About The Sarasota Handyman

Who is actually going to answer when you call about your house?

That is the first question most property owners in Sarasota and Manatee County have, and it is a fair one. You have a leak, a rotten board or a project you have been putting off, and you want to know who you are dealing with before you let anyone near the place.

This page answers that plainly. I am the person you reach when you call. I read the quote requests that come in through this site, I call people back myself, and I explain what I see in ordinary words. There is no layer of dispatchers and no script. If you ask a question about your own home, the answer comes from the person who is going to be looking at it.

I take on handyman repairs, roof and storm work, bathrooms and kitchens, garages, additions, inspections and a long list of other property services around the Sarasota and Manatee County area. Each service has a page of its own, and the home page lays them out by situation so you can find the one that fits.

If you would rather skip the reading and simply describe what is going on, the contact page has a short quote request. A few lines about the problem and a phone number is enough to start.

What do I mean when I say I look after property?

Looking after property is a wider job than fixing what is broken. A repair answers a problem that has already shown itself. Looking after a house means noticing the problem before it shows itself, understanding why it happened, and fixing the cause instead of the symptom. A stained ceiling tile is a symptom. A loose flashing detail on the roof above it is the cause.

That mindset shapes how I approach every job. When I come to look at a door that will not latch, I am also looking at why: has the frame moved, has the house settled a little, is there moisture swelling the wood, are the hinges worn through? Fixing only the latch would make the door close today and stick again in the first wet week of summer.

The same thinking applies to bigger work. A bathroom remodel is a chance to look at the plumbing behind the wall and the subfloor under the tile. A roof repair is a chance to look at the decking, the vents and the edges. I would rather tell you about a second small problem while the first one is already open than leave it for you to discover next year.

Looking after property also means being honest about what does not need doing. Some owners call expecting a big job and find out the real answer is a small one. Some call about a small thing and learn that it points to something larger. Either way, I tell you what I see, and you decide what happens next.

Why do Sarasota and Manatee County homes need a different kind of attention?

Houses on the Gulf coast live under conditions that most of the country never deals with. Heat and sun break down exterior surfaces. Humidity gets into everything that is not sealed. Salt in the air reaches well past the beach, and it corrodes fasteners, hinges, garage door hardware, screen frames and the metal parts of roofs. Heavy summer rain arrives on a schedule, and the storm season tests every weak point a house has.

Add the way the area was built. Many homes near Sarasota Bay and the barrier islands are older and have been renovated in layers by several owners. Homes in newer planned communities can be tighter and more uniform, but they carry their own habits, such as stucco cracking at corners and sealant lines drying out around windows. Inland toward Myakka and eastern Manatee County, the lots are bigger, the trees are closer to the roof and the ground drains differently.

Knowing those patterns changes how you look at a problem. When I see a damp corner on an interior wall, I think first about what happens outside that corner: the grade, the gutters, the paint, the window above. When I see rust bleeding down a stucco wall, I look for the fastener or the metal edge that is giving it up. Local habits point you to the likely cause faster than starting from nothing.

It also changes what I recommend. A material that lasts for decades in a dry climate may not suit a spot a few blocks from the water. A paint that looks fine on the shelf may not hold up on a south wall that bakes all afternoon. I try to recommend what suits your house in this place, not what is easiest to carry in the truck.

How do I work when you ask me to look at something?

1. You describe the problem. Through the contact page or by phone, you tell me what you see, where, and for how long.
2. I call back and ask questions. Simple ones. When did you first notice it? Has it changed after rain? Has anyone worked on it before?
3. I look at it myself. For anything beyond the very small, I come out and see it, take photos and check the surrounding area.
4. I explain what I found. In plain words, with the photos if they help, including what is urgent and what can wait.
5. We agree on the work. You hear the scope and the price from me directly before anything begins.
6. I do the work and tell you if anything changes. If I open a wall and find something unexpected, you hear it from me that day.

That order matters to me. Nothing begins before you understand what is being proposed and why. If you want to get a second opinion, that is reasonable, and I would encourage it on larger work. A good recommendation survives being compared with another one.

I also try to leave a job in a state you can see. Debris gets hauled away. Surfaces I opened get closed and finished. If I tell you I replaced something, I show you the part that came out whenever it is practical. You should never have to take it on faith that the work was needed.

What kinds of jobs do I take on?

The list is long, which is on purpose. Property owners rarely have one problem that fits a single trade, and it is tiring to hire a separate person for each small thing. Here is how the work groups together, with the page to read for each group.

• Everyday repairs and upkeep such as doors, fences, trim, small carpentry and fixtures, covered on the handyman service page.
• Roof and storm work, starting with roof inspection, and extending to roof repair, roof replacement and emergency tarp installation.
• Rooms and structures, such as a bath, a kitchen, a garage or an addition.
• Outside work, including painting services and tree removal.
• Inspections and reports, including the 4 point inspection and the wind mitigation inspection and report.

Not every service sits at every distance from me, and not every job suits being handled directly by me. When a project is larger than I should take on directly, I say so in the first conversation instead of letting you find out in the middle. I would rather decline a job honestly than take it and disappoint you.

What will you not hear from me?

You will not hear that I am the best, the cheapest or the only one who can do the work. Anyone can write those words on a web page, and they tell you nothing you can check.

You will not hear a promise that a job will be finished on a certain date regardless of the weather, the materials or what turns up behind a wall. I will tell you my honest estimate of timing and tell you again if it moves.

You will not find prices on this site. Pricing for property work depends on the house, the access, the materials, the season and how far I have to travel. I explain price by phone once I understand the job, and it is always traceable to a description of the work.

The credentials I list on these pages are Florida credentials, given as issued. Beyond those, I make no claim about licences in any other state or about insurance coverage, because I would rather say nothing than say something I cannot back up. If you want to know about any of it, ask me directly and I will answer honestly.

You will not be pushed. If you tell me you want to think about it, that is the end of the conversation until you decide to start it again.

How do I think about the people who call me?

Most people who contact me are not experts in construction, and they should not have to be. They are owners, landlords, managers, relatives looking after a parent's house or snowbirds worried about a place they have left for the summer. Each of them is trying to protect something they care about, and each deserves an answer that treats them as an intelligent adult.

That is why I avoid jargon when plain words will do. If I use a trade term, I explain it. If I recommend something, I say what it is for. If you ask why, I give you the reason and not a shrug. People who understand a recommendation are far more likely to make a decision they are comfortable with.

It is also why I ask about your situation before I talk about solutions. A retired couple who plan to stay in their house for twenty years need different advice from a landlord getting a rental ready for a new tenant. A homeowner preparing to sell wants a different set of repairs than someone who plans to stay. The same crack in a wall can mean different things to each of them.

What would a good outcome look like for you? That is a question I ask early, because the work should fit your goal and not simply my habits.

What should you expect from the first conversation?

A phone call that does not feel like a sales pitch. I will ask what is happening, listen to the answer, and ask a few more questions. I may ask you to send photos. I may suggest that the problem sounds small and describe a way to look at it yourself. I may say that it needs a visit, and offer a time.

You will not be asked to commit to anything on the first call. Sending a quote request on the contact page starts a conversation, not a contract. You decide at each step whether to go on.

If your situation is urgent, say so first. A roof leaking during a storm or water running where it should not be gets attention ahead of routine requests. The 24 hour emergency services page explains what I do in those situations, and I will always tell you honestly what is realistic for timing.

Where do I work?

I work across Sarasota and Manatee counties, Florida, from the barrier islands and coastal neighborhoods of Sarasota to the Bradenton and Palmetto area and the inland communities in between. The service areas page lists the towns and explains how distance affects scheduling.

Staying within a defined area is a choice I make for your benefit. It lets me know the housing stock, the weather patterns, the typical problems of each neighborhood and the practical details such as which bridges back up in the afternoon. It also means that when you call about a leak, the question of whether I can reach you is an honest one and not an excuse.

What does it mean that I keep the details in my own hands?

Details are where property work goes wrong. The wrong screw length for a fascia board, a bead of caulk laid over a dirty surface, a vent cut a little off from where the framing is, a gate hung without checking that the post is plumb. None of these are dramatic, and each can undo a repair within a season.

Because I deal with your job from start to finish, the details stay attached to the person who understands why they matter. The note I made when I first looked at the problem is the same note I have in mind when I pick up the tools. The question you asked on the phone is the one I remember when I am standing in front of the wall.

It also means accountability has an address. If something about the work does not look right to you, you do not have to work out whom to ask. You ask me, and I come and look at it. I would much rather return and correct something than have you live with a doubt.

Is that a promise that nothing will ever need a second visit? No. Houses are complicated, and Florida weather is hard on everything. What I can say is that if you raise a concern, I will take it seriously, look at it with you and tell you honestly what I think.

How can you get the most from a first visit?

A little preparation turns a visit into a decision-making conversation instead of a guessing game. These are the things that help most.

• Clear access to the area, including moving a car out of the garage or furniture away from a wall if you can.
• A note of when the problem started and anything that seems to make it better or worse, such as rain, wind, running the air conditioning or using a particular fixture.
• Any earlier repairs you know about, even rough ones, and the paperwork if you have it.
• Photos of the problem taken before the visit, because some problems look different dry than they did during a storm.
• A short list of other things you have been meaning to ask about while I am there, so we can decide what to do about everything in one trip.

Do not worry if you have none of this. Many visits start with nothing but an address and a worried voice on the phone, and that is a perfectly good place to begin.

Which credentials do I hold?

These are the credentials I hold, listed as issued. They are Florida credentials, listed as facts about me and 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.

Common questions