How Much Does It Cost to Hire a Handyman?Is there an easy way to remove popcorn ceilings?I have a 36"x36" standing shower stall that has a cracked shower pan floor. Can that be fixed ? OK - terminology issue here. The "shower pan" is a collection liner than underlies the shower floor itself, and is designed (if built and plumbed right) to trap any leakage from the shower floor and route it to the same floor drain pipe. Example image here, copper in this case - It sounds like your are saying the shower floor or base unit failed - likely a fiberglass or plastic shower, which commonly fail due to incomplete support under them. This can be repaired if fiberglass, but is not usually done unless just microcracking, as it is hard to find an expert - usually you have to have a car body fiberglass specialist or a surfboard repair expert do it, and the color will not match perfectly unless you get a new gelcoat over the entire base unit. Cost about $300-500, ASSUMING the material can be repaired - true fiberglass can, thermoplastic can sometimes be welded but anyone's guess how long it will last without cracking again, plastics like PVC can rarely be fixed so they will hold someone standing on them.

Any sort of repair is likely to crack again, because you have done nothing to remove the cause of the cracking which is standing on a base that is not fully supported over its full extent. Some cheepo or desperate plumbers try injecting non-pressuring type expanding foam underneath to improve the support - this does a great job of supporting it but unfortunately supports mold, so starts stinking in short order as a rule. The normal fix is to remove and replace it, because once it is out there is no sense in putting a damaged one back in for the small increment in cost. Removing it means taking the shower wall liners or the bottom row or two of tile out so you can get the new base unit into place (because they overlap it), then replacing them. So, the $3000 range indicated is indicative of this type of job, which typically runs from a very low of around $1500-2000 for an identical base unit, to more typically $3-5,000 depending on whether a shower enclosure or tile walls. Of course,when the new one is put in, it is CRITICAL that it be fully supported - this means rubbing plumbers rouge or similar marking substance on the bottom, test fitting it, and then lifting it out and checking that all the stiffener ribs and support pads made contact with the pan, and making adjusments as necessary until it has full contact

, then standing in it and rocking back and forth to check for any points not making full contat and fixing them.business for sale goshen indiana The $10,000 plus numbers you got must have been for entire shower replacement down to the joists and studs, and the $30,000 range number would be typical for a full bathroom remodel with new shower or shower/tub and doors and surround, wall finishes, vanity, sink, toilet, and flooring and door.business for sale yangebupNeed a good general repair person for home projectbusiness for sale vail az I am not sure a general handyman is the right person for the skylight.  business for sale penarth

We fix quite a few skylights that were installed by handymen and that could be the problem at its origination.  business for sale mahomet ilYou will want a roofer for that.business for sale mid north coast nsw As long as you are splitting the trades at that point, might as well get a flooring contractor to look at the floor once you have figured out the skylight repair/replacement equation.How much should you charge per hour as a handyman?Unfortunately, there is no simple answer.  In fact, handyman hourly rates are all over the map.  Some demand over $100/hour (I’ve seen $150/hr) because they know what their doing and do it efficiently, professionally, and immaculately.  Then, there are the guys on craigslist that only charge $10/hour and still have trouble getting customers!So, where do you fit in on this scale?  

What’s a good rate to base your service pricing on?That’s what I hope to help you answer in this article.  I’m going to lay out a step-by-step process you can follow to help nail down a rate that will keep you profitable and busy.Whether you are charging by the hour or by the job, follow these steps to price for success.How much does it cost for you to live comfortably and happy?Write down a list of all of your expenses and an approximate monthly total for each.  Spend time and try to think of all of your expenses, even the ones you only pay once a year.  Assign a monthly value to each and  add them into an excel spreadsheet (or just write them down).Make sure not to leave anything out.  Include entertainment and even a little extra for unexpected expenses.  The idea here is see how much living actually costs.  If saving money for retirement is part of your lifestyle, make sure and include that, too.Now, list your handyman business expenses and assign a monthly value to each expense.  

Once again, include everything.  Here is a list of most handyman business expenses.(To get more detail on the expenses of running a handyman business, check out this complete pricing guide which details all of the expenses you will encounter and other helpful tips and strategies to help you succeed.)Figure out your tax responsibilities by doing a little research.  Here are some taxes you will be required to pay.  However, this list is not all inclusive and you may have other tax obligations outside of these.  I am not a tax professional and am only providing the following information as an example.  Your specific tax obligations may be different and you may consider consulting with a professional. – For the year of 2014, self employment taxes are set at 15.3% according to irs.gov.  These do change each year, so you’ll need to keep up with this. –   As you probably already know, this tax depends on how much money you make each year.  The more you make, the higher the percentage of taxes you will pay.  

For the purpose of figuring out your hourly rate, you will need to estimate this tax.  After all expenses and tax write-offs, I don’t plan on making more than $30,000 this year.  I’ve estimated my federal income tax at about 15% based on my expected tax bracket. – Check with your state to find out if you need to pay this tax.Once you have an estimated percentage for each tax, add them all up to come up with your total tax percentage.Let’s say your taxes are as follows:Self employment:  13.3% Federal Income Tax:  15.0% (based on less than 32K/year) State Income Tax: 0%Total Taxes = 28.3% (example only)The next step is to figure out how many billable hours you are going to work each month (assuming you have the business).You may be thinking that 40 hours is a good estimate.  In reality, however, with all of the quoting, following up, driving time, etc. it is probably more realistic that you will bill somewhere in between 25 and 35 hours per week.The goal here isn’t to see how many hours a week you can work, but how many hours it is reasonable to work without totally consuming your life.  

After all, you’ve started this business to have some freedom right?  Enjoy that freedom and set a limit on your billable hours.For my handyman business, I’ve decided that 25 hours/week is a good amount of work.  This allows me time to improve my business, have a personal life, and run this blog.  I’ve based my work load on my own personal lifestyle design.  I recommend you do the same.Don’t want to do the math? I’ve created an hourly rate calculator to help you do this faster than ever! Click here to download “The Handyman Hourly Rate Calculator.”Now that you have an understanding of your costs and how much you think is a reasonable time to work, you can do some quick calculations to see how much you need to charge to live the lifestyle you have designed for yourself.It goes like this: Total Monthly Living Expenses = L Total Monthly Business Expenses = B Total Hours/Month = H Total Taxes (%) = T  Hourly Rate = L/[H * (1 – T)] + B/HExample: So let’s say you need to make $3,000/month to live, expected your business expenses to be about $1,200/month, estimate your taxes at about 30%, and plan to work about 32 billable hours per week.

L = Monthly living expenses = $3,000 B = Business Expenses = $1,200 H= Monthly Billable Hours = 128 T = Total Tax Rate = 30% = 0.30Hourly Rate = $3,000/[128 *(1-.3)] + $1,200/128 =  $42.86/hour  So, now you know how much you need to charge in order to live the now defined lifestyle that you have laid out in terms of expenses. The next step is to evaluate this hourly rate and determine if how you can provide that much value in one hour.Is the number you came up with reasonable?  Based on your experience, qualifications, etc, can you comfortably look a customer in the eye and say “I charge X amount?”  If you can, awesome. If you don’t feel comfortable charing that amount, why not? What’s holding you back? I’ve found that most handymen tend to undervalue their services. I made that mistake and it cost me tens of thousands in my first year as a handyman. Instead, learn the business skills you need so you can gain the confidence to charge what you should. It’s likely higher than you think.