The list, done in one visit

Questions we get asked about this

Will you do a list of small jobs rather than one big one?

Yes, and it is the most common shape of work we do for homeowners. A maintenance list is worked in a single visit — handrails, towel bars, cabinet catches, house numbers, mailboxes, shelves, brackets, a television that needs mounting — and it is quoted as one job rather than as one call-out each.

Do you repair drywall and match the existing texture?

Yes. Hole and crack patching taped and floated, water-damaged ceiling tear-out and replacement, texture matching, skim coating, full ceiling overlay and drop-ceiling tile replacement. Drywall repair is the second most requested thing in our enquiry record and it is squarely demonstrated work — 13 invoiced instances for property managers and four quoted homeowner jobs in the last eleven months.

Can you install an appliance I have already bought?

Yes, and collect it if that helps. Dishwashers, fridges, stoves, range hoods, microwaves and washers, with the old unit taken away and the supply line or fill hose replaced where the existing one has corroded — which on an older Lansing house it usually has.

Do you charge a call-out fee or a trip charge?

No — and no diagnostic fee and no charge for a return visit either. Attendance and diagnosis of the items you reported are included in the job price, and there is no minimum charge and no call-out minimum on any of the 84 written quotes this company has issued. Where a job is far enough out to need several days of round trips, a mobilisation figure is agreed with you in writing before anything starts, or the schedule is compressed into fewer longer days instead.

What happens if the job turns out to be bigger than the quote?

It becomes a written change order, priced and agreed before the work goes ahead, and it appears on the invoice by name. Anything outside the written scope is $65 an hour plus materials, and only with your approval — that rate is printed on every quote this company issues.

Do you mark up materials?

No. Materials are supplied at cost with the receipt attached, and the invoice record says so rather than the marketing: across eleven months, materials are $10,080 of $210,693 billed on labour-and-materials lines, which is 4.8% of it. On larger projects plenty of customers buy the materials themselves, and those are shown on the quote at no charge.

Are you insured, and do you hold a contractor licence?

Fully insured, and a W-9 and a certificate of insurance go out with every signed quote without being asked for. On licensing we are direct, because it is the question that matters and the one most trade websites blur: the Michigan residential builder licence is not held and no contractor licence is claimed or implied. Electrical and plumbing work here is repair and like-for-like replacement on what already exists — new circuits, panels, service upgrades, water-heater replacement and anything else requiring a licensed trade is referred out and named as such on the quote.