Vol. XXVI · No. 04 • Workshop Almanac
— The Everyday Handyman —
Est. MMXIX
Vol. XXVI · No. 04 • Workshop Almanac
Est. MMXIX
Questions, corrections, story tips, complaints, kind words, half-finished drafts you would like us to look at — the letter desk reads all of it. Send a note below and a real person on the editorial team will respond, typically within two business days. No auto-responders, no chatbots, no sales floor in another country.
Use the form below to reach the editorial team directly. Every message lands in a shared inbox we actually read.
editors@handymanguides.com
The Editors
Handyman Guides
PO Box 2419
ustin, TX 78767
United States
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press@handymanguides.com
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Letters answered in order received
§ II — Reader’s Manual
Most people land on a tool buying guide already half-decided. They have a brand in mind, a price ceiling, and a vague sense that one of the products in the round-up is going to be “the answer.” That is not how to use a buying guide. That is how to read marketing.
A buying guide is a comparison instrument. Used well, it sharpens your decision. Used poorly, it confirms a decision you already made and lets you skip the actual thinking. Below are five ways we read our own guides — and how we hope you will read them too.
The Match
Begin with the kind of tool you actually need, not the brand you have heard of. A weekend gardener does not need a contractor-grade chainsaw, and a roofing crew does not need a hobbyist drill. The right category narrows the field by ninety percent. The brand only matters within the right category.
The Match
Begin with the kind of tool you actually need, not the brand you have heard of. A weekend gardener does not need a contractor-grade chainsaw, and a roofing crew does not need a hobbyist drill. The right category narrows the field by ninety percent. The brand only matters within the right category.
The Match
Begin with the kind of tool you actually need, not the brand you have heard of. A weekend gardener does not need a contractor-grade chainsaw, and a roofing crew does not need a hobbyist drill. The right category narrows the field by ninety percent. The brand only matters within the right category.
The Match
Begin with the kind of tool you actually need, not the brand you have heard of. A weekend gardener does not need a contractor-grade chainsaw, and a roofing crew does not need a hobbyist drill. The right category narrows the field by ninety percent. The brand only matters within the right category.
The Match
Begin with the kind of tool you actually need, not the brand you have heard of. A weekend gardener does not need a contractor-grade chainsaw, and a roofing crew does not need a hobbyist drill. The right category narrows the field by ninety percent. The brand only matters within the right category.
The Match
Begin with the kind of tool you actually need, not the brand you have heard of. A weekend gardener does not need a contractor-grade chainsaw, and a roofing crew does not need a hobbyist drill. The right category narrows the field by ninety percent. The brand only matters within the right category.
§ II — Specimen Pages
No price list on the internet can give you the exact cost of your specific job — that is what the four free estimates above are for. What a price list can do is give you a yardstick: a rough national average for common services, so you know whether the quote in your inbox is fair, low, or quietly inflated. Below is ours, updated quarterly and based on real averages from across the United States.
Two things to keep in mind. First, hourly rates and flat-rate pricing are both common — a plumber may charge one or the other depending on the job. Second, after-hours and emergency call-outs typically run fifty to one hundred percent above standard rates. The figures below are for scheduled, daytime service.
Service
Service
Service
2 business days
Varies by metro, experience, and licensing tier. Master plumbers cost more than journeymen.
2 business days
Varies by metro, experience, and licensing tier. Master plumbers cost more than journeymen.
2 business days
Varies by metro, experience, and licensing tier. Master plumbers cost more than journeymen.
2 business days
Varies by metro, experience, and licensing tier. Master plumbers cost more than journeymen.
2 business days
Varies by metro, experience, and licensing tier. Master plumbers cost more than journeymen.
2 business days
Varies by metro, experience, and licensing tier. Master plumbers cost more than journeymen.
— National averages · Prices vary by region · Always confirm in writing —
§ II — Reader’s Manual
Q. 01
Sediment build-up halves a heater’s lifespan and doubles its energy use. A 30-minute drain-and-flush each year is the single biggest favour you can do your plumbing.
Q. 01
Sediment build-up halves a heater’s lifespan and doubles its energy use. A 30-minute drain-and-flush each year is the single biggest favour you can do your plumbing.
Q. 01
Sediment build-up halves a heater’s lifespan and doubles its energy use. A 30-minute drain-and-flush each year is the single biggest favour you can do your plumbing.
Q. 01
Sediment build-up halves a heater’s lifespan and doubles its energy use. A 30-minute drain-and-flush each year is the single biggest favour you can do your plumbing.
Q. 01
Sediment build-up halves a heater’s lifespan and doubles its energy use. A 30-minute drain-and-flush each year is the single biggest favour you can do your plumbing.
Q. 01
Sediment build-up halves a heater’s lifespan and doubles its energy use. A 30-minute drain-and-flush each year is the single biggest favour you can do your plumbing.
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