Common Handyman Jobs London Homeowners Ask For, and Realistic Costs to Expect

"How much will it cost?" is the first thing almost everyone asks us, and it is a fair question. Most handyman websites in London don't publish a single price, so you can't tell whether a dripping tap is a £70 job or a £300 one until someone turns up.

We publish ours. This guide lists the small jobs London homeowners, tenants and landlords ask us for most, how long each one usually takes on site, and what that works out at on our rates. It also covers what can make a job take longer, and the work a handyman shouldn't be doing at all.

How our handyman pricing works

Our labour rates are the same across Harrow, Uxbridge and the rest of North West, West & Central London:

• £70 for the first hour. Every job is at least one hour, because that covers getting to you, setting up and clearing away.
• £60 for each hour after that.
• Materials are charged separately. You can also buy them yourself if you have a particular tap, handle or light in mind.

You don't pay "however long it takes". Before we start, you get a fixed price for the job, worked out from those rates. If something takes us longer than we expected, that's on us. Quotes from your photos are free; if we really can't price it from photos, we come and look, and that visit is £25, taken off the quote if you go ahead. Full details are on our handyman pricing section.

The jobs we're asked for most, with prices

These are the jobs that come up again and again in London homes. The times are what they usually take us on site, in a typical house or flat, and the prices are labour only, at our rates.

Treat this as a guide, not a quote. A tap that has seized onto a corroded pipe, a door that has dropped because the frame has moved, or a wall that turns out to be plasterboard where you expected brick can all change the time. That is exactly why we give you a fixed price from your photos first, so any surprise is spotted before you've agreed to anything.

Painting and decorating

Painting is the one job we don't price by the table. A standard room usually takes one to two days including preparation, two coats and drying time, so it's always quoted as a fixed price for the room. See our handyman services for what's included.

Bigger carpentry

Built-in shelving, wardrobes, boxing in and fitted furniture are measured and quoted as a project. They're still handyman work, just with more design and more time in them.

Why one list costs less than five visits

The one-hour minimum is there because every visit has a fixed cost: travel, parking and setting up. The good news is that you only pay it once per visit. So the best value is always to save small jobs up and give us a list.

That's a saving of £100 for the same work. It's why landlords between tenants and people moving into a new place usually book a half day or a full day and hand us a list.

What makes a job take longer in London

London homes have their own habits, and these are the things that most often add time to a small job:

• The walls. Victorian terraces often have lath and plaster or soft brick, newer flats have plasterboard, and each needs different fixings. Putting a heavy TV or shelf on plasterboard safely takes longer than on solid brick.
• Getting in and parking. A top-floor flat with no lift, a mansion block with porter and lift rules, or a street where we need a visitor permit all take time. Telling us in advance means it's in the price, not a surprise.
• What's behind the old work. When old silicone comes off, the wood or plaster underneath is sometimes soft. When an old tap comes off, the isolation valve is sometimes seized. We'll show you and agree a price before doing anything extra.
• Old fixings. Doors hung on worn hinges, frames painted over many times and screws rusted in all slow things down.

What a handyman shouldn't take on

A good handyman is as clear about what they won't do as what they will. We do like-for-like electrical work such as swapping sockets, switches and light fittings, and basic plumbing such as taps, cisterns and leaks under sinks. We don't do gas work, new electrical circuits or consumer units, or structural work. Those need a Gas Safe registered engineer, a registered electrician or a builder working with building control, and if your job is one of those we'll tell you which trade you need rather than have a go.

How to get an exact price

The quickest way is to send us photos by WhatsApp on 07303 172140 or through the quote form. A few things make the price exact rather than a guess:

• A photo of the job, and one stepping back so we can see the wall or room around it.
• Measurements where they matter: the width of a window for blinds, the size of the TV, the length of a shelf.
• Whether you've bought the materials, and if so, a photo of the box or a link.
• Your postcode, plus anything about access: stairs, lift, parking.

Handyman jobs with Handy 4 London

We're a small, Checkatrade-verified team, fully insured, and every job carries our 12-month workmanship guarantee. We're based in Harrow and work across Harrow, Uxbridge, Wembley, Ealing and the rest of North West, West & Central London. If you've got a job, or a list of them, send us a photo and we'll tell you honestly how long it takes and what it costs, before you commit to anything.