The Dutch Handyman

Paulus Dominicus, aka the Dutch Handyman, does carpentry, woodworking and wood restoration, painting, and light construction work, in and around Brooktondale NY.

His schedule is very full and his projects are facing delays due to health issues. He is spending a lot of time at the chiropractor's, the acupuncturist's, and the neurologist's. We hope to have some positive results soon. We thank you for your understanding and patience.

This simple website is being assembled in order to showcase some photographs from past projects and to provide basic contact information (in English! at long last...)

Contact:

To reach Paulus, you can call or text the following number: 6 zero 7 7 zero 8 zero 3 99.

You can send an email to pwgdominicus "at" hot m a i l . c o m.  (Sorry for the inconvenience of not providing a hot link, but we get so much spam, we needed to do something...)

If you are from Angie's List, or some national company that expects Paulus to submit invoices in triplicate and wait 90 days for payment, don't bother. We are not interested.

Insurance:

Paulus has liability insurance through Dryden Mutual. He is not licensed to do electrical or plumbing work, however.

Tarief:

As of 2024, Paulus charges $80/ hour, with a 3 hour minimum. (If he comes to handle a small job and it only takes him 2 hours, you will have 1 hour credit towards a future job.) Past clients are grandfathered in at their previous rates, and past clients (who quickly became friends) are top priorities whenever there is an emergency.

Estimates:

Paulus doesn't give "fixed price" estimates because too many things are uncertain in the handyman business. You never know what you will find behind a wall that needs to come down. All charges are by the hour... including (as of 2024) the time required to do research and write up estimates. The bookkeeper (i.e. Paulus's wife Emily) is trying to bring some order to the chaos. If you reach Paulus by phone and he agrees to stop by your place to give a verbal indication of what work needs to be done and whether he can do it... and if he isn't gone for hours and hours, Emily will look the other way and let it slide... ;-)

Other details:

Paulus doesn't smoke, doesn't drink, doesn't play music at the job site, loves dogs and cats and all animals, loves good dark coffee, works with eco-friendly materials whenever possible, is a huge fan of re-using and recycling, loves kids, and gets along with everyone (he does not support Trump but will interact amicably with fellow contractor buddies of all stripes). He is a stickler for "doing it right" -- he won't quickly sand and paint over some older paint that is starting to peel, if he thinks it will just look nice for a while and then start peeling again. So, if you just looking for a short term fix (because you are going to sell or rent a space), you can save money by working with someone else. Also, Paulus wears a Utilikilt. Always, winter or summer. Also, he loves Japanese drumming (taiko) and wants to make drums and start a drumming school one day.