What we do
Ten services, all under one roof: general handyman repairs, guttering and downpipes, timber repairs, small roof jobs, painting and decorating, fence and gate repair, small plumbing, small electrical, flat-pack and home fitting, and property maintenance. That’s it. We don’t do full extensions, structural building, gas work, new circuits, kitchen fits or bathroom rip-outs. Keep the focus narrow, do those ten well.
Why local matters here
Dover’s conditions are specific. Chalk substrate holds water at the wall base. Coastal salt-laden easterlies from October through March eat fixings and drive a timber-rot cycle that inland trades don’t design around. Georgian and Victorian housing stock through the centre needs a different fixing method than the newer estates at Whitfield and Aycliffe. Ash dieback on the East Kent hedgerows is a live property-damage risk on any rural boundary.
A general contractor from further inland doesn’t know any of that without being told. We work this coast every week. The specifications match what actually holds up here.
How we work
- Photos and postcode for a quote. Most small jobs get a fixed price without a visit. Larger jobs get a free no-obligation site look.
- Fixed-price quotes. No day-rate creep. If the job takes longer than we expected, that’s our problem, not yours.
- Marine-grade fixings on any coastal or cliff-elevation job. A4 (grade 316) stainless is our default. A couple of pounds more per fitting, three times the lifespan.
- Salt-primer on exposed exterior timber. Standard prep on any south or east-facing elevation.
- Photo report before and after on gutter, roof and property-maintenance visits. Not just a text saying ‘done’.
- All rubbish carted away. Nothing left on your drive.
- Bank transfer or cash. Invoice or receipt either way.
Where we stop
Firm boundaries, told to you upfront, no argument. When a job turns out to be:
- Gas of any kind - Gas Safe engineer, always.
- New electrical circuits or consumer unit work - Part-P registered electrician, always.
- Structural work (removing chimney breasts, opening load-bearing walls) - structural engineer plus builder.
- Full-roof recover or strip-and-relay - roofer.
- Listed-building heritage joinery (Georgian sash box-frame rebuild on a listed property) - heritage joiner.
… we tell you, we don’t charge for the visit, and we pass you to someone we’d be happy to use ourselves. No referral commission on any of those handovers.
What you won’t get
- A salesman trying to upsell you a ‘whole property refresh’.
- A quote that grows on the day.
- A bodge job on something that should have been a specialist call.
- Any suggestion that we’re Gas Safe / NICEIC / Trustmark accredited when we’re not. If we say we hold a qualification, we hold it.
Our promise
Three things you can hold us to on every job:
- A proper job, or you don’t pay. No payment until you’ve looked at the finished work and you’re happy.
- 5% off for pensioners. Anyone on a state pension. Honour system - just mention it when you book.
- 10% off repeat jobs over £500. Used us before? Your next bigger job gets 10% off, no time limit, no need to ask.
Contact
Email hello@doverhandyman.co.uk. Call or WhatsApp 07763 100 477. Based in Dover CT16; covering CT14, CT15, CT16 and CT17 as the standard round.