., chlorine) in the unfiltered water to clear out crud in the line (e.g., cysts, bacteria, etc.) that has migrated into the line from the spot where you fill your glass and the filter. If you've ever had "floaters" in you water, that is from a filter not changed frequently enough and/or crud working its way into the line from spot where you fill your glass.

[DAVES]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

I used to buy generic filters from Amazon for my Whirlpool refrigerator for about $20 each. But recently, Amazon stopped selling all generic brands for my frig. The retail price for the Whirlpool "Filter One" filter is $60. What a rip! I can't figure out if Amazon got sued or was paid off.

Amazon is an interesting company. They started as a book company. They have grown into a monster. You can buy most anything from them. They pay the postage to the consumer and the return if, you don't like it. How do they make money? They buy in huge quantities they do not pay what a mom and pop store does. A mom and pop store wants to return an item, defective or whatever and the wholesale seller says, tough, you bought it too long a go or whatever. Amazon says they want to return something and the wholesale seller has no choice but to cut them off of take it back. There are companies that refuse to sell to Amazon. It takes real nerve to turn down their HUGE orders.

Far as refrigerator filters the original Whirlpool filters have gone through the roof in price.
The generic filters are far cheaper but are simply not as good.

I expect Amazon gets too many returns on the off brand filters.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by DAVES

Amazon is an interesting company. They started as a book company. They have grown into a monster. You can buy most anything from them. They pay the postage to the consumer and the return if, you don't like it. How do they make money? They buy in huge quantities they do not pay what a mom and pop store does. A mom and pop store wants to return an item, defective or whatever and the wholesale seller says, tough, you bought it too long a go or whatever. Amazon says they want to return something and the wholesale seller has no choice but to cut them off of take it back. There are companies that refuse to sell to Amazon. It takes real nerve to turn down their HUGE orders.

Far as refrigerator filters the original Whirlpool filters have gone through the roof in price.
The generic filters are far cheaper but are simply not as good.

I expect Amazon gets too many returns on the off brand filters.

I buy almost everything I can from Amazon. I get about 3 or 4 orders per week. They are extremely easy to deal with and you can usually save money. I just bought 2 genuine Whirlpool refrigerator filters for $37 each. The same filters are $60 each at Lowes. I tried to buy some generic filters from another company, but they charged my credit card 4 times for one order and my bank had to cancel and replace my credit card.

[jswirs]

Originally Posted by Toymeister

Going rates are typically start at 50/hr often with some minimum. I usually charge 40/hr south of 44, however I am looking to get 50.00 to 'start my truck'. That is basically a bottom of the market rate for someone in the neighborhood, a retiree looking for something to do. Someone who is looking to make a living at it will probably be looking for A minimum of $100 to start their to truck.

At 40/hr I typically work 25 hours a week without looking for work. Many people are alone or have simply lost muscle mass. Some tools like a laser to set the height of pictures are useful and those costs do add up.

And what about insurance? Do you, or most other handymen, have insurance to cover a possible mistake which may cause, for example, water damage, or worse???

[Indydealmaker]

Most independent handymen around here charge so little that you are embarrassed not to tip.

[Bfdretiref]

Originally Posted by caylaboo

Hi could you please let me know about these free services. I am a widow and live with my widowed sister. We are both in our 70's and need some simple handyman services. Thank you.

chris garcia 352 501 8088 he owns here in the villages,,,,,,did drywall work for me give him a try

[JGibson]

Most of the cost is the service call, folks have to travel usually in gas guzzling pickups to your house. The service you need would take 15 minutes to complete. I feel sorry for people who own homes but are not handy. Maybe a neighbor can help you.

[Toymeister]

Originally Posted by jswirs

And what about insurance? Do you, or most other handymen, have insurance to cover a possible mistake which may cause, for example, water damage, or worse???

Plenty of firms that meet your requirements exist. Two issues exist:

If you ask me this I immediately identify you as litigious and the conversation is over.

The second is cost, the insurance is added to my base rate which generally people won't pay. Do you need insurance for me to hang your pictures or other simple (to me) tasks? No. Have I broken anything? No. Have I been hurt, no. Do I do work beyond my abilities, no. It's simply not worth it.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by jswirs

And what about insurance? Do you, or most other handymen, have insurance to cover a possible mistake which may cause, for example, water damage, or worse???

I never ask a contractor for proof of insurance, especially for small projects. Some people seem to think that, if a contractor has liability insurance, that it will protect the customer if something goes wrong. It usually doesn't. The insurance is to protect the contractor, not the customer. If a contractor damages your property and then disappears or decides to not file an insurance claim, the customer doesn't have many options, except to sue the contractor. You can complain to the insurance company, but if the contractor won't admit any fault, the insurance company is most likely not going to help you.

But, if you do ask a contractor about insurance, you need to get a letter directly from the insurance company that clearly states the type of insurance, the amount of coverage, and the expiration date of the policy.