What a Handyman Can and Cannot Do in Florida
Most of what goes wrong in a house is small: a door that rubs, a patch of damaged drywall, a fence board that came loose, a room that needs paint. That is handyman work. Florida also reserves certain trades for licensed contractors, and knowing the difference before you call anyone saves time and keeps you out of trouble with your insurer or your building.
Work a handyman normally handles
- Interior and exterior painting, with the patching and prep that goes with it
- Small drywall repairs, texture matching and touch-ups
- Baseboards, trim, interior doors and hardware
- Regrouting, replacing a few loose tiles, fresh caulk
- Laminate and vinyl plank flooring
- Yard care, pressure washing, fence and deck repairs
- Furniture assembly and repair, TV mounts, shelves and curtain rods
Work that needs a licensed contractor
Florida requires a state or county license for the trades where a mistake can hurt someone or damage the building. In practice that means:
- Electrical: new outlets, wiring, panels, hardwired fixtures
- Plumbing: supply lines, drains, valves, water heaters
- Air conditioning: anything inside the unit, refrigerant, drain lines, ducts
- Roofing: repairs, coatings and tarping
- Structural work: framing, load-bearing walls, slabs, seawalls
- Anything that needs a permit, such as impact windows and doors or a new fence
Rules are set by the state and then tightened by each county and city, so Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach do not always treat the same job the same way. When a job sits near the line, the safe move is to ask the local building department.
Jobs that are really two jobs
Many repairs have a licensed part and a finishing part. A plumber fixes the leak, then someone has to close the wall, match the texture and paint. An electrician adds the outlet, then the drywall needs patching. Splitting the work this way is normal, and it is usually cheaper than asking one trade to do everything.
How to tell which one you need
- If it carries water, power, gas or refrigerant, start with the licensed trade.
- If it holds the house up or keeps weather out at the roof, same answer.
- If it is a surface, a finish, a fixture you can unscrew, or something in the yard, it is likely handyman work.
- If the wall or floor is wet, musty or moldy, deal with the moisture first. Our sister company DryMiami handles that.
We stay on the handyman side of that line and say so on the quote. If part of your list belongs to another trade, we tell you which part and do the rest. See the full list on our services page.
Rather have someone do it?
Send us your list with a few photos and get one written quote for all of it.
