In a bid to professionalize the business, several companies are aggressively trying to create networks of independent contractors around the country. The idea is that you’ll be able to call a toll-free number (or punch your area code into a Web page) and instantly get a reliable handyman in your neighborhood to hang a dining-room lamp or re-caulk your bathtub.This push comes as America’s housing stock is aging. Despite the teardown trend that swept the country in the 1990s, the average home in the U.S. is now 32 years old, up from 27 a decade ago, according to Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies. At the same time, as America itself grows grayer around the temples, more people are eager to farm out their home-repair and -improvement projects, economists and contractors say.
That provides a ripe business environment for these new-style handyman companies, which are opening additional outlets every year. Their biggest problem at this point, though, is spotty geographical coverage. Case Handyman Services, for instance, has only about 50 outlets, and has no presence in 26 states. Another of the bigger players, House Doctors Handyman Service, has 200 locations in 43 states, but only five in Florida and California combined.
Most of the companies operate under a franchise model, with franchisees paying a fee for the rights to a particular area, and then hiring handymen to do the actual work. Some of the companies say they screen for qualified handymen, while a few, including Mr. Handyman, do follow-up customer surveys.
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