Home Repair Services in Vancouver
Most people call us with a list rather than a problem. Six things have gone wrong over eighteen months, none of them urgent enough to act on alone, and now they have accumulated into a job. Working out what to fix first is genuinely part of the work.
How we triage a repair list
We walk the whole list before touching anything, which takes twenty minutes and reliably saves more than that. Some items turn out to share a cause — three sticking doors in one hallway is usually one settling issue, not three door problems — and fixing the cause once beats treating the symptom three times.
The walkthrough also catches the reverse: an item you described as small that is not. A stain on a ceiling is a five-minute paint job or a roof leak, and which one it is decides everything about the visit. We would rather find that at the start than at the point where we have opened it up.
Prioritising on a fixed budget
Tell us the number. It is not an awkward conversation and it makes the visit far more useful — with a budget we can tell you what fits, what does not, and what you would be foolish to defer. Without one we are guessing, and the guess usually costs you either scope or a second callout.
Our default order is safety, then things actively getting worse, then everything else. Cosmetic items go last on purpose: if we run out of time, the unfinished work should be the work that does not matter. A loose stair rail gets done before a scuffed skirting board every single time.
Repairs that shouldn't wait
Anything letting water in is category one — a failed seal around a bath, a dripping supply line, a soffit gap in a wet climate. Water damage is slow, invisible and disproportionately expensive: the repair is cheap, the flooring and the drywall it destroys are not.
The other category is anything holding weight. Loose handrails, wobbling deck posts, a shelf that has started to pull out of the wall. These fail suddenly rather than gradually, and the failure mode involves somebody falling. Neither of these is where to save money by waiting.
What we refer out
We will tell you plainly when something on your list is not ours. Regulated trade work — anything altering plumbing, electrical or gas — goes to a licensed subcontractor. Anything structural needs an engineer. Suspected mould beyond a small surface patch needs proper remediation, not a handyman with a cloth.
Saying so costs us part of a booking and it is still the right call. Work outside its trade tends to surface later, either as a failure or during a pre-sale inspection, and by then it is your problem rather than ours.
What this costs
$290 minimum callout · $145/hr · $540 half day
Charged by time, not by task. Most lists of small jobs land between the two-hour minimum and a full day.
Materials are always separate from labour and passed on at cost. Quotes are free and written, and the full rate card is published rather than given out on request.
Common questions
Can you look at several unrelated problems in one visit?
That is what this service is for, and it is where the value is. The two-hour minimum covers travel and setup regardless, so the second and third item are dramatically better value than the first. Send the whole list when you enquire, including anything you assume is too trivial to mention.
How do you decide what to fix first?
You decide, and we advise. Left to us the order is safety first, then anything getting worse if left, then cosmetic. That way if the list runs longer than the time booked, what is left over is the part that can wait. Tell us your budget and we will tell you honestly what fits inside it.
Do you provide a written condition list?
Yes, if you want one. After the walkthrough we can write up what we found, what we did, and what we recommend doing later with rough costs. People buying or selling find this useful; so do landlords. Ask at booking so we allow the time for it.