How Can I Get Those Niggling Small Jobs On My House Done?
Steve Wells
10 Jan, 2009
There are all sorts of things that need doing in my house, but they are all
far too small to get someone in to do them. Unfortunately, my DIY skills
are non-existing, so what can I do? I can just about manage to change a
plug without shorting the entire street, and probably hang a picture without
having to call in a plasterer, but anything more than that will either
take me months (it took me all of last weekend to put a lock on my garden
gate. And it looks rubbish), or I'll make a complete mess of it. Don't
get me started on assembling IKEA furniture - it might say "Assembly Time:
4 hours", but that means many weekends and evening for me. Plus, it's
embarrassing to admit my failure - all my mates manage it in 4 hours
or less!
The thing with that IKEA example is that it is possible to get someone to
come and assemble it for you, but it'll cost a small fortune! Any handyman
is going to charge for at least a day (they'll have to turn down other work
to do it), and travelas well, or it's just not worth their while. So how
can I get it done?
Well, there must be someone local with a bit of spare time who would do it
in their spare timre for a reasonable price. Not a professional builder,
but someone who's slightly better than me! if they don't need to travel,
they won't need to charge for that, and they can even use my tools if they
want (My tools are, after all, brand new, and unused...). So I need somewhere
I can advertise that I want this done where local people can find me. I've
put up cards in local newsagents, and the local papers, but have had no
response. Why not? People don't really use those mediums any more for this
kind of thing - it's all done on the web these days.
Now, there are lots of sites for posting ads - Gumtree, Get Local, etc. -
but none of these are based around these small, local jobs; they're
either for businesses to advertise services, or they're general
noticeboards - none of them are really geared up for people wanting
things done. What I need is a locally-based site that allows me to put
up quick ads for as many small jobs as I need doing.
NoVatOnThat.com does just this - I can
put as many 'Help Wanted' ads up as I like (for however small a job!), and
people who can offer help can browse through the wanted ads and contact
me to help me out. They can search within a set distance of their postcode
so they know it's local - within walking distance if they like.
This is great for people who just want to earn a few extra quid here and
there, and can offer something to locals - they don't need to be experts
in their field, they just need to be able to offer some skill that someone
else is lacking; you don't need to be a professional gardener to cut a lawn!
