Handyman and Home Services in Sarasota and Manatee County

What is the one thing around the house you keep walking past?

The soft spot you pressed on the porch ceiling last month. The stain on the bathroom wall that is a little bigger than it was in spring. The fence gate that needs a lift and a shove every time. The shingle you noticed in the yard after the last storm and told yourself you would look into.

Living in Sarasota and Manatee County means living with salt air, heavy humidity, afternoon downpours and a long hurricane season. Houses here work harder than houses in drier places. Paint chalks, sealant lets go, wood swells and shrinks, roofs take a beating from sun and storms, and small problems have a way of becoming expensive ones when they sit through a few wet summers.

This site is for people who would rather deal with those things than keep walking past them. I take on handyman repairs, roof and storm work, bathrooms and kitchens, additions, painting, inspections and a long list of other property services across Sarasota and Manatee counties. Every service has its own page, and this page is the map that gets you to the right one.

Can't tell which page fits your situation? Start with the quote request on the contact page, describe what you see in a few plain lines, and I will tell you what kind of work it is and what comes next. You do not need the right words. You need a description and a phone number.

What does it feel like when a house problem is finally handled?

Think about the last time something stayed broken for months. You adjusted. You stopped using the door, or you put a bucket under the drip, or you told guests to skip the loose step. Each workaround is small, and together they quietly take up room in your head. You do not notice the weight until it is gone.

Picture the other version. The roof has been looked at by someone who told you plainly what they saw, with photos. The bathroom wall is dry and closed up. The exterior paint is sound again and the trim is tight. When the first storm of the season shows up on the forecast, you check the radar out of curiosity instead of worry.

That is the outcome I am aiming at on every job, big or small. Not a perfect house, because no such house exists in Florida, but a house where you know the state of things and nothing is quietly getting worse. Property that is looked after loses less value, costs less to keep up over time, and lets you stop thinking about it.

Will every project be quick? No, and I will not pretend otherwise. Some work depends on weather, on materials, on permits where a permit is required, and on what is found once a wall or a roof deck is opened. What I can promise is that you will hear about it from me directly, in plain language, before it becomes a surprise.

Which service fits what you are looking at?

The fastest way to use this site is to find your situation in the groups below and open that page. Each page explains what the work involves, what to look for, and how a job starts. If your situation sits between two groups, pick the nearer one, and we will sort it out on the phone.

Repairs and upkeep. For the sticking door, the loose railing, the torn screen and the long list of small jobs, start with handyman service. For ongoing care of a house you own or manage, read about property maintenance. Vacant or unoccupied homes and the work that keeps them in shape fall under property preservation.

Roofs, storms and water. If you are worried about the roof itself, roof inspection is the starting point, followed by roof repair or roof replacement when the findings call for it. When weather has already done damage, see emergency tarp installation, 24-hour emergency services, storm mitigation and water mitigation.

Inspections and reports. Florida homeowners often need paperwork for insurance. The pages on 4-point inspection, wind mitigation inspection and report, citizen inspection and home inspection explain what each one is and when it applies.

Building and remodeling. Larger projects live under remodeling, kitchen, bath, additions, garages, construction and design and build. For outbuildings, see pole barn and metal buildings. For managing a bigger job from start to finish, see project management.

Outside and everything else. Painting services, tree removal, solar panel packages and home improvement round out the list. Twenty-eight services in all, each with a page of its own.

Where do I work, and why does that matter?

I serve homeowners and property owners across Sarasota and Manatee counties. That covers the city of Sarasota and its neighbors along the coast and barrier islands, the Bradenton and Palmetto side of the Manatee River, and the communities in between and inland. The service areas page lists the towns and explains how distance affects scheduling.

Geography matters for two reasons. First, it decides what the work is like. A house a few blocks from the Gulf deals with salt in the air that eats at metal fasteners, hardware and paint faster than inland conditions do. A house further east may see more trouble from afternoon storms, falling limbs and flooding in low areas. A tidy waterfront condo, a ranch house from the 1970s and a newer home in a planned community each have their own habits and weak points.

Second, it decides how fast I can show up. I would rather tell you the truth about timing than promise something the traffic on the bridges will not allow. When you request a quote, I ask for your address up front so I can tell you honestly whether a visit fits your timeline.

If you are not sure you are inside the area, ask. If a job is slightly outside it, I will tell you what is realistic. If it is far outside, I will say so quickly instead of leaving you waiting.

What do Florida homes tend to need that homes elsewhere do not?

Some of this is common knowledge to anyone who has owned a house here for a few years, and some of it surprises new arrivals. A short list of the patterns I see most, so you can recognize them early.

Sun and heat age everything outside. Roof surfaces dry out, sealants crack, caulk shrinks away from trim, and exterior paint fades and chalks. None of it announces itself. You see it when water finally finds the gap.

Humidity works on the inside. Bathrooms without enough ventilation grow mildew. Wood doors and cabinets swell in the wet months and shrink in the dry months, which is why a door can stick in August and swing freely in February. A closet that smells musty is giving you information.

Storms test the weakest point. When wind and rain hit a house, they look for the loose flashing, the lifted shingle edge, the unsealed penetration. Many roof leaks start at those small details rather than across the whole surface.

Water is the expensive one. Almost every costly repair I hear about started as a small amount of water in the wrong place for a long time. A slow drip behind a wall. A downspout that dumps beside the foundation. Soft wood where a window frame meets the wall. Dealing with moisture early is nearly always cheaper than dealing with what it leaves behind.

Paperwork is part of owning here. Insurance companies in Florida ask for inspection reports on the roof, the wiring, the plumbing and the heating and cooling system, and they ask for documentation of wind-resistant features. A good report can affect what coverage you can get, so it is worth understanding what is being asked of you before you book anything.

How does a job actually start with me?

It starts with a quote request. You send your name, a phone number, the address and a few lines about what you would like done. Photos help a great deal when we talk, but you do not need them to begin. Nothing is booked automatically, and sending a request does not commit you to anything.

I read what you wrote and call you back. On that call I ask a few simple questions about what you are seeing, how long it has been going on, and when you would like it handled. For many small jobs that conversation is enough to describe the work. For bigger or less clear jobs, a visit comes first, so I can see the situation myself before suggesting anything.

After that you hear from me about scope and timing. I explain what I recommend and why, and I tell you if something can wait. Not every problem needs fixing today, and I would rather you spend money where it matters than everywhere at once.

Whether the job is a small repair or something larger, the same principle holds: you should always know what is happening, what comes next and who you are dealing with. If I need to change the plan because of what I find, you hear it from me before work continues, not on the final day.

Ready to describe your situation? The quote request takes a couple of minutes.

What about price?

You will notice there are no prices on this site, and that is deliberate. Honest pricing for property work depends on the actual house: its age, its condition, how easy the work is to reach, what materials suit it, what the weather is doing and how far I have to travel. A number published on a web page would either be too low to be true or too padded to be fair, and I would rather not mislead anyone.

What I can say is how I approach it. I explain the price by phone after we talk through the job, and for larger work I put the scope in clear terms so you can see what is and is not included. If something unexpected turns up, I tell you before it changes anything. You should never be handed a number you cannot trace back to a description of the work.

If you are comparing quotes from other people, that is completely reasonable. Ask each of them what is included, what is assumed and what happens if the conditions turn out different from what they expected. Those answers say more than the total does.

And if a job is smaller than you feared, I will say that too. Plenty of home worries turn out to be a modest fix once someone competent looks at them. Sometimes the best outcome of a call is hearing that you do not need to do anything yet, and what to watch for in the meantime.

How should you prepare before you reach out?

A little preparation makes the first conversation faster and more useful. None of this is required, but each piece helps.

• Write down what you see, hear or smell, and when you first noticed it.
• Take two or three clear photos, one from a distance and one close up.
• Note anything that changes the picture: recent storms, previous repairs, a past leak or a roof you know to be old.
• Think about timing. Is this urgent, or is it something you want done in the next few months?
• If the job is for a rental, a vacant home or a property you manage for someone else, say so, and tell me who can give access.

If you are dealing with an active leak or storm damage right now, say so at the top of your request. Emergency situations get read first. In that case the first priority is stopping more water getting in, and the emergency tarp installation page and the 24-hour emergency services page explain what that involves.

If you are still at the stage of wondering, there is no harm in asking. A short question costs you nothing, and I would rather hear from you early than after a small problem has grown into a large one.

Why choose to work with me?

I do not claim to be the biggest or the cheapest, and I will not tell you I am the best. What I offer is simpler and, I think, more useful: direct contact, plain explanations and follow-through. When you call, you reach me. When I say I will call back, I call back. When something about a job changes, you hear about it first.

Homeowners tell me again and again that what frustrates them most is not the work itself but the silence around it: not knowing whether someone is coming, not understanding what was done, not being able to reach anyone when a question comes up. I try to remove that frustration from the process.

I also do not make promises I cannot back up, and I list my credentials exactly as issued so you can check them yourself. Ask me anything directly and I will answer honestly.

If that sounds like the way you want your home looked after, the next step is small. Pick the page that matches your situation, or go straight to the quote request, tell me what is going on, and I will call you back.

When in the year is the best time to deal with exterior work here?

Florida has two seasons that matter for a house: the wet, stormy months from early summer into fall, and the drier months from late fall into spring. Exterior work such as roofing, painting and tree work is easiest to schedule and carry out in the drier stretch, because materials cure properly and a roof deck does not sit open to afternoon storms.

That does not mean waiting is always wise. A roof that shows damage in July should be looked at in July, and a tarp or temporary repair can hold things until a proper repair is possible. The sensible approach is to learn what you are dealing with early, then decide what must be done now and what can wait for better weather.

Before the stormy months begin, many owners walk the property with a short list: look at the roof edges and flashing from the ground, clear gutters and downspouts, check that trees near the house are sound, and make sure exterior sealant around windows and doors is intact. If something on that walk worries you, the roof inspection and storm mitigation pages explain what can be done about it.

After a storm the list changes. Look for water stains on ceilings, shingles or debris in the yard, and soft or swollen areas around windows. Take photos before anything is moved, because clear photos and a plain description make the repair conversation faster and easier for everyone involved.

What credentials do I hold?

You should know who you are calling, so here are the credentials I hold, listed as they are issued. They are Florida credentials, and I list them as facts about me, not as a statement about any other state.

• Florida Building Contractor, CBC059592
• Florida Roofing Contractor, CCC1327217
• Florida Home Inspector, HI4878

Ask me what any of them covers and I will tell you plainly. If a job needs something I do not hold, I will say so before we start.

Common questions