Handyman Services
Handyman in Burbank, CA — the whole punch list, one visit
Drywall patches, sticking doors, mounted TVs, assembled furniture, dead outlets, wobbly railings and the eleven other things on the list stuck to your fridge. Handled in one trip, for one agreed price.
- Multiple small jobs bundled into a single visit — you pay for the visit, not four separate trip charges
- Flat price agreed before work starts, not an open-ended hourly meter
- Serving Burbank, Glendale, Toluca Lake, North Hollywood and 25 miles out
- 90-day labor warranty on everything I install or repair
The Burbank punch list problem
Most Burbank houses were built between 1925 and 1965. Magnolia Park bungalows, the post-war tracts south of Burbank Boulevard, the hillside places up in the Rancho — they are wonderfully built and they are old. Plaster cracks where the house has settled. Solid-core doors swell in the September heat and stick in their jambs. Original single-pane windows bind. Closet doors come off their tracks. None of it is an emergency, so none of it gets fixed, and after four years the list is nineteen items long.
That list is exactly what a handyman is for. The problem is that most people call a specialist for each line item: a drywall guy for the crack, a carpenter for the door, an installer for the TV, and each of them charges a trip fee and a minimum. Four trades means four minimum charges before anybody has picked up a tool.
I do it the other way. You send me the list, I give you one price for the visit, and I work through it in order until it's done. Almost every Burbank customer books me for two things and hands me a list of nine when I walk in the door. That's the intended use.
What I actually do on a handyman call
Walls, ceilings and drywall
- Nail-pop, screw-pop and hairline settlement crack repair
- Drywall patching from a doorknob hole up to a full 4×4 section
- Texture matching — orange peel, knockdown, skip trowel and the smooth-coat plaster common in older Burbank homes
- Water-stain sealing after a roof or plumbing leak has been fixed
- Popcorn ceiling patch and blend on small areas (whole-ceiling removal is a licensed abatement job — see the note below)
- Baseboard, crown, casing and shoe molding repair and replacement
Doors, windows and hardware
- Doors that stick, drag, won't latch or swing open on their own
- Hinge replacement, strike-plate alignment, door planing and re-hanging
- New interior door slabs and pre-hung units
- Deadbolts, smart locks, keypad locks and lever sets
- Closet bypass and bifold door tracks, rollers and guides
- Sliding patio door rollers and track cleaning — the single most common "my door is impossible" call in the Valley
- Window screen re-screening, sash locks, cranks and balances
- Weatherstripping and door sweeps (which genuinely lower a Burbank summer electric bill)
Mounting, hanging and assembly
- TV wall mounting up to 85", stud-located and torqued, with in-wall cable routing
- Floating shelves, heavy mirrors, art walls and gallery layouts
- Curtain rods, blinds, shades, roller shades and motorized shade brackets
- IKEA, Wayfair, Article and Amazon furniture assembly — including the anti-tip anchoring that the instructions insist on and nobody does
- Garage shelving, overhead racks, slat wall and bike hoists
- Baby gates, cabinet locks and childproofing
Kitchens, baths and general repair
- Cabinet door realignment, soft-close hinges, drawer slides and pulls
- Grout repair, re-caulking tubs, showers and counters
- Towel bars, shower rods, medicine cabinets and mirrors into tile and plaster
- Toilet seats, flappers, fill valves and running-toilet repair
- Faucet and shower head replacement
- Garbage disposal replacement
- Weatherproofing, dryer vent cleaning and duct reconnection
- Gate hardware, fence pickets, deck board replacement and railing tightening
Under California Business & Professions Code §7048 — updated by AB 2622 effective January 1, 2025 — a person without a contractor's license may perform work where the total for labor and materials is under $1,000, the job does not require a building permit, and no employees are hired for it. I work inside those limits deliberately, and I will tell you on the phone when your job crosses them.
If your project needs a permit, structural work, gas line work, a service panel, a sewer line, whole-house repiping or full popcorn-ceiling abatement, you need a licensed contractor and I'll say so before you've wasted a Saturday. I keep a short list of licensed Burbank-area contractors I actually trust and I'll hand it over for free.
How pricing works
Two things drive a handyman bill: how long the work takes, and how many times someone has to drive to your house. I control the second one by batching. If you have eleven small jobs, we do them in one visit and you pay one visit price. If you have one job, you pay the minimum service charge, which covers the drive, the diagnosis and the first hour.
Handyman rates across Los Angeles County generally run $65 to $125 an hour in 2026, with most established Burbank-area independents landing between $85 and $110. I quote flat, not hourly, because an hourly meter punishes you for a job that turns out to be harder than it looked — and in a 1940s house, half of them do. If I quote you $220 for a drywall repair and the wall turns out to hide old lath, that's my problem, not your invoice.
Materials are billed at cost with the receipt attached. There's no markup on a $14 box of screws.
Why one person for both the house and the electronics
Here is a call I get constantly. Someone wants a TV mounted over the fireplace. That's a handyman job — find the studs, mount the bracket, patch and paint. But then the soundbar needs pairing, the streaming box needs an HDMI run, the Wi-Fi in that corner of the house is weak because the router is in the front closet, and the old TV needs to be recycled. That's four different specialists, or it's one visit with me.
The same thing happens in reverse at small businesses in the Burbank Media District and along San Fernando Road. A new office needs shelves hung, a monitor arm mounted, four network drops run, a switch installed in the closet and two cameras aimed at the back door. Traditionally that's a handyman, a low-voltage tech and an IT contractor. It shouldn't be.
What a visit looks like
You get a text when I'm on the way, usually 20 to 30 minutes out. I show up in a marked vehicle with the tools already loaded — a Burbank job rarely requires a supply run, because a well-stocked van covers 90% of what a house throws at you. Drop cloths go down. Shoes get covered or come off, your preference. I work through the list, show you each item as it's finished, and vacuum up before I leave.
Payment is due when the work is done and you've looked at it: card, Zelle, Venmo, cash or check. Every labor item carries a 90-day guarantee. If a patch cracks, a door starts sticking again or a mount loosens inside that window, I come back and fix it at no charge.
What handyman work typically runs in Burbank
Real ranges for the work most often requested. Yours is confirmed in writing before anything starts — no surprises at the end.
| Service | Typical price | What's included |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum service visit (up to 1 hour) | $95 – $135 | Covers travel, diagnosis and one small task |
| Half-day punch list (up to 4 hours) | $340 – $480 | Usually 4–8 small jobs across the house |
| Full-day punch list (up to 8 hours) | $620 – $850 | The whole list, plus a hardware store run |
| Drywall patch (hole up to 12") | $140 – $260 | Patch, tape, texture match, sanded and primed |
| TV wall mount, up to 65" | $150 – $250 | Stud-mounted, leveled, cables concealed in-wall |
| Furniture / shelving assembly | $85 – $190 per unit | Wall-anchored where the item requires it |
| Interior door adjust or replace | $120 – $380 | Planing, new hinges, strike plate, or full slab swap |
| Ceiling fan or light fixture swap | $140 – $240 | Existing box and wiring, like-for-like replacement |
How a job actually goes
- 1
Tell me what's wrong
Call, text a photo, or fill in the form. Photos of the model plate or the problem area cut the guesswork enormously.
- 2
Get a real price range
You get a range before I drive out, not after. If it's a job that needs a licensed contractor, I'll tell you that on the phone instead of wasting your time.
- 3
I show up in the window
You get a text when I'm on the way. Shoe covers, drop cloths, and the work area left cleaner than I found it.
- 4
Pay when it works
Flat price agreed up front. Card, Zelle, cash or check. Parts I install carry the manufacturer warranty and my labor is guaranteed for 90 days.
Questions people actually ask
How much does a handyman cost per hour in Burbank?
Independent handymen in Burbank and the surrounding San Fernando Valley generally charge $85–$125 per hour in 2026, and most set a one-hour minimum that covers travel and diagnosis. I quote flat prices per job rather than hourly, so the number you're told is the number you pay even if the job turns out to be more work than it looked. A typical single small repair lands at $95–$135; a half-day of stacked-up small jobs runs $340–$480.
Do you charge a trip or diagnostic fee?
No trip charge anywhere in Burbank. For estimates I'll give you a price range over the phone or from photos for free. Outside Burbank, the estimate is still free — travel is simply built into the quoted job price rather than billed separately.
Can a handyman do electrical and plumbing work in California?
Yes, within limits. California's §7048 exemption lets an unlicensed person perform work where labor and materials total under $1,000, no permit is required, and no employees are used. That covers a great deal of practical work: replacing outlets, switches, ceiling fans and light fixtures on existing circuits, swapping faucets, toilets, disposals and shut-off valves. It does not cover new circuits, panel work, gas lines, repiping or anything that needs a permit from Burbank's Community Development Department. I stay inside the line and tell you clearly when a job crosses it.
How fast can you get here?
Most calls placed before noon get a same-day or next-morning slot. Burbank, Toluca Lake, Glendale and North Hollywood are usually same-day. The outer edge of the service radius — Santa Clarita, Woodland Hills, Arcadia — is usually next-day. Genuine emergencies (active leak, no power to a room, a door that won't lock) jump the queue.
Do I need to buy the materials myself?
Whichever you prefer. If you've already bought the faucet, the fan or the flat-pack, great — I'll install it. If not, I'll pick up materials and bill them at cost with the receipt. There is no markup on materials.
Are you insured?
Yes — general liability coverage is carried on every job and I'm happy to email a certificate before I arrive. Several Burbank condo and apartment buildings require one on file with the HOA before work starts; just tell me who to send it to.
Will you work in apartments, condos and rental properties?
Regularly. Landlords and property managers across Burbank, Glendale and NoHo use me for turnovers — patch, paint touch-up, blind replacement, door adjustment, disposal swap, smoke detector batteries — all in one visit between tenants. I can invoice the management company directly and provide before-and-after photos for your records.
What if the repair doesn't hold?
Call me and I come back free within 90 days. That's the labor warranty on every job. Parts carry whatever warranty the manufacturer provides, and I register them in your name when the manufacturer allows it.
What neighbors say
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“Our Samsung fridge stopped cooling on a Friday. Armen came out the same afternoon, found a failed evaporator fan, and had it running before dinner. He showed me the old part and explained exactly what happened. No upsell, no drama.”
“Three-story townhouse with Wi-Fi that died on the top floor. He ran a hardwired access point instead of selling me another extender, and now I get full speed in every room. He labeled every cable in the closet too.”
“Four cameras around the house plus a doorbell, all on my phone. He walked the property with me first and moved two camera positions based on where our packages actually get dropped. Clean cable runs, nothing hanging.”
Handyman Services across Burbank and 25 miles
Based in Burbank, on the road every day across the east Valley, the Verdugos and the west San Gabriel Valley.