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Flat rate.Not by the hour.
Two ways a price gets set here, and both of them put the number in writing before anybody is scheduled.
Handyman services are priced flat by the service and quoted from photos within 24 hours. Remodels, patios, decks and full repaints are measured on site and quoted as a written itemized bid. In both cases you approve a number before work is scheduled.
Why flat rate instead of hourly
Handyman work here is priced flat by the service rather than by the hour. Most handyman companies estimate how long a job will take and then bill against that estimate, which means the number you were told and the number you pay are two different numbers. Cory prices each service as one figure, so the amount you approve is the amount on the invoice.
There is a second reason, and it is about incentives. When a company bills by the hour, working slowly is profitable. When the price is fixed, the only thing that pays is doing the job properly the first time so nobody has to come back. Flat rate also moves the risk of the unexpected onto the contractor, which is where it belongs, because the contractor is the one in a position to estimate it.
How a handyman quote happens
Send photos and a short description by text and a price comes back within 24 hours. No appointment, no waiting on a scheduling window for a job that takes an afternoon.
Take one photo straight on and one from an angle. The angle is what shows texture, depth and the things a straight shot flattens out. For a list of small jobs, send them all in one message and the quote comes back itemized service by service so you can take all of it or part of it.
How a project bid happens
Bathrooms, basements, patios, decks, garages and full repaints are measured in person, because grade, access, existing conditions and the things behind the walls all change the number and none of them are visible in a photograph. Cory walks the space, gathers the design decisions, and sends a detailed written bid.
- Contact, usually the same day
- Appointment scheduled if the work needs a bid
- Details gathered, design and measurements, at the estimate
- A detailed written bid
- Follow up at 24 hours, 72 hours and one week
- Signature and deposit
- Work scheduled
What is not in a price here
No hourly padding, no surprise line at the end, and no charge for a scope change nobody approved. If something is found once a wall is open, it gets priced and agreed before it gets built.
Work that needs a permit is performed by licensed electrical, plumbing and HVAC trade partners. OnCall coordinates it as the general contractor so you are dealing with one company rather than three.
Questions we get asked
Do you publish a price list?
Not yet on this page. Flat rate figures are given in writing with every handyman quote, and they come back within 24 hours.
Is the flat price ever revised?
Only if the scope changes, and a scope change is priced before the work happens rather than appearing on the invoice.
How are larger projects priced?
On site. Cory measures, gathers the design decisions and sends a written itemized bid.
Do you take a deposit?
Yes. A signature and a deposit put the work on the schedule.
Ready for a number?Send the job over.
Flat by the service for handyman work, written itemized bid for everything larger.