Small home repairs are most of a handyman's week: a door that rubs the frame, a dent where a chair hit the wall, a tub with tired caulk, a heavy mirror waiting for a stud, a smoke alarm chirping at 3 a.m. Write them down together and Slava handles the whole lot in one trip, anywhere across Cedar Mill, Bethany, Beaverton and the streets around them. Going by what local handymen quoted in November 2026, one small fix tends to cost somewhere from $150 up to $400 in labour . See our rate and minimum . Text your list with a picture or two.
Slava has 7 years of hands-on experience fixing exactly this kind of list.
Which repairs fit a small-job visit?
Think of anything one person can finish in an afternoon or less, with no design and no layout changes. Remodels, decks and window replacement get a separate appointment and a scope on paper.
What usually ends up on these lists:
- a door that drags or won't latch, a flattened weatherstrip, a sweep that's gone;
- dings, cracks and anchor holes in the walls, then touch-up paint;
- new caulk around a tub, a shower pan or a window;
- hanging a mirror or framed art, putting up blinds or a curtain rod;
- flat-pack furniture from the box to the room;
- battery-type smoke and carbon monoxide detectors;
- a creaky floorboard or stair tread;
- insulated covers on outside spigots before it freezes.
Out here on the west side, fall and winter rain is what makes doors swell and drag, and it's when cracked caulk starts letting water behind tile. So fall is list season.
Small jobs by group: door repair · drywall repair · interior painting · bathroom refresh · TV mounting · cabinets · fence repair · deck repair · rot and siding · gutter cleaning
What should small home repairs run on Portland's west side?
The table shows what Portland-area handymen were charging per job as of November 2026, for labour alone. Parts and materials come on top. Read these as a yardstick until we price your list .
| Repair | Most often | Spread |
|---|---|---|
| Sticking, rubbing or sagging door | $250 | $150 to $400 |
| Door weatherstrip replaced | $250 | $150 to $400 |
| Patching wall holes and cracks | $295 | $175 to $450 |
| Touching up paint | $300 | $150 to $600 |
| Tub or shower re-caulk | $250 | $150 to $400 |
| Sealing around windows | $350 | $150 to $800 |
| Hanging blinds or curtain hardware | $250 | $100 to $500 |
| Art or a mirror on the wall | $225 | $120 to $450 |
| Flat-pack furniture | $200 | $120 to $500 |
| Battery smoke and CO detectors | $200 | $120 to $350 |
| Quieting a squeaky floor | $400 | $200 to $800 |
| Spigot covers and outside shut-off | $150 | $100 to $250 |
Many of these figures come from typical task time multiplied by a local labour rate near $95 to $120. So an hourly offer far below that is under the going rate here, and it's worth asking what's being left out. Our own numbers: .
A minimum exists because driving over, carrying tools in and a hardware store run cost the same for one item as for six. Grouping the little things keeps them cheap.
Can several small jobs be done in one trip?
Yes, and that's the whole idea here. A list visit goes like this:
- Send the list with one picture per item, ideally with a tape measure or a coin in the frame.
- We reply with an estimate of hours and cost .
- Slava arrives with the everyday parts already on board .
- Before he leaves, you hear about any part we'd have to order or any item that belongs to another trade.
Put the list in order of importance. If time runs out, the items you care about most are finished. Tell us roughly when the place was built; older paint changes our approach.
Items people forget to write down: .
Which little jobs are off the table?
A few short tasks still aren't ours: lock rekeying, gas connections, anything on a garage door, furnaces or AC, scraping popcorn texture or anything with asbestos, moss killer or zinc strips, yard and lawn care, junk hauling, and maintenance memberships of any kind. Just book when the list is ready. Our not-offered page says which kind of pro handles each one.
Plenty of 1960s and 70s houses around here predate 1978, and Oregon treats them as lead-painted unless testing proves otherwise. Disturb more than 6 sq ft inside any one room, or 20 sq ft on the exterior, and the job counts as renovation requiring lead-safe certification. Swapping out a window always qualifies. Filling a few nail holes or replacing a hinge comes nowhere near that. Bigger paint prep on an older house should go to a firm certified for lead work .
Is a written contract needed for a short list?
Oregon requires a signed written contract for residential work above $2,000. If a smaller job creeps past that amount, the paperwork is due within five days under ORS 701.305, from when the contractor realizes it. Lists tend to grow, so we write yours up as it nears that line . The Oregon contract requirements guide explains the notices and your right to cancel.