Looking for a handyman with light plumbing and electric

I'm looking for handyman recommendations for a gig this weekend. College students welcome. Thanks!

You want to hire a college student for plumbing and electrical work?  The two things that can most damage your house if done incorrectly?

a handyman shouldn’t be doing plumbing or electrical work

Perhaps the OP actually is using this message board correctly in that the original request is in the DIY category. I can imagine a very handy homeowner who needs some manual help in this area while the OP does the actual work. Permits are not required if one does their own work and whether you get a friend or two to help or hire a helper that may not make a difference.

The need for a "real" plumber depends on the job.  Some things are so simple and low risk, especially in the age of Youtube, that you can easily do them yourself.   The amount of money plumbers charge just to walk through your front door these days makes it inevitable that people will seek alternatives.

okay, maybe I am misreading it.  Wendy, you are incorrect about permits, however.  If the work requires a permit it doesn't matter if the homeowner does it, they need a permit.  I do almost all of my own work, with inspections and permits.  Bub, if the project is an easy DIY I wonder why they want a handyman, and conandrob240 is correct that a handyman isn't allowed to do plumbing or electrical unless they hold those licenses.

Some things are borderline, between obvious DIY and big time contractor work.  If something is in the bordeline area, I'm willing to be an outlaw and let a trusted jack of all trades handyman do it without a license.    

Maybe true with plumbing but electrical is a job for a professional. Too much injury risk with even small basic jobs

bub said:

The need for a "real" plumber depends on the job.  Some things are so simple and low risk, especially in the age of Youtube, that you can easily do them yourself.   The amount of money plumbers charge just to walk through your front door these days makes it inevitable that people will seek alternatives.

conandrob240 said:

Maybe true with plumbing but electrical is a job for a professional. Too much injury risk with even small basic jobs

bub said:

The need for a "real" plumber depends on the job.  Some things are so simple and low risk, especially in the age of Youtube, that you can easily do them yourself.   The amount of money plumbers charge just to walk through your front door these days makes it inevitable that people will seek alternatives.

To the OP:

This is a know-nothing post.  It's your damn house, do what you want.  

Yikes! Maybe all the OP needs is a faucet changed out and switches replaced.

And would you hire a college student to do that?

if you screw up your wiring and your house burns down is the loss covered by your homeowners insurance or does the fact that you used an unlicensed contractor (yourself) invalidate your policy?

If you pulled permits and had inspections you should be okay.

FilmCarp said:

okay, maybe I am misreading it.  Wendy, you are incorrect about permits, however.  If the work requires a permit it doesn't matter if the homeowner does it, they need a permit.  I do almost all of my own work, with inspections and permits.  Bub, if the project is an easy DIY I wonder why they want a handyman, and conandrob240 is correct that a handyman isn't allowed to do plumbing or electrical unless they hold those licenses.

You are correct FilmCarp. I was thinking that if you do the work yourself you don't need to be licensed but yes you do need permits if the work requires it. Thanks for correcting my error.  I suppose I was assuming that the helper/handyman would be helping the homeowner who was doing the bulk of the work and therefore they wouldn't need to be licensed. 

homeworkclub,

What jobs do you want done?

http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2016/Bills/A4500/4317_I1.PDF