What home services cost

Before you ask anyone for a quote it helps to know what the job normally goes for. These guides collect the rates providers advertise in each city — call-out fees, hourly rates, typical job prices — and link the source of every figure so you can check it. Each one also answers the local question a price cannot: who has to approve the work, and when it needs a licence.

None of these are our prices. HandyMan does not set rates and takes no commission from what you agree: you describe the job, pros quote it themselves, and you pick one.

United Arab Emirates

Five emirates, and a different authority approving the work in each — which is the thing a national price guide cannot tell you.

Handyman by the hour

The hourly rate is what you pay when the job is a list rather than a single task — a few shelves, a door that binds, a curtain rail, the three things you have been meaning to sort since you moved in. It is the cheapest way to buy small work and the most expensive way to buy one small job, because almost every provider charges a minimum.

Handyman by the hour — Dubai Rates, call-out fees and what moves them Handyman by the hour — Abu Dhabi Rates, call-out fees and what moves them Handyman by the hour — Sharjah Rates, call-out fees and what moves them Handyman by the hour — Ajman Rates, call-out fees and what moves them Handyman by the hour — Ras Al Khaimah Rates, call-out fees and what moves them

Plumbing

Most residential plumbing call-outs are small, and the price of a small one is dominated by the visit rather than the work. The exception is the emergency: a burst feed or a leak coming through a ceiling is billed on a different scale entirely, and that gap is the single biggest thing to understand before you call.

Plumbing — Dubai Rates, call-out fees and what moves them Plumbing — Abu Dhabi Rates, call-out fees and what moves them Plumbing — Sharjah Rates, call-out fees and what moves them Plumbing — Ajman Rates, call-out fees and what moves them Plumbing — Ras Al Khaimah Rates, call-out fees and what moves them

Electrical work

Electrical pricing splits cleanly in two, and the split is legal rather than technical. Work on an existing circuit — a socket, a switch, a light, a fan — is ordinary maintenance and priced like it. Work on the supply itself needs a contractor the local authority has approved, and that is a different market at a different price.

Electrical work — Dubai Rates, call-out fees and what moves them Electrical work — Abu Dhabi Rates, call-out fees and what moves them Electrical work — Sharjah Rates, call-out fees and what moves them Electrical work — Ajman Rates, call-out fees and what moves them Electrical work — Ras Al Khaimah Rates, call-out fees and what moves them

Furniture assembly

Assembly is the most predictable thing on this list to price, because the item tells you the answer: the box has a part count, and the part count is the job. What catches people out is the second half of a move — a wardrobe has to come apart before it travels, and taking one apart properly costs about what building it did.

Furniture assembly — Dubai Rates, call-out fees and what moves them Furniture assembly — Abu Dhabi Rates, call-out fees and what moves them Furniture assembly — Sharjah Rates, call-out fees and what moves them Furniture assembly — Ajman Rates, call-out fees and what moves them Furniture assembly — Ras Al Khaimah Rates, call-out fees and what moves them

Cleaning

Cleaning is priced two different ways and the two are not comparable. Regular cleaning is sold by the hour and the hourly figure is low. Deep and move-out cleaning is sold by the property, because it is a fixed scope with a checklist behind it, and the number reflects a team and most of a day rather than a person and an hour.

Cleaning — Dubai Rates, call-out fees and what moves them Cleaning — Abu Dhabi Rates, call-out fees and what moves them Cleaning — Sharjah Rates, call-out fees and what moves them Cleaning — Ajman Rates, call-out fees and what moves them Cleaning — Ras Al Khaimah Rates, call-out fees and what moves them

Air conditioning

Air conditioning is the most common thing to go wrong in a UAE home and the hardest to price before somebody looks, because the same symptom — it runs but does not cool — covers a dirty filter, a slow leak and a failed compressor, and those are three different bills. The useful thing to understand before calling is which of the three you are probably buying.

Air conditioning — Dubai Rates, call-out fees and what moves them Air conditioning — Abu Dhabi Rates, call-out fees and what moves them Air conditioning — Sharjah Rates, call-out fees and what moves them Air conditioning — Ajman Rates, call-out fees and what moves them Air conditioning — Ras Al Khaimah Rates, call-out fees and what moves them

United States

Five cities under five different licensing regimes. What decides whether your job needs a licensed contractor is the state you are in, and sometimes the price of the job itself.

Handyman by the hour

The hourly rate is the wrong number to shop on, and almost everyone shops on it. What decides the bill on a small job is the minimum: a twenty-minute fix routinely costs $150 to $200 once the trip and the minimum are counted, which means the cheapest hourly rate in town can produce the most expensive invoice for one small task.

Handyman by the hour — New York Rates, call-out fees and what moves them Handyman by the hour — Los Angeles Rates, call-out fees and what moves them Handyman by the hour — Chicago Rates, call-out fees and what moves them Handyman by the hour — Houston Rates, call-out fees and what moves them Handyman by the hour — Miami Rates, call-out fees and what moves them

Plumbing

Plumbing is priced in three layers and confusing them is how people end up feeling overcharged: a service call fee to get someone to the door, an hourly rate that depends on which licence they hold, and — for common jobs like drain cleaning — a flat price that ignores both.

Plumbing — New York Rates, call-out fees and what moves them Plumbing — Los Angeles Rates, call-out fees and what moves them Plumbing — Chicago Rates, call-out fees and what moves them Plumbing — Houston Rates, call-out fees and what moves them Plumbing — Miami Rates, call-out fees and what moves them

Electrical work

Electrical work is the category where the licence question has the least ambiguity and the highest stakes. It is also the one where a homeowner most often pays for a whole visit to solve something that took ten minutes — so the rule of thumb is to save electrical jobs up and buy them together.

Electrical work — New York Rates, call-out fees and what moves them Electrical work — Los Angeles Rates, call-out fees and what moves them Electrical work — Chicago Rates, call-out fees and what moves them Electrical work — Houston Rates, call-out fees and what moves them Electrical work — Miami Rates, call-out fees and what moves them

Furniture assembly

Assembly is the most predictable job in this list to price and the easiest to overpay for, because the flat rates advertised are for one item and the hourly rates are for a room. Which one you should buy depends entirely on how many boxes are standing in your hallway.

Furniture assembly — New York Rates, call-out fees and what moves them Furniture assembly — Los Angeles Rates, call-out fees and what moves them Furniture assembly — Chicago Rates, call-out fees and what moves them Furniture assembly — Houston Rates, call-out fees and what moves them Furniture assembly — Miami Rates, call-out fees and what moves them

Cleaning

Regular cleaning and move-out cleaning are sold as if they were the same product and they are not. One is judged by you and priced by the hour. The other is judged by a landlord or a property manager against a checklist, priced by the property, and is the one with your deposit attached to it.

Cleaning — New York Rates, call-out fees and what moves them Cleaning — Los Angeles Rates, call-out fees and what moves them Cleaning — Chicago Rates, call-out fees and what moves them Cleaning — Houston Rates, call-out fees and what moves them Cleaning — Miami Rates, call-out fees and what moves them

Get a price for your job

Ranges are a starting point, not a quote. Describe what needs doing and local pros come back with their own price — free to post, and no obligation to accept any of them.

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