Handyman · Complete guide
Hiring a handyman in the UK: the complete guide
Scope, legal limits, 2026 prices, vetting questions, wall fixings and a job-list method that gets more done in one visit.
18 min readUpdated August 2026UK-wide, with London detail
- First hour, incl. VAT
- £55First hour, incl. VAT
- Half day, up to 4 hrs
- £190Half day, up to 4 hrs
- Fixed-price job types
- 14Fixed-price job types
- Wall types priced for
- 6Wall types priced for
The short answer
A handyman handles the multi-trade repairs and fittings that are too small for a specialist: flat-pack assembly, TV and shelf mounting, curtain poles and blinds, door easing, locks, tap washers, silicone renewal and snag lists. In 2026 expect around £55 for the first hour, £190 for a half day and £340 for a full day, with fixed prices per job on request. Gas work, new electrical circuits and structural alterations are outside the trade by law and belong to a registered engineer.
- Batch your jobs. Four small jobs in one half day beats four separate call-outs on price, parking and waiting in.
- Ask for a fixed price against a written job list, not an open clock — it removes the only argument that ever happens.
- Check public liability insurance and DBS status before the visit, not after something goes wrong.
- The wall decides the fixing. Photograph each wall when you request a quote and the right anchors arrive in the van.
- Anything gas, notifiable electrical or structural is not handyman work, whatever the price quoted.
01
What a handyman actually is
A handyman is a multi-trade generalist: broad enough to clear a whole list in one visit, deliberately bounded by the jobs that need a registered trade.
A handyman is the tradesperson you call when the job is real but small — and when you have six of them. A plumber will not hang your mirror, a carpenter will not change your tap washer, and neither will drive across town for twenty minutes of work. A handyman exists to make that list economic, because the travel, parking and set-up are spent once instead of six times.
The trade is defined as much by what it excludes as by what it covers. A good handyman turns down gas, notifiable electrical and structural work without hesitation, and says so at quote stage rather than on the day. That single behaviour is the fastest way to tell a professional operation from a man with a drill.
In practice most bookings fall into five families: assembly, fixings, doors and locks, small plumbing, and finishing. Almost every domestic job list is a mix of those five, which is exactly why one visit can clear it.
Call a handyman when
- You have three or more small jobs in one property
- The job is a fitting, a fixing, an adjustment or a swap
- A specialist would charge a full call-out for 30 minutes of work
- You are moving in, moving out, or clearing a snag list
- A landlord or agent needs small defects closed off with photos
Call a specialist when
- Anything touches gas pipework or a gas appliance (Gas Safe only)
- A new circuit, spur or consumer unit is involved (Part P)
- A wall is load-bearing, or an opening changes size
- Water needs isolating at the main for a full replacement
- Work sits above single-storey height and needs a tower or scaffold
02
The jobs, and what each one costs
Fixed prices per job, so the invoice is decided before the van arrives rather than by the clock.
Two pricing models exist in this trade. An hourly rate suits an unknown list — a survey, a fault to trace, a first visit to a property you have just bought. A fixed price per job suits everything else, because you know the number before anyone starts and there is nothing to argue about at the end.
Our published rate card is below, followed by the fixed prices we hold for the fourteen jobs that make up the overwhelming majority of bookings.
Hourly rate
£55
per hour, one-hour minimum
Best for one or two small jobs — a shelf, a leaking tap washer, a sticking door.
Half day
£190
up to 4 hours
The most-booked slot in London: three to six jobs from one list, one visit, one price.
Full day
£340
up to 8 hours
A snag list, a whole-flat furniture build, or a move-in day of fixings and fittings.
Same-day call-out
£95
first hour, then hourly
Lock, leak, door or safety job that cannot wait for a booked slot.
Prices include VAT, the van, fixings from our own stock and taking the packaging away. Nothing is added on the day without your written agreement first.
| Job | Price | Typical time | What it covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flat-pack assembly · Assembly | £55–£190 | 1–4 hrs | Wardrobes, beds, desks and drawer units built, levelled and anchored to the wall |
| TV mounting · Fixings and mounting | £85–£165 | 1–2 hrs | Bracket into the correct substrate, screen levelled, cables dropped or trunked |
| Shelves and floating units · Fixings and mounting | £65–£180 | 1–3 hrs | Alcove shelving, floating shelves and brackets set to a laser line |
| Curtain poles and blinds · Fixings and mounting | £60–£150 | 1–3 hrs | Poles, tracks and blinds fixed to timber, brick or reinforced plasterboard |
| Door easing, hinges and closers · Doors and locks | £55–£140 | 1–2 hrs | Sticking doors planed and rehung, hinges packed, closers and stops fitted |
| Locks, handles and door furniture · Doors and locks | £70–£160 | 1–2 hrs | Euro cylinders, mortice locks, thumb turns and handles swapped like for like |
| Taps, washers and waste traps · Small plumbing | £65–£150 | 1–2 hrs | Dripping taps, isolation valves, sink and basin traps and flexible tails |
| Toilet and cistern repairs · Small plumbing | £75–£165 | 1–2 hrs | Running fill valves, flush mechanisms, seats and pan connectors |
| Silicone and grout renewal · Finishing and making good | £70–£170 | 1–3 hrs | Old bead cut out, surfaces sterilised and dried, sanitary silicone reapplied |
| Mirrors, art and heavy hanging · Fixings and mounting | £55–£130 | 1–2 hrs | Heavy mirrors and framed pieces hung level on the right anchor for the wall |
| Like-for-like sockets and light fittings · Finishing and making good | £65–£150 | 1–2 hrs | Faceplates, pendants and ceiling roses swapped like for like, tested on completion |
| Radiator bleeding and TRV swaps · Small plumbing | £60–£140 | 1–2 hrs | System bled through, thermostatic valve heads replaced, pressure topped up |
| Child and rental safety fixings · Fixings and mounting | £60–£160 | 1–3 hrs | Anti-tip straps, stair gates, window restrictors and cupboard catches |
| Filling and patch painting · Finishing and making good | £70–£180 | 1–3 hrs | Old fixing holes filled, sanded and touched in ready for a check-out inspection |
Flat-pack assembly · Assembly
- Price
- £55–£190
- Typical time
- 1–4 hrs
- What it covers
- Wardrobes, beds, desks and drawer units built, levelled and anchored to the wall
TV mounting · Fixings and mounting
- Price
- £85–£165
- Typical time
- 1–2 hrs
- What it covers
- Bracket into the correct substrate, screen levelled, cables dropped or trunked
Shelves and floating units · Fixings and mounting
- Price
- £65–£180
- Typical time
- 1–3 hrs
- What it covers
- Alcove shelving, floating shelves and brackets set to a laser line
Curtain poles and blinds · Fixings and mounting
- Price
- £60–£150
- Typical time
- 1–3 hrs
- What it covers
- Poles, tracks and blinds fixed to timber, brick or reinforced plasterboard
Door easing, hinges and closers · Doors and locks
- Price
- £55–£140
- Typical time
- 1–2 hrs
- What it covers
- Sticking doors planed and rehung, hinges packed, closers and stops fitted
Locks, handles and door furniture · Doors and locks
- Price
- £70–£160
- Typical time
- 1–2 hrs
- What it covers
- Euro cylinders, mortice locks, thumb turns and handles swapped like for like
Taps, washers and waste traps · Small plumbing
- Price
- £65–£150
- Typical time
- 1–2 hrs
- What it covers
- Dripping taps, isolation valves, sink and basin traps and flexible tails
Toilet and cistern repairs · Small plumbing
- Price
- £75–£165
- Typical time
- 1–2 hrs
- What it covers
- Running fill valves, flush mechanisms, seats and pan connectors
Silicone and grout renewal · Finishing and making good
- Price
- £70–£170
- Typical time
- 1–3 hrs
- What it covers
- Old bead cut out, surfaces sterilised and dried, sanitary silicone reapplied
Mirrors, art and heavy hanging · Fixings and mounting
- Price
- £55–£130
- Typical time
- 1–2 hrs
- What it covers
- Heavy mirrors and framed pieces hung level on the right anchor for the wall
Like-for-like sockets and light fittings · Finishing and making good
- Price
- £65–£150
- Typical time
- 1–2 hrs
- What it covers
- Faceplates, pendants and ceiling roses swapped like for like, tested on completion
Radiator bleeding and TRV swaps · Small plumbing
- Price
- £60–£140
- Typical time
- 1–2 hrs
- What it covers
- System bled through, thermostatic valve heads replaced, pressure topped up
Child and rental safety fixings · Fixings and mounting
- Price
- £60–£160
- Typical time
- 1–3 hrs
- What it covers
- Anti-tip straps, stair gates, window restrictors and cupboard catches
Filling and patch painting · Finishing and making good
- Price
- £70–£180
- Typical time
- 1–3 hrs
- What it covers
- Old fixing holes filled, sanded and touched in ready for a check-out inspection
03
The legal limits: what a handyman must not touch
Three areas are off-limits by law in the UK, no matter how confident the quote sounds.
Registered-trade work
- Gas: any work on gas appliances, pipework or flues requires a Gas Safe registered engineer. There is no grey area and no exception for 'just looking at it'.
- Electrical: new circuits, consumer unit work, and anything notifiable under Part P of the Building Regulations require a registered electrician who can self-certify or notify building control.
- Structural: removing or notching a load-bearing wall, altering an opening or taking out a chimney breast needs a structural engineer and building control sign-off.
- Asbestos: pre-2000 artex, soffits, boards and textured coatings are surveyed before anyone drills. Disturbing them is a licensed activity, not a handyman task.
- Working at height: anything above single-storey reach needs a tower or scaffold and the associated method statement.
The grey areas are narrower than most people think. Swapping a light fitting or a socket faceplate like-for-like on an existing circuit outside a notifiable zone is generally within scope; adding a spur is not. Changing a tap or a trap is within scope; moving the supply is not.
Where a job sits on the line, the honest answer at quote stage is worth more than the booking. We either arrange the right trade or hand the job back.
04
How to vet a handyman in ten minutes
Six questions that separate an insured operation from a listing on a marketplace.
- 1
Ask for public liability cover
A figure and an insurer name, not a reassurance. Cover should be current, and the certificate should be produceable in a message rather than 'in the van'.
- 2
Ask who is actually attending
Some platforms subcontract each booking to whoever is free. Ask whether the person quoting is the person attending, and whether they are DBS-checked — it matters for occupied homes and family properties.
- 3
Ask for a fixed price against a written list
Send the list, get the number in writing. A refusal to commit to a figure against a defined list is the single strongest predictor of a disputed invoice.
- 4
Ask what is included
Standard fixings, plugs and anchors should be inside the price. Named parts bought for you should be at cost with a receipt attached to the invoice.
- 5
Ask about waste
Flat-pack packaging fills a hallway. Confirm that packaging, offcuts and old fittings leave with the van, and that a licensed carrier is used for anything else.
- 6
Ask how they find studs and pipes
The correct answer is a detector before the first hole, every time. 'Knocking on the wall' is how a screw finds a cable.
05
Walls and fixings: why the same shelf costs different money
The wall behind the plaster decides the anchor, the time on site and the weight the fixing will hold.
Most failed fixings are not bad workmanship, they are the wrong anchor for the substrate. A UK street can hold six wall types across five houses: lath and plaster in the 1890s terrace, solid stock brick next door, dot-and-dab in the 1998 conversion, stud partitions inside the flat above, precast concrete on the estate behind, and insulated dry lining in the retrofitted end-of-terrace.
This is the matrix our fitters work from, and it is the reason a photograph of the wall at quote stage is worth more than any description of the job.
| Wall type | Where you find it | Correct fixing | Safe load | Common mistake |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lath and plaster | Pre-1930 terraces and mansion blocks | Locate the timber lath studs, fix through into the stud with 5 × 80 mm screws | Up to 25 kg into a stud, nothing into the plaster itself | A plasterboard plug in lime plaster crumbles the key and drops the whole panel |
| Solid London stock brick | Victorian and Edwardian party and external walls | 7 mm hammer-drilled hole into the brick body, nylon plug or resin anchor | 40 kg-plus per fixing when anchored into brick, not mortar | Fixing into soft lime mortar joints, which spin out under load |
| Dot-and-dab plasterboard | 1990s onward new builds and conversions | Long fixings through the void into the blockwork behind, or a spread-load anchor | 30 kg with a through-fixing, 8 kg on a hollow-wall anchor alone | Short screws that only grip the board, then lever it off the dabs |
| Timber or metal stud partition | Flat conversions and 1960s-onward internal walls | Stud detector, then fix into the upright; noggins added where the stud misses | 35 kg into timber, 15 kg into metal stud with a toggle | Two of four bracket holes on the stud and two in fresh air |
| Precast concrete and blockwork | Post-war estates and podium blocks | SDS drill, 8 mm hole, sleeve anchor or screwbolt | 50 kg-plus per fixing | Hitting reinforcement or a buried conduit without a scan first |
| Insulated dry lining | Retrofitted period homes and low-energy refurbishments | Insulation-rated frame fixings that reach the masonry beyond the board and foam | 25 kg, spread across four points | Compressing the insulation so the fixing slowly works loose |
Lath and plaster
- Where you find it
- Pre-1930 terraces and mansion blocks
- Correct fixing
- Locate the timber lath studs, fix through into the stud with 5 × 80 mm screws
- Safe load
- Up to 25 kg into a stud, nothing into the plaster itself
- Common mistake
- A plasterboard plug in lime plaster crumbles the key and drops the whole panel
Solid London stock brick
- Where you find it
- Victorian and Edwardian party and external walls
- Correct fixing
- 7 mm hammer-drilled hole into the brick body, nylon plug or resin anchor
- Safe load
- 40 kg-plus per fixing when anchored into brick, not mortar
- Common mistake
- Fixing into soft lime mortar joints, which spin out under load
Dot-and-dab plasterboard
- Where you find it
- 1990s onward new builds and conversions
- Correct fixing
- Long fixings through the void into the blockwork behind, or a spread-load anchor
- Safe load
- 30 kg with a through-fixing, 8 kg on a hollow-wall anchor alone
- Common mistake
- Short screws that only grip the board, then lever it off the dabs
Timber or metal stud partition
- Where you find it
- Flat conversions and 1960s-onward internal walls
- Correct fixing
- Stud detector, then fix into the upright; noggins added where the stud misses
- Safe load
- 35 kg into timber, 15 kg into metal stud with a toggle
- Common mistake
- Two of four bracket holes on the stud and two in fresh air
Precast concrete and blockwork
- Where you find it
- Post-war estates and podium blocks
- Correct fixing
- SDS drill, 8 mm hole, sleeve anchor or screwbolt
- Safe load
- 50 kg-plus per fixing
- Common mistake
- Hitting reinforcement or a buried conduit without a scan first
Insulated dry lining
- Where you find it
- Retrofitted period homes and low-energy refurbishments
- Correct fixing
- Insulation-rated frame fixings that reach the masonry beyond the board and foam
- Safe load
- 25 kg, spread across four points
- Common mistake
- Compressing the insulation so the fixing slowly works loose
06
How to prepare so one visit clears the list
Twenty minutes of preparation typically saves an hour of paid time on site.
- 1
Write the whole list
Every job in the property, including the ones you have stopped noticing. Batching is where the saving lives.
- 2
Photograph each wall and fitting
One photo per job. It identifies the substrate, the fitting and the access before the van is loaded.
- 3
Unbox flat-pack in advance
Boxes opened and parts laid out converts packing time into building time. Keep the fixings bags sealed.
- 4
Clear the working area
A metre in front of each job. Moving furniture is billable time doing nothing useful.
- 5
Sort parking
In a controlled zone, a visitor permit or a suspended bay is cheaper than a meter and far cheaper than a ticket.
- 6
Decide who signs off
Someone should walk the list, load-test the fixings and confirm before the van leaves — including on landlord and agent jobs.
| Preparation | Time saved on site | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Flat-pack unboxed | 20–40 min | Unpacking a wardrobe is a quarter of the build |
| Photos sent with the list | 15–30 min | Correct anchors and brackets arrive in the van |
| Working areas cleared | 10–20 min | No furniture shuffling between jobs |
| Parking arranged | 10–25 min | No circling, no mid-job meter top-ups |
Flat-pack unboxed
- Time saved on site
- 20–40 min
- Why
- Unpacking a wardrobe is a quarter of the build
Photos sent with the list
- Time saved on site
- 15–30 min
- Why
- Correct anchors and brackets arrive in the van
Working areas cleared
- Time saved on site
- 10–20 min
- Why
- No furniture shuffling between jobs
Parking arranged
- Time saved on site
- 10–25 min
- Why
- No circling, no mid-job meter top-ups
07
DIY or hire it out: an honest split
Some jobs are genuinely worth doing yourself. Others cost more in damage than in labour.
Reasonable DIY
- Bleeding radiators and topping up system pressure
- Replacing a toilet seat or a sink plug
- Draught-proofing strips and door brushes
- Touch-up filling and painting on small patches
- Assembling a light, freestanding flat-pack item
Worth hiring out
- Anything heavy going onto a wall — TVs, cabinets, radiators, tall wardrobes
- Anything where a mis-drill hits a pipe or a cable
- Door easing, which needs planing and rehanging, not sanding
- Silicone renewal, where the removal is the skilled half
- Any list of five-plus jobs, where a batched visit undercuts your weekend
The economics are simple. A half day of professional time clears a list that eats a full weekend of yours, arrives with the right anchors, and carries insurance if something goes wrong. The DIY column above is genuinely worth keeping — the second column is where the false economies live.
08
A yearly home maintenance calendar
Grouping small maintenance into two visits a year is the cheapest way to own a property.
| Season | Jobs to batch | Why then |
|---|---|---|
| Spring | Silicone and grout renewal, window and door adjustment, external timber checks | Dry, warm enough for sealant to cure properly |
| Summer | Fence and gate repairs, garden furniture assembly, exterior painting prep, jet-wash prep | The only reliable window for external work |
| Autumn | Draught-proofing, radiator bleeding, gutter clearance at safe height, door closers | Ahead of the heating season, before the first cold snap |
| Winter | Indoor fixings, shelving, flat-pack, lock and handle replacement, snagging | Interior work while the weather rules out anything outside |
Spring
- Jobs to batch
- Silicone and grout renewal, window and door adjustment, external timber checks
- Why then
- Dry, warm enough for sealant to cure properly
Summer
- Jobs to batch
- Fence and gate repairs, garden furniture assembly, exterior painting prep, jet-wash prep
- Why then
- The only reliable window for external work
Autumn
- Jobs to batch
- Draught-proofing, radiator bleeding, gutter clearance at safe height, door closers
- Why then
- Ahead of the heating season, before the first cold snap
Winter
- Jobs to batch
- Indoor fixings, shelving, flat-pack, lock and handle replacement, snagging
- Why then
- Interior work while the weather rules out anything outside
09
Landlords, agents and end-of-tenancy work
Compliance-adjacent handyman work has different evidence requirements to a private booking.
- Photographic evidence before and after each item, timestamped against the inventory, so deposit deductions stand up.
- Itemised invoices per defect rather than one lump sum, so costs can be apportioned between landlord and tenant.
- Window restrictors, smoke alarm fixings, door closers and stair-gate fittings, which are frequent inspection items.
- Fast turnaround between tenancies, where a single half day between check-out and check-in closes an entire snag list.
- A clear boundary: an EICR remedial is electrician work, and a gas certificate is Gas Safe work — never a handyman line on the invoice.
10
Hiring a handyman in London
London changes three variables: parking, access and wall construction. Nothing else about the trade is different.
Parking is the biggest single difference. A controlled parking zone with no suspendable bay adds a permit or meter cost to every visit, which is why the same job reads higher in a central borough than an outer one. We show it as its own line rather than folding it quietly into the rate.
Access is second. A fourth-floor walk-up with a half-landing turn means longer on site for identical work, and it changes what can be carried up in one piece — a fact that decides whether a wardrobe is built in the room or on the landing.
Wall construction is third and the most expensive to get wrong. Victorian lath and plaster, post-war concrete panel and 1990s dot-and-dab frequently appear within one postcode, so we send the anchors for the wall in your photograph rather than a generic box of plugs.
We run the handyman service across all 33 London boroughs and 294 areas, each with its own page carrying local rates, wall notes and booking. Start at the London hub and pick your borough.
What every booking includes
Inside the price
- A DBS-checked, insured tradesperson with their own tools, ladders and dust sheets
- Standard fixings, plugs, anchors, silicone and filler from our own van stock
- A stud, pipe and cable scan before a single hole is drilled
- Every fixing set to a laser line or spirit level, not by eye
- Packaging, offcuts and old fittings taken away at the end of the visit
- A walk-round with you, then before-and-after photos on request for landlords and agents
Not handyman work
- Gas work of any kind — that is Gas Safe registered work and we will not touch it
- New circuits, consumer units or anything notifiable under Part P of the Building Regulations
- Structural alterations, chimney breast removal or anything needing building control sign-off
- Roof work above single-storey height, which needs a scaffold or tower rather than a ladder
- Asbestos disturbance — pre-2000 artex, soffits and boards are surveyed, never drilled blind
- Specified materials you want us to supply: bought at cost with the receipt on your invoice
Common questions
Our published rate is £55 for the first hour with a one-hour minimum, £190 for a half day of up to four hours and £340 for a full day of up to eight hours, all including VAT, the van and standard fixings. Most jobs can also be booked at a fixed price per job instead of by the clock.
Almost always. Travel, parking and set-up are spent once per visit rather than once per job, so a batched half day typically costs less than three separate short call-outs and only needs you to be in once.
A like-for-like swap of a fitting or faceplate on an existing circuit outside a notifiable zone is generally within scope. New circuits, spurs, consumer unit work and anything notifiable under Part P require a registered electrician, and we say which side of the line your job falls on before you book.
No. Screws, plugs, anchors, silicone and filler come from our own van stock and are inside the price. If you want a specific part — a named bracket, a particular lock barrel — we buy it at cost and attach the receipt to your invoice.
The anchor is chosen for the substrate: studs for lath and plaster, resin or nylon plugs into brick body, through-fixings or spread-load anchors for dot-and-dab, and screwbolts into concrete. Every fixing is set to a level and load-tested before we leave.
Yes. Work is carried out by insured, DBS-checked tradespeople, and we will produce the cover details in writing before a booking rather than on the doorstep.
A single small job is an hour. A batched list of three to six jobs is a half day, and a full snag list or a whole-flat furniture build is a full day. We size the slot from your written list before booking so the visit does not run over.
We run handyman work across London's 33 boroughs and 294 areas, plus Greater Manchester, Kent, Surrey and the West Midlands. Start at the London hub or search your town from the homepage to find your local page.
Keep reading
- Handyman prices in London: what jobs actually cost in 2026Hourly, half-day and fixed job prices, with the London extras that quietly add to a quote.
- What a handyman can and cannot legally do in the UKThe real line between handyman work and jobs that need a registered electrician, gas or structural trade.
- Wall fixings guide: which anchor holds in which London wallThe fixing that actually holds in each London wall type, and the realistic load it will take.
- All guidesThe full knowledge directory: moving, cleaning, clearance and handyman.
Send the list, get one fixed price
Photos and a job list get a written price the same working day. Handyman work across all 33 London boroughs and 294 areas, plus Greater Manchester, Kent, Surrey and the West Midlands.