Handyman irvine

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daedalus said:
I'll put my money on the startup capacitor.  Easy to diagnose and quick/cheap to replace.  Been there, done that.

Glad to see there actually are some DIYers in Irvine not afraid to break a nail :D.  I agree with the pride of ownership and knowing things were done correctly.  My wife likes knowing there's no such thing as an emergency 'cause "daddy can fix anything".  Pretty much the only things I won't do are carpets and countertops.  Anything else related to home improvement, you name it, I've probably done it.  Same in the garage...there's nothing under a hood or suspension I haven't touched before, and I understand how all the parts work and how they work together.  Having a technical background helps.  Yes it does take a lot of tools, but those are a 1-time expense (at least until you buy your 2nd and 3rd set to keep in the house and truck).  I suppose in Irvine the garages are  too small to get too serious :P.
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You should consider becoming the official TI handyman and offering your services at a reasonable rate. 
 
Compressed-Village said:
ha ha, now that is an incentive to get a three cars garage. :)
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If I had to live with a 3 car garage there wouldn't be any cars in it.

aquabliss said:
You should consider becoming the official TI handyman and offering your services at a reasonable rate. 
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When I read the $50/hr in the other post I almost choked.  Does he bill by the hour, or did he quote $150 for the job and then take 3 hours?  I don't think any hourly handymen around here can get close to that (but then, I haven't seen anyone around here with hydraulics on their garage doors).  That's approaching lower end contractor wages in these parts, depending on the trade.  I wonder how many hours he bills in an average week. 
 
It just seems high relative to what I'm used to.  I've gotten business cards from a few guys over the years.  None of them charged more than $30/hour.  And it has nothing to do with me "wanting" them to charge a certain amount, since cost is not the biggest reason I do most of my own work.  It's not my place to begrudge someone money that other people throw at them, but I'm free to have an opinion.  I consider myself able to do what a typical handyman does, and wouldn't be comfortable charging $50/hour for what seemingly are usually fairly simple easy. 

You can get a day laborer from home depot for $12/hour.  You can bank on them having strong backs and a strong work ethic, but you can't expect much else.  If you want to break up a slab and wheelbarrow all the concrete into a flatbed, or haul shingles onto your roof, or dig an 80' trench, they are awesome.  But I wouldn't trust them with a screwdriver.  Of course I think a "handyman" deserves to make more than that, but $50/hour for someone who does not need a contract, a license, nor insurance seems a bit steep to me.  By law a handyman can't charge more than $500 (including materials!) for any single job with permanency, so they typically don't have the depth of experience or code knowledge a licensed contractor has.  What do independent licensed contractors charge? 

 
ps9 said:
Was just thinking of changing or canceling my AHS warranty when my central heating stopped working.  I hear the furnace, but no air.  Thinking its the blower?  Turned on AC, hear the condenser turn on outside but again no air. Checked the breaker box, looks fine.  Put in a request to AHS and got the call this morning for same day appt from HVAC contractor.  Hopefully no issues and I'll just pay my $75 copay for the fix.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/loyal-hand-appliances-anaheim
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So what happened here?

#AsThePS9turns
 
Control board fried, had to come back since he didn't have the part, paid $75, problem fixed.  He took about 1.5 hours total worked.
 
ps9 said:
Control board fried, had to come back since he didn't have the part, paid $75, problem fixed.  He took about 1.5 hours total worked.
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Was it daedalus-fixable?

Or I guess a better question would be was it qwerty-fixable?
 
ps9 said:
Control board fried, had to come back since he didn't have the part, paid $75, problem fixed.  He took about 1.5 hours total worked.
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The control board was fried due to the Nest AC controller?
 
irvinehomeowner said:
ps9 said:
Control board fried, had to come back since he didn't have the part, paid $75, problem fixed.  He took about 1.5 hours total worked.
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Was it daedalus-fixable?

Or I guess a better question would be was it qwerty-fixable?
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probably daedalus fixable, i'm no expert, probably youtubeable, but I don't want to die a horrible death in that tiny dark crawlspace.  $75 well spent.
 
Did the Nest have any part of this? The smart AC thermostat, turn it on and on when it "thinks" you are hot or cold. But what is the frequency of the on and off?
 
ps9 said:
irvinehomeowner said:
ps9 said:
Control board fried, had to come back since he didn't have the part, paid $75, problem fixed.  He took about 1.5 hours total worked.
Click to expand...
Was it daedalus-fixable?

Or I guess a better question would be was it qwerty-fixable?
Click to expand...

probably daedalus fixable, i'm no expert, probably youtubeable, but I don't want to die a horrible death in that tiny dark crawlspace.  $75 well spent.
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I'm with you on that.

It probably would have taken me 2 hours and my time is worth more than $37.50/hr. :)
 
irvinehomeowner said:
ps9 said:
irvinehomeowner said:
ps9 said:
Control board fried, had to come back since he didn't have the part, paid $75, problem fixed.  He took about 1.5 hours total worked.
Click to expand...
Was it daedalus-fixable?

Or I guess a better question would be was it qwerty-fixable?
Click to expand...

probably daedalus fixable, i'm no expert, probably youtubeable, but I don't want to die a horrible death in that tiny dark crawlspace.  $75 well spent.
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I'm with you on that.

It probably would have taken me 2 hours and my time is worth more than $37.50/hr. :)
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So you can fix a random control board that is fried?
 
daedalus said:
It just seems high relative to what I'm used to.  I've gotten business cards from a few guys over the years.  None of them charged more than $30/hour.  And it has nothing to do with me "wanting" them to charge a certain amount, since cost is not the biggest reason I do most of my own work.  It's not my place to begrudge someone money that other people throw at them, but I'm free to have an opinion.  I consider myself able to do what a typical handyman does, and wouldn't be comfortable charging $50/hour for what seemingly are usually fairly simple easy. 

You can get a day laborer from home depot for $12/hour.  You can bank on them having strong backs and a strong work ethic, but you can't expect much else.  If you want to break up a slab and wheelbarrow all the concrete into a flatbed, or haul shingles onto your roof, or dig an 80' trench, they are awesome.  But I wouldn't trust them with a screwdriver.  Of course I think a "handyman" deserves to make more than that, but $50/hour for someone who does not need a contract, a license, nor insurance seems a bit steep to me.  By law a handyman can't charge more than $500 (including materials!) for any single job with permanency, so they typically don't have the depth of experience or code knowledge a licensed contractor has.  What do independent licensed contractors charge?
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BTW, I wasn't trying to give you crap...  I was genuinely interested.  Just about every Handyman I've met charges between $40/hr and $50/hr.  My current handyman charges $40/hr but he's retiring from that soon.

 
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