Should You Hire a Handyman or a Contractor for Home Repairs?

When you are a homeowner you know that anything can go wrong at any moment. The faucets can leak, mold can grow on the ceiling, the power can out, the pipes can freeze or rust – the list is really endless and each and every time it happens, no matter how severe it is, it is still a headache. When something does go wrong, do you call a handyman or a contractor? It is important to understand that contractors and handymen usually perform vastly different tasks in vastly different capacities. Here are some of the differences between a handyman and contractor, so that you know who to call.

For one, you’ll usually call a handyman in the instance that there is a leaky faucet or a broken toilet. A handyman is usually called in to fix the little things that might break or need fixing around the house. They might also be able to perform more complex tasks like painting or installing lights, but typically this job is best left to a contractor. Moreover, a handyman is usually much cheaper and someone that you can call on the spur of the moment to perform minor fixes.

A contractor on the other hand will be called in for major home repairs, like a remodel or if you are redoing the bathroom or kitchen. A contractor will essentially devise a budget and then put together a plan of action for your home remodeling needs. They will hire builders, source equipment and fixtures, and it usually takes multiple months of planning and construction. In essence, a contractor is a little bit like a team leader who is specialized and licensed by the state to take over major home construction jobs. A contractor might even help build an entire home.

When you are thinking: handyman vs. contractor, it is important to know that many contractors might scoff if you called them to help you fix a dripping faucet or a leak in your roof. Just the same way a handyman might scoff if you asked them to rebuild a kitchen or bathroom. A handyman just doesn’t have the same skills as a contractor. It is not a question of which is more skillful, it is just that their individual skill sets are very different.

At the end of the day, even though a handyman says that he could help redo a room in your house, it is important to know that there is a reason why contractors are contractors and handymen are handymen. It might be less expensive to hire a handyman to redo a room in the house, but you might regret it afterwards. Sure, call a handyman to fix a leak, but if you want to do any major repairs in the home, it is best that you have a contractor do it, because they are licensed by the state and much more experienced. The last thing you want is to live with your mistake every time you enter a room in your house.