How To Avoid Overpaying Your Handyperson
- 3 hours ago
- 8 min read
What makes an hourly rate contractor cost more?
A lot of people in the trades deride or ridicule hourly rate workers. It is definitely a completely different business model, and uncommon in a project or outcome-based industry like building. But in my home maintenance business, it works. But….yep, there’s a ‘But’.
Jokes abound about how slow / lazy hourly-rate workers are. About how they take lots of breaks, or deliberately stretch jobs out. I can guarantee that despite being a handywoman that charges for hours onsite, I do none of that. Ask my clients – I usually don’t even eat lunch! I work hard on every job – I’m diligent, thorough (without wasting time being painstakingly meticulous), and I’m focused on the task. I don’t take calls, and I am more likely to round down to the nearest 15mins than round up my hours.
But sometimes jobs still go over the duration estimated in the quote process. Usually that’s due to unexpected issues that crop up on jobs (that’s the nature of handywork, and nobody’s ‘fault’), and sometimes it’s because of inexperience (and that’s a cost I usually wear to be fair to my clients).
The 7 factors below though, they’re the unnecessary, avoidable, or careless reasons you may end up over-paying on a job when you hire a contractor by the hour. No, not me specifically, although some examples are taken from my personal experience, others from observations. Either way, they all serve as a heads up to you – take the advice or leave it. It's your money!
1. Parking
When I have a video call with potential clients, I always ask them about parking, and when they book in, I have them confirm parking info. My reconfirmation message reminds them I need to be able to park close.
Why the obsession about parking?
Because I’ll show up on time. If I say I’ll be there at 10am, I will be. If I then have to spend 15mins driving around looking for a car spot, you’re paying for that. What’s more, hauling my (great many) tools from my van to your home down the road is going to eat into my time onsite. And gosh forbid I forget something, or need another type of screw and I have to schlep back to my van to get it.
One time, I had to park literally 2 blocks away from my client’s place because her apartment building has no visitor parking, and no parking out the front!
If you only have street parking, and I need to go back to feed the meter every 2 hours, that’s time wasted which is added to your bill. Other times people tell me to “just park in the loading zone”. OK, but it’s illegal to park there (rather than just unload) – so will you cough up the fine?
This is a tough one because you don’t have much control. But if you can mitigate parking issues and access for your contractor, definitely do that.
2. A Messy Home
I know you’re thinking, how can my mess cost more? I cannot tell you how much it slows someone down to have to navigate around obstacles, precariously step over things, and move your belongings out of the way.
Similarly, small or tight spaces crowded with furniture or your treasured possessions make it slow going. When your contractor has to fold up the ladder to create access every time they need to go grab another tool, or needs to contort themselves to get into the work area, believe me that those extra minutes add up.
If a "tidy site is a safe site", a messy house is an accident waiting to happen! This is why I always remind my clients to tidy the room and create a clear and accessible workspace for me.
Your contractor has a right to work safely in their job, and if that’s your home, it’s your responsibility to make the space tidy and obstacle-free. And although some people may be happy to help you move the couch, don’t expect them to. If time is spent relocating your personal items, be prepared to pay for it. If things get broken, Oops! Well, you probably shouldn’t have left it in the way!
3. Poor Preparation & Low Information
Contractors come to your home prepared to do a job as discussed. Many people think they can just tell a contractor the most basic info over the phone and that’s all that’s needed to set up for success. Unlike tradespeople who generally do onsite visits (and include those costs in their final quote), the first time an hourly-rate contractor comes to your home may be when they arrive to do the job. If they’ve not asked the right questions, or you have failed to provide enough information, this is likely to lead to being under-prepared.
The wrong tools. Not enough materials. Unfamiliarity with a specific product. The time spent rectifying these issues on the clock will be costly. I insist on a video call at minimum with my clients, and I almost always ask them to send me the item or manufacturer details of anything they’ve purchased that I am installing so I can acquaint myself with the instructions prior to arrival.
Have you ever sprung a job on your contractor? “Hey while you’re here can you just fix this [other random thing I didn’t mention]?”.
Luckily I carry all manner of spare bits & pieces and a full range of tools in the #SheCanVan!
But if I do need to rush off to Bunnings to pick up something mid-job, or worse still, come back another day, that’s a lot of wasted hours (and minimum charges) you will incur if it’s not my fault. Conversely, if I have under-estimated or poorly prepared for a job, I’ll forfeit the lost time and wear that cost. We hope your contractor would too.
Sometimes, having to return to my van 50 times (OK, 10) is a result of things not working the way they could reasonably be expected to, and I need to get another item to try something else. Sadly, this is the nature of handy jobs, and can definitely blow out the time estimate. Personally, I try to build in a buffer.
4. Online Orders
It’s great. You find the thing online at a competitive price, order it and book in your contractor. But is it a ‘false economy’?
It’s not the first time the day has arrived and my client’s order hasn’t shown up. Uh oh! Reschedule, and yes, there’s a fee for that.
Or…
It shows up, and you leave it in the box. It’s not the first time it’s been at this point we’ve discovered the item my client ordered doesn’t fit, or is missing parts.
Or…
Your direct-from-China product has no instructions, or they’re so poorly written I have to spend an hour deciphering them! I have definitely been on YouTube in my client’s home searching for instruction videos from the manufacturer trying to understand what the heck Step 3 means, and what I do with this part that doesn’t seem to be noted anywhere!
Or…
Maybe you did go to a store, but you bought the absolute cheapest thing thinking it’d do the job, and it turns out it’s junk. One time I had to call the manufacturer while onsite to ask how to deal with the fact none of the parts lined up, or the time the time it literally broke during the install because it was so flimsy!
I offer help to my clients on D-I-Y jobs with product recommendations, especially related to technical or installation factors (although sometimes I really can’t tell you which TV wall mount you should buy).
To save time and money, at the very least, you should definitely take things out of the box they came in, check the parts, and make sure there are instructions. Your contractor isn’t familiar with every product on the planet, and Unboxing is best left to Tik Tok influencers, and not your hourly-rate contractor!
Want more ideas about how tradie pricing works? Check out this blog about Honest Pricing.
5. Fiddly Finishing Touches
I clean up after myself on my jobs, and sometimes I even proactively clean, like the gross grease build-up on top of your kitchen cabinets. Yes, you are paying for it, and yes, sometimes people tell me not to bother and they’ll do it themselves. Both are fine with me!
But there are other small jobs that you might be paying for that maybe you can save by doing yourself. Three examples from the top of my head is adjusting the hinges on pantry doors so they align perfectly, setting your newly mounted TV in the perfect viewing position, or threading your washing lines. Sure it’s nice to have it complete for a fully hands-off experience, but do you really want to pay a contractor to make micro adjustments with a common screwdriver?
You know how IKEA cabinets have pre-drilled holes to adjust the shelf positions? An indecisive client once had me re-position the shelves repeatedly while she worked out the preferred heights. I mean, I don’t mind helping out, but at over $100/hr I’m not sure it’s money well spent!
6. Chit Chat
I was in two minds about including this one, because She Bangs is a really human-centred business. But I do know that a lot of trades complain about overly chatty (or inquisitive) clients. I love to have a chat with people – I am in your home so I like you to feel at ease with me, and many of my clients are also like my friends. At the same time, I am conscious of not standing around gas-bagging when there’s work to do. Every minute I am at your place I am on the clock. You probably don’t want to pay your contractor for conversation, or therapy!
7. Big Jobs for Solo Contractors
Despite operating as ‘She Bangs’, I am just one person. I can’t take on some of the Hands-Off/full service jobs people ask me to because I literally cannot do the thing solo. Other jobs I can do on my own, but they’re harder....and harder probably means slower.
Things like lifting heavy cabinets up while also needing to attach them – or actually, holding anything in place while also using a tool. Up and down the ladder to bring things up to the work space, clamping, measuring across distances wider than my arm span….you get the idea. All of these small things add time to a job. I’m not complaining, I’m just saying.
Apart from hiring a company with a team of people (rather than a sole trader) for a bigger job, the only thing you can do here to avoid these time-sucks is give your contractor a hand to hold or pass things. Of course She Bangs offers a Do-It-Together! option, so that’s a default component. (Sometimes it's me being the holder!) But even if your contractor is there to strictly do the job for you, not with you, I can recommend giving them a hand to carry their tools from the ute, pass them the drill when it’s out of reach, hold a light up for them, or whatever.
Or don’t. But it’ll add precious minutes to your job that you’ll ultimately be invoiced for.
The overall lesson here is that time is money. People tend to spend money doing the things they can’t or don’t want to do themselves. Maybe you’re a very busy person who lacks time but has plenty of money. But if you’re in the mind to save some cash, avoiding these 7 money traps are going to pay off.
When you hire a contractor / Air Tasker / whatever that's paid by the hour, don't be surprised or disappointed or angry when the bill comes and you have been charged for every single minute. That's how it goes. If you've read this and you're thinking, 'That sounds crap', you're in luck! You can hire a tradie who will quote you upfront, spend 10 minutes at your home, and charge you $300 upon completion.
Choose your poison, I guess. :)
