You don’t have to have a big project to need help. With his partner, Dave Champagne-Guilbault, founder of Handy Multi Services, installs shelves, does pressure washing, repairs furniture, installs doorknobs or curtains and does a number of other manual jobs. There is no shortage of work. “We are booked at least a week in advance,” he says. There is too much demand. ”
96,000
Number of referral requests from construction professionals made on the Renovation Submission site from January to the end of September 2021, almost as many as during the whole of 2020, and 30,000 more than in 2019.
Paolo Di Pietro, who has been offering his handyman services since March, is for his part booked about six weeks in advance. His clients include the elderly and people who are short on time, or who just don’t know where to start. “Often, people just don’t have the tools they need,” notes Dave Champagne-Guilbault. Sometimes it’s cheaper to find someone to do the job and not have to buy the tool. ”
Daniel Lauzon, founder of Brother-in-law for hire, makes the same observation. “What I notice is that people are turning less and less to those around them to help them. I live it myself as a brother, brother-in-law or friend: I will ask people for less services because I know that I will not have time to render another service in return. ”
A supervised work
PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, THE PRESS
Paolo Di Pietro offers his handyman services.
“Handymen” can be found quite easily in the classifieds on the internet, but it’s best to do your homework before committing. Know, for example, that construction workers must have a license from the Régie du bâtiment du Québec (RBQ) and that the type of work they can perform is strictly regulated.
“There are a lot of people who work without a license,” says Paolo Di Pietro, referring in particular to workers who work “illegally”, but when you have one, you are limited in what you can do. The one he owns, and that he insisted on obtaining in order to grow his business legally, allows him to do a host of finishing work, from installing doors to laying gypsum.
Handy Multi Services, on the contrary, does business without a license from the RBQ. Dave Champagne-Guilbault believes that he does not need it to run his business. However, he says he scrupulously respects the rules of the RBQ. He installs wall-mounted televisions, helps with moving house, or washes windows, for example, but will not install any framing or baseboards. “Whenever I have a request that I have never had, I take the time to verify,” he says.
The majority of people who call us are to assemble furniture: IKEA, Wayfair, Amazon, etc. Either because the stores do not provide the service, or because the delays are much too long.
Dave Champagne-Guilbault, founder of Handy Multi Services
“Customers are really stuck: big companies don’t want to [de petits travaux] and no one is going to respond to this request. By putting so many rules, [la RBQ] creates work below the table, he believes. Installing moldings is not complicated and there is almost no chance of damaging anything. ”
Daniel Lauzon, of Brother-in-law for rent, can offer a wide range of services since he has a contractor’s license, which means that he was able to redevelop basements for families who wanted to reconfigure their spaces. of life due to the pandemic in recent months. However, contracts are not always so big.
“Nothing is too small. The customer just has to be willing to pay the price for a minimum of three hours of work, he explains. We often suggest that our clients review their list and call us back. A house in which there is not three hours of work to do is quite rare. When we go around, we find it easily. “
Consult the site of Brother-in-law for rent Consult the site of Handy Multi Services
How much does it cost ?
PHOTO GETTY IMAGES
The service call, a minimum of three hours, therefore, costs $ 60 per hour, plus $ 35 for travel expenses, at Beau-frères for rent. Handy Multi Service charges $ 90 per hour for two men, plus travel costs. Paolo Di Pietro comes to assess the work and prepare personalized quotes.
Plumbing and electricity
An individual can do the plumbing at home, but any professional will need to have the appropriate license to do this kind of work. Likewise, only master electricians are authorized to work on the electrical network of a house. Even its owner cannot change, for example, a socket himself.