Handyman Services in DeWitt, Michigan

DeWitt houses are, on average, the newest we work on. That changes the job list completely. We are rarely called for failing plaster or century-old windows here. We are called because a growing family has outgrown the layout, or because something the builder did quickly ten years ago has finally given up.

What goes wrong in a newer house?

Different things than people expect. Newer does not mean better-built; it means the failures are builder-grade rather than age-related. The recurring ones we see:

  • Deck ledgers fastened without proper flashing, so water tracks behind the rim joist
  • Caulk and grout failing in original bathrooms at the eight-to-twelve year mark
  • Interior doors and trim that were hung fast and have moved since
  • Garage-to-house door seals and thresholds that never sealed properly
  • Builder-grade fixtures, disposals and shut-off valves reaching end of life together
  • Drywall cracking at corners where the frame has finished drying and settling

None of it is alarming. All of it is worth fixing before it becomes water damage.

Can you finish or improve a basement?

This is our most-requested DeWitt project. Many houses here were sold with the basement roughed but unfinished, and finishing it is the cheapest square footage a family will ever add.

The things to get right before framing: egress if it will be a bedroom, moisture management at the walls and floor, and where the mechanicals will end up so you are not boxing in something that needs servicing. We would rather spend an hour on that conversation than build a room you have to open up again.

Do you do additions and larger remodels?

We do substantial interior remodels — bathrooms taken back to studs, kitchens, flooring throughout, built-in storage and finish carpentry. Full structural additions are a different trade and we will tell you when a project has crossed that line rather than taking it on and struggling.

How do you price a DeWitt project?

Written and itemised, with the scope set out room by room. On labor-only jobs where you buy your own materials we will say so plainly, and on larger projects we use a staged payment schedule — a deposit that secures the dates and buys materials, and the balance at completion after a walk-through with you.

What should I check on a ten-year-old house?

Five things, in this order: the deck ledger and its flashing, the caulk and grout in the original bathrooms, the shut-off valves under every sink, the seal on the garage-to-house door, and the grade and downspouts around the foundation.

All five are cheap to correct now. All five turn into water damage if they are left, and water damage in a finished basement is the most expensive avoidable repair we get called for in DeWitt.

Do you work with families living in the house?

Constantly, and it changes how we work rather than whether we will. We contain dust, we clear the working area at the end of each day rather than at the end of the job, and we will sequence noisy work around nap times or working-from-home if you tell us the constraints up front. Say it before we start and it costs nothing; say it halfway through and it costs a day.

Book a DeWitt project

Call 517-505-7135. If it is a basement, mention the ceiling height and whether you want a bedroom in it — those two decide most of the design.

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