I receive a lot of requests from homeowners to do minor repairs or alterations, such as cutting a door after carpeting is installed, replacing or repairing a leaking window, installing new storm doors and hundreds of other small jobs. First let's define a small job and when it's cut and dried.

For example, you have just had new carpeting installed in your master bedroom and now the door will not close. That sounds like a simple job of removing one inch from the bottom of the door. So you get a quote from a local carpenter or handyman that a neighbor referred to you who tells you it will cost $500 to cut the first door and $35 for each additional door. And you think to yourself, why so much for only one inch?

What the homeowner never seems to take into account is that there are usually many steps involved in a job, even the very smallest. First, tools and materials must be obtained. Then comes setup, such as laying out drop cloths to protect new carpet: setting up saw horses on which to lay the doors that need to be cut and then finding proper electrical connections for power tools, etc., etc. Reverse the order when the job is finished and needs to be cleaned up. This all takes time for which the mechanic must be paid. Now add to this the fact that the door has been on those hinges for 35 years with 10 coats of paint on them. Do you think those doors are going to pop right off? Not likely. There will be chipped paint on the hinges and probably the bottom of the door that will have to be touched up as well as sealing the new cut with primer sealer to prevent warping from moisture. This all takes time not to mention the fact that your carpenter has his won overhead to consider - the cost of tools, insurance, transportation, etc.

If you find someone who can do all this for $100, you're getting one heck of a deal! Matter of fact, send him over to my house.

The point is, there is usually a lot more time and work involved than the customer realizes, no matter how small the job. The homeowner should keep this in mind when considering doing any home repair and maintenance project. Now go ahead and order that new wall-to-wall carpeting. Better yet, have you ever considered refinishing your hardwood floors?