Not Just Handymen

We hired Not Just Handymen to do a number of projects around our apartment several years ago when we first moved in. Earlier this month. one of the curtain rails that they installed began to come out of the wall. I reached out to Kellam, who was able to very quickly set up a time to come an repair the rail, at no charge. It took him a few hours and an extra trip back to his workshop to get a tool, but he still refused to take any fee. He is professional, cleans up after finishing the work (immaculately!), and is very easy to work with. I will definitely use them again when I have projects I can’t tackle on my own!

This company seemed good at first. They called me back right away and put me in contact with the handyman that would install interior French doors for me. The handyman gave me a quote and then said to contact him when I have the doors in my possession. I purchased the doors and now all of a sudden I can’t get ahold of the handyman and have these huge doors blocking my hallway. I tried via phone and email and no response. I called the office and the manager said he would have him call me, but that didn’t happen. This company is incompetent and unreliable. I ended up choosing Checklist Home Services to install my doors and they are wonderful.

I had a very bad first experience with this company.
The person doing the bookings was friendly and didn’t return my calls on the matter I was trying to resolve.
My first repair man did not complete the work requested, I was very disappointed with it.
After about 4 weeks of complaints, I finally spoke to the owner of the company who gave me the time of a new handyman for free to fix the originally work that was poorly done.
I am now satisfied with the work, but the experience was not good and I would ensure anyone who uses this service to demand a clear fixed price quote up front.

Great experience. They sent Jesse who was very knowledgeable. I had him install 2 window a/​c units and, to fill the two hour minimum of the company, hang some pictures. I would definitely use again.

It seems that «Not Just Handymen» is like a taxi-​dispatching service and my «driver» was Sergey.
Sergey was on time for the meeting we scheduled on Monday, 12/3.2012. He explained that he would be doing the work himself and he seemed knowledgeable and professional.
He said he would send a proposal the following day or latest, the day after along with references.
It is now a full week later and there has been no communication from him.
I contemplated going back to their main office to request another «driver» but since there has been no follow up from that main office either– and I copied them on my follow up email– it doesn’t bode well for future care.
For your consideration…

I called Not Just Handymen for a project I was working on to mix Elfa modular shelving with reclaimed barn wood shelves, it was a tricky project that needed to be done fast over the holidays. Kellam and Clay were responsive, totally understood what I needed and really easy to communicate with. They did the work fast and accurately and I will be calling them again as soon as I start my next house project!

I cannot say enough good things about Ed Neale and the Notjusthandymen company. Their prices are reasonable. They worked quite quickly and did a beautiful job. They were very polite and easy to get along with, answered all my questions, cleaned-​up after themselves, and went out of their way to make sure that I was pleased with everything. They did a beautiful job with roof repair, sheetrock work, replacements for sections of damaged tin ceilings, and some trim work. I recommend them very highly with no reservations whatsoever. A + !

Gary was great! I had a bunch of odd jobs around my apartment and he was able to handle everything. I had dimmers installed in my bathroom and bedroom, shelves installed in the living room and bedroom (which was a pain since my walls are uneven and needed to be reinforced to hold heavy books), installed window blinds and put together a kitchen island.
There was a little bit of a communication issue when I was first making the arrangements, but Kellam was really great about it and offered me a discount for the inconvenience.

Called back quickly and were courteous with my time. Got things done quickly and effectively — and were even willing to cope with the nonsense of insurance repairs (since the damage was caused by a third-​party moving company, who covered the damages).
The work was efficient and clean. They charge a hair more than other people — but after watching over the man with that «how are you doing to try and do something suspicious» look — he was completely professional and clean. When the job took longer than expected (and ran over the estimate) they honored the original amount quoted — when does that ever happen in this city?
I am usually reluctant to hire service people in this area, but «Not Just Handimen» are the exception.

I was so impressed with this company!
I had to find someone to remove an air-​conditioner from my window at very short notice and these guys came to my rescue with no hesitation. Kellam in the office assured me that he would find some and called me back within a couple of hours and had booked a handyman for the following day at a great price. He emailed me with full confirmation and contact details of who would be coming to the home. Clay — the handyman, also emailed me introducing himself and confirming details. Clay also called me to touch base and texted me the next day with a confirmation on time. On the job, Clay was so friendly and so professional. He was fast and efficient. I would use this company without a second thought. They have fantastic work ethic and definitely know what customer service means.

Kellam gave my project complete detailed attention. The fellow Chris who did our work was fastidious, talented and lovely to have in our home. He fixed a problem that our previous super had created. Now our very heavy mirror is hung and the pocket door behind it opens smoothly all the way. Thanks Chris. We’ll be looking for something else for you to do.

My first run-​in with NYCityStuff was underwhelming: a handyman came to mount my flat screen and hang a large mirror on my walls, but was inexperienced and ended up having to employ a few workarounds that made me nervous (putting liquid nails around the bolts holding my TV on the wall so it wouldn’t spontaneously crash to the floor – really?)
However, my feelings about them did a total 180 when Kellam, one of the lead NYCityStuff guys, came to take the TV & mirror down and then put them up in my new place. An easygoing and extremely knowledgeable guy, Kellam is a sustainable furniture & design installation expert moonlighting as a handyman on the side — i.e., sharing his wealth of knowledge so that people’s apartments don’t look heinous. He told me about this recent project he had just completed and I was truly impressed:
.c…
He apologized for the guy he had hired who had originally done the work, worked really efficiently and even pointed out a couple things for consideration (the right height for my TV so that I wouldn’t get a crick in my neck, «drunk proofing» my window A/​C by screwing it to window frame so I couldn’t open it and accidentally send it into free fall, and literally hanging something spot on where I wanted it).
On top of all this, Zoe coordinated both appointments for me completely via email, was easily reached and quick to respond.
They’re not the cheapest co. around, but they’re not meant to be. Their work is guaranteed and the service I received the second go around was WELL worth it – I have complete piece of mind and would not hesitate to contact them again for any task at my place.

*** Editing 11/​19/​2012. Received a note from Paul at NYCityStuff asking that I change my edit below because the company name did not in fact change. Instead of getting caught up in the mess of name changes existing or not, I’ll simply say that I’m writing this review for Kellam and Suzanne. They came and did the estimate and work for the curtains and were fantastic. My first edit, below, was from sometime in 2011.***
***Note: moving this review from NYCITYSTUFF HANDYMEN & CONTRACTING at the request of the owner Kellam — said they have changed names. Originally dated 10÷5÷2010. ***
I’ve never hired a handyman, but I’ve tried to hire one multiple times over the past few months to hang my curtains. My walls are a nightmare — I tried to hang these with a friend and they fell, and then my super came, tried, left big gaping holes in my wall, and promptly stopped answering my phone calls. You’d think I’d just give up, or just get tension rods, but nooo — I am completely enamored of the curtains that I bought and I got to the point mentally where I needed to have them up or my apartment would never feel like my home (yes, I’m crazy). I decided to call in the experts.
First of all, out of all the handymen I called, these guys were the only ones to actually show up for their appointment — it’s bad when simply showing up puts you ahead of the rest of the game, right? Well luckily, it’s only bad for the other NYC handymen out there because thankfully, NYCityStuff is great for so much more than simply showing up. They sent THREE people out to do an estimate for me, which cost nothing, even if I decided not to hire them, and they had a very in-​depth conversation about the work to be involved in front of me while they came up with the estimate — I appreciated hearing about all the details. They were able to book the appointment to do the work within two days. I didn’t even have to be home — Suzanne came at 8am, I left for work at 8:30am, and I came home in the evening to beautifully, evenly hung curtains.
They are a bit expensive, but the thing is that we live in New York, and what they charge is only a tad above normal handymen prices for New York. It wasn’t that much more than phone estimates I got from handymen who never showed up who didn’t even see my walls so couldn’t tell what was really involved. That tad above normal-​for-​NY is completely worth it — you get efficient, trustworthy people who stand by their work and their word, who call you back, who are punctual… in short, who are a breeze to work with. I have complete faith that if my curtains were to fall, they’d come back and fix them without charging me again because they’ve promised me that their work will hold. All that is REALLY hard to find when looking for a handyman. And honestly, in the long run, you save money, because they do the job right the first time.
If I ever need more work done in my apartment, I’ll definitely call them — the peace of mind you get with hiring the best is worth skipping a few unnecessary luxuries.