Before you hire a handyman: the questions that separate pros from guesswork

The short list of questions that matter

Before you hire a handyman, ask how they price and whether you will see the number before work starts, whether they are insured and bonded and can show proof, what work they refuse and send to licensed trades, what happens if they find hidden damage, and what warranty they put in writing. Those five answers tell you more than any advertisement. Add a question about lead-safe practices if your house was built before 1978, and watch for the red flags at the end of this guide.

My husband Daniel and I have run The DFW Handyman since 2018, and we are happy when a new client interviews us. It means they have probably been burned before, and it means they will value the things we care about. These are the questions I would ask if I were hiring someone to work on my own house, with what a good answer sounds like.

How do you price, and when will I know the total?

A good answer is specific. Either the handyman gives you a fixed price for a defined scope before starting, or they give you an hourly rate along with a realistic estimate and every fee that might be added. A vague answer such as we will see once we get going is a warning, because it leaves you with no way to budget and no way to compare companies.

Whatever the pricing method, get it in writing. The FTC's consumer advice says a written estimate should include a description of the work, the materials, the completion date and the price. That one page is what you will point to if there is ever a disagreement about what was included, so it is worth reading carefully before anyone picks up a tool.

We price flat-rate, with no fees or surcharges, and quote each item on your list before work begins. If you want to understand what moves a price up or down, our guide to what drives the cost of handyman work explains the factors in detail.

Are you insured and bonded, and can I see it?

The Federal Trade Commission's consumer advice says to ask any contractor for proof of insurance, and it is worth doing every time. Liability insurance is what responds if a ladder goes through a window or a worker damages your floor. A bond is a separate promise backed by a third party, and it gives you another avenue if a company fails to meet its obligations. Ask for the certificate, look at the dates and the company name, and make sure it matches the business you are hiring.

We are fully insured and bonded, and we do not mind being asked to show it. Anyone who hesitates, changes the subject or says they are covered under someone else's policy has told you something important.

Who will do the work, and have they done work like mine?

Ask who will show up. Some companies send the owner, some send employees and some pass jobs to subcontractors. None of these is automatically wrong, but you deserve to know, because the person in your house is the one whose skill and care you are paying for. If subcontractors are involved, ask whether they are covered by the company's insurance and who is responsible for their work.

Ask, too, how the company communicates: who you call if the visit is running late, how you hear about a change in scope, and who walks you through the finished work. The FTC suggests getting recommendations from people you trust and checking complaints and reviews, and reviews often say as much about communication as about workmanship.

Photos of finished work are useful, but ask for examples of work like yours. A handyman who mostly assembles furniture and hangs pictures may not be the right person to rebuild a staircase handrail, re-hang a heavy exterior door or match an old crown molding profile. Ask how often they do the specific kind of job you need and what tools it takes.

For specialty work, the question matters even more. Welding a gate, building custom shelving or repairing a section of hardwood floor takes equipment and practice that not every handyman has. Our work covers carpentry, from doors, stairs and handrails to built-ins, paneling and molding, along with welding for railings, gates, awnings and carports, so we can tell you honestly whether a job sits squarely in what we do.

What jobs do you turn down?

This question surprises people, but it may be the most revealing one. In Texas, plumbing, electrical and air conditioning work require state licenses, and a handyman who says yes to everything, including panels, gas lines and new circuits, is telling you they do not respect that line. The right answer is a clear list of what they refer out and to whom.

We do not do work that requires a license, and we do not repair appliances. We tell clients up front when an item on their list belongs to a licensed trade. Our guide to whether a handyman can do plumbing or electrical work in Texas explains why this protects you, not just the handyman.

What happens if you open something up and find more damage?

Every experienced handyman has pulled off a piece of trim and found the rot runs further than anyone could see. The question is what they do next. A good answer is that they stop, show you, explain the options and give you a price for the extra work before doing it. A bad answer is that they will just take care of it, which means you learn about the change on the invoice.

Our rule is simple: nothing beyond the agreed scope happens without a conversation. We keep you informed at each step, and if the job changes, you decide whether and how to proceed.

Is your warranty in writing, and what does it cover?

Ask how long the warranty lasts, whether it covers labor as well as materials, and how you make a claim. Get it in writing. A warranty that exists only in conversation is hard to enforce, and one with so many exclusions that it covers nothing is not much better. A reasonable, clearly stated warranty is a better sign than an extravagant promise with no detail behind it.

Every job we do carries a one-year warranty. If something we repaired fails within that year, we come back and make it right. We would rather stand behind a repair than argue about it, and knowing we will be the ones coming back is a strong incentive to do it right the first time. Ask any company you are considering how a warranty call actually works: who you contact, how quickly they schedule the return visit, and whether there is any charge for it.

Was your house built before 1978? Ask one more question

If you live in one of the older neighborhoods of Dallas or the Park Cities, your house may predate 1978, which is the year the federal lead-based paint rules turn on. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, anyone paid to do work that disturbs paint in a pre-1978 home must be certified in lead-safe work practices, and that includes small firms and sole proprietors. Sanding trim, cutting into a painted wall or replacing an old window casing can all disturb paint.

If your home is that old, ask whoever you hire whether they follow lead-safe practices and how they contain dust and clean up. It is a reasonable question, and a professional will answer it directly.

Red flags that should end the conversation

Some warning signs come straight from the FTC's guidance on home improvement scams, and others come from what clients tell us about the person they hired before us.

One of these alone may have an innocent explanation, but two or three together are a pattern. The cost of walking away from a bad fit is a few more phone calls. The cost of hiring one can be a repair that has to be torn out and done again.

• Asking for the full amount up front, or accepting only cash
• Pressure to decide today, or a price that is only good if you sign now
• Knocking on your door because they are in the area, or offering materials left over from another job
• Asking you to pull the building permits yourself, or suggesting you borrow from a lender they know
• No written quote, or a quote with blank spaces to be filled in later
• Agreeing to licensed plumbing, electrical or HVAC work without a license
• No proof of insurance, or a certificate in someone else's name
• Vague answers about who will actually do the work

How we answer when you ask us

Ask us any of these questions by phone, text or the contact form. You will get a flat-rate price for each item before we start, proof that we are insured and bonded, a straight answer about anything on your list that belongs to a licensed trade, and a one-year warranty on all work. We are not an emergency or same-day service; we schedule visits so the work can be done properly, and we keep you informed throughout.

The DFW Handyman is owner-operated by Daniel and me, and keeping clients informed at every step of a job is part of how we work, not an extra. Daniel has more than 25 years of hands-on construction experience, and we would rather build a long relationship with a client than win a single job. If you are still working out what to put on your list, our guide on deciding what to fix first and who to call is a good place to start.

Questions people ask me