Many homeowners and landlords in Australia find it hard to keep up with maintenance. This is particularly true when work gets busy or things need fixing that are out of your wheelhouse. 

Luckily there are a lot of services available to help you. No matter what odd jobs you need done, there’s always a way to find help. 

Who to hire for odd jobs at home

When looking to hire someone to do odd jobs around the house, you will generally be looking for a full time handyman. They usually have a broad range of skills from maintenance to repairs and everything in between. 

Sometimes it can be cheaper to hire one handyman for a range of tasks as opposed to a different tradie for each job. You’ll find that some handymen have licenses, but it’s important to check before hiring one.

Common jobs done by a handyman 

Handymen can help with a wide range of tasks inside or outside your home. Many of these can be organised in terms of installation, maintenance, repairs. 

A handyman can help you install or build:

• Hanging televisions, pictures and mirrors
• Grab rails
• Pet doors
• Furniture like indoor entertainment units, cabinets, shelves and most flatpack furniture
• Concreting
• Carports 
• Fences
• Pergolas or entertainment decking areas
• Handrails, balustrades and stairs
• Outdoor cubby houses, sheds, covers for wheelie bins and pool filters
• Retaining walls and garden beds
• Skylights
• Plaster and cornice 

Handymen can also help you maintain your house by:

• Changing light bulbs
• Cleaning gutters and downpipes
• Replacing fly screens
• High-pressure cleaning
• Removal of oil, dirt and grime
• Resealing decks and outdoor wooden furniture with oil
• Landscaping and repairing paths and stairs
• Painting exterior walls and fences

A handyman can also fix or repair: 

• Doors or windows that don’t open or lock properly
• Any broken locks
• Window and door seals
• Cabinet doors or bench tops
• Hinges and handles
• Holes in walls
• Re-grouting tiles
• Wall paint
• Flooring, skirting boards, architraves, and cornices
• Roof tiles

Jobs you can’t hire a handyman for

There are some jobs that handymen do not do though. It’s always a good idea to make sure that your handyman has the right licences for the job you’re hiring them to do. 

Some jobs will require licences to be held by the handyman like electrical work or handling asbestos. Many handymen can have licences in specialised areas so it’s always worth checking with your service beforehand. 

Some examples of work that needs a license to complete and cannot be completed by a normal handyman include:

• Electrical work 
• Removal of hazardous waste, like asbestos
• Pest control 
• Extensions
• Work on the foundations or structural walls of your building
• Plumbing
• Installation and upkeep of alarm systems

Questions to ask your handyman  

When it comes time to hire a handyman make sure they are right for your job. Some questions to ask them include:

• Do any of these jobs require a license for you to work on?
• Do you hold valid insurance (professional indemnity and public liability insurance)?
• Can you provide a written quote?
• How long will my job/s take?
• Do you have references I can follow up on?