A handyman is someone who does small projects around your home that could be called a honey do list and are in Washington state cost less than $2000.00. A general contractor usually does bigger projects that require more time and money and usually subcontractors. Neither in Washingtong state requires any kind of education or knowledge just the ability to pay for insurance, bond, and for a generl contractor a license. Your 18 year old fresh out of high school can become a handyman or general contractor in Washington state. Would you trust them to build your deck or new house, or install plumbing or electrical? The licensing of either is totally state dependant. Their ultimate scope of work is also totally state dependant.
In Washington NEITHER of these guys can do ELECTRICAL or PLUMBING work. In Washington state you need a permit to do electrical and plumbing work. Because they do not require a handyman or general contractor to prove they know anything the state protects YOU by requiring these permits so the toilet will flush and the lights will come on once the work is done. If a contractor or handyman asks you to pull the permit that means they are not able to pull the permit themselves and they are doing illegal work. Washington does not allow a handyman to do work that requires a permit and all work must be physically done by them. You need to go to your state licensing board and in Washington that is
www.LNI.Wa.gov and look at the scope of work they are allowed to do and what licensing requirements they have. Then don't ask them to work outside their scope and if they say they can do it ask for their electrical or plumbing specific license as these are separate from a general contractor license. Protect yourself from unscrupulous handymen and general contractors. Make sure they have those licenses, insurance, and bonds that your state requires and that the scope of work fits their license and that the permits were pulled. If something bad happens and you haven't hired the right professional with the right license and pulled the permit most insurance companies won't pay for the damage whether it be fire, flood, or collapse. Protect your home it is your biggest monetary investment.
Then make sure you don't pay them up front and if they are asking for upfront payment RUN. If they require a small service fee or dispatch fee that is acceptable and an industry standard as they can't run around and give out estimates without accruing some kind of cost. A company that runs themselves with integrity will also be financially solvent. Don't pay a contractor or a handyman for supplies until the supplier of the product signs a lien waiver. Many contractors will ask for 50% down for materials or subcontractors and in Washington you need a lien waiver from their supplier or subcontractor because if the general contractor fails to pay them they can lien your home to cover the amount owed them. Your new deck, windows, house, remodel, driveway, or whatever is not something you want to pay for twice.
Beware the cheap guy whether he is a handyman, general contractor, electrical or plumbing contractor. They are cheap for a reason. Remember your 18 year old can be a handyman or a general contractor, that license doesn't mean they know what they are doing. You don't want cheap materials, bad workmanship, or unreliable employees in your home no matter which one you hire. Cheap guys have to cut the corner somewhere in order to be cheap. People always say to get three estimates but If you have checked out the company at LNI, read a ton of good reviews, gotten good customer service offer the same warranty and guarantee , and they background and drug test their employees you will find that your three estimates will be fairly close to each other. Many companies will do an apples to apples guarantee if your business principles are the same. If there is a big difference there probably is a big difference between what they say they will do and what they actually will do or the warranty/guarantee and how they care for their customers will be very different. Also look for hidden costs in estimates such as permit fees, power company fees, ect that are extra on one and included on another so that you can really compare those estimates. If their customer service is bad before you even start the project their customer service dureing the project will probably be just as bad and sometimes even worse.
Never be afraid to ask for references from your handyman, general contractor, plumber, and or electrical contractor. Check them out on google. Read their reviews good and bad and make sure that if you're happy you leave them a good review. If the experience was not good make sure after you have tried to work things out with them. They are human. They may not even know that you're not happy if they sent employees to the job. If they are bad and don't even try to make things right with you leave them a bad review with that info. Also, if they have been unethical, immoral, illegal, or will not discuss options with you call your licensing agency and report them. If people don't report problem handymen and contractors they will continue to do wrong. In Washingtong all contractors and handymen are required to carry a bond and you can go against that bond to get some kind of financial reparition for their bad work.
I hope this gives you some valuable information that will help your next home project be successful.
