Home And Garden Handyman

Helped us install a prehung exterior door that was not fitting properly in our doorway (we ordered the door ourselves, and had tried installing it...but couldn't get it to open and close correctly). He then finished our trim and fixed a few other complications that had arisen from our do-it-yourself job! Took 4 hours in all (including him running out to buy some trim for us). Since he is a general handyman, we also talked to him about a few other projects we'd love for him to do--and have him booked to come back next week. He is an all-around nice guy with ingenuity and experience to manage a wide range of jobs. We look forward to calling him again in the future!

He fixed my bathroom door, went to the detail of making it shut just perfectly, even tho that wasn't the reason he came, He does great work

Extensive and detailed discussions, in person, on the phone and via email (pre-hire) concerning the screening-in process gave me a (misplaced?) sense of confidence in Larry Jaques. At Mr. Jacques' suggestion, I agreed to allow him to refinish the existing deck although that had not been in my original plans. I also wanted three shelves built into an existing closet. Mr. Jacques and I met several times over the course of several weeks to discuss the materials to be used, measurements and the overall "look" of the finished project. I received a total of three bids for the project and Mr. Jacques' proposal was higher than the other two, but not by much. I decided to hire him because of his willingness to communicate and apparent attention to detail. Unfortunately, Mr. Jacques only used some sort of cleaner and a scrubbrush on the deck (rather than a sander). The end result is quite patchy-looking, glossy in some places and flat in others, and lacks color consistency; all of which is indicative that the old finish was not adequately removed nor the wood properly prepped to accept stain. The screening (EZ-Screen System at Mr. Jacques' suggestion) looks very nice but despite all our preliminary discussions, Mr. Jacques apparently had no professional solution for certain gaps between the existing inclined roof and the framing he built for the screen panels. I was able to suggest a reasonable solution to the problem which he implemented. The 3 plywood shelves for the closet are unsanded, without so much as an adhesive trim on the edges. While I did not specifically request sanding/painting, it honestly did not occur to me that I would have to ask. Perhaps I am used to working with professionals who take pride in their finished work. It took a full month for Mr. Jacques to complete the project as he told me he was working other jobs simultaneously rather than working mine start to finish. I suppose I could've lived with the length of time it took, as well as the rather unprofessional finish on the decking and raw shelves, but my real objection came into play two days before the job was completed when Mr. Jacques attempted to negotiate more money than he had quoted for the job, saying that it had taken him longer than he anticipated. Insofar as I had not hired him on an hourly basis, but on the basis of his quote (which, in fact, gave me a low/high price ... already allowing for the possibility of extra time needed), I declined to pay him more than the "high" price given on his estimate.

Very well. Larry is quite knowledgeable and diversified. He is efficient and took great care in his work. With my back injury, he has made certain that my Handrails are safe and secure. He helps me roll my awning in at Winter and out in the Spring and also maintains its integrity. He changes my furnace filter whenever I need it and installed a new Mini Blind in my sewing room so that I don't have to stare into my neighbors dining area.

Larry is a nice guy, and does decent work. Our only real problem (and we will take part of the blame here) is that he underestimated the job, and so it took him a lot longer, and exceeded our budget. He and we should have discussed more clearly exactly the extent of how much painting there was. He worked by the hour rather than by the job, so the hours just kept piling up. We did have him look at a number of other projects around the house (from yard landscaping to replacing doors, etc) and if I were to have him do more work, I would just be a lot more careful in the upfront discussion, and probably have him give a bid for the whole project, with very specific details of what was expected.

He is depenable, reasonable, and easy to work with.