Our $95 Handyman Call-Out Fee Is Waived When You Hire Us
We charge a flat $95 visit fee when we come out to look at a job, and it is waived when you approve the work. Everything else is a firm written quote you approve before work starts. Here is exactly how quotes, fees and billing work.
Do You Charge a Call-Out Fee?
Yes: a flat $95 service and dispatch fee (sometimes called a call-out fee or trip charge) when we come out to diagnose or quote on site, the same anywhere in our service area, with no mileage charges. It is waived entirely when you approve the work, so customers who hire us never pay it. Nearly everything else is quoted as a flat price you approve before work starts.
Planning a bigger project? Our home repair and remodeling cost guides show planning ranges and what moves the price, including the deck, kitchen and bathroom guides.
Updated by Twin Ports Contracting & Repair, Duluth, MN
Three Ways a Job Gets Priced
Twin Ports Contracting & Repair prices nearly every job as a flat rate you approve before work starts. A defined job gets a flat quote, a job we need to see first starts with a visit, and a long list can book as a half- or full-day block. Materials are billed at receipt as their own line.
Flat-Rate Job Pricing
Nearly everything we do is quoted as one flat price you approve — not an open meter.
- You see the number before any work begins
- No hourly meter running while we find a part
- Hidden damage is re-quoted with photos, never added silently
- Materials listed separately from labor
Service & Dispatch Fee
For when we come out to diagnose or quote on site. Approve the work and the fee disappears.
- A pro comes out and walks the project with you
- Diagnosis and a written flat-rate quote
- Fee waived entirely with the repair — approve the work and you don't pay it at all
- Same $95 anywhere in our service area — no mileage charges
List Days — Bundle & Save
One pro, one visit, working straight through your prioritized to-do list.
- Half-day (up to 4 hrs) or full-day (up to 8 hrs)
- Accepted tasks prioritized within the agreed visit
- Combine ready tasks to share travel and setup
- Call for current block rates
The Rules We Price By
1. You approve the number before work starts. Nearly everything we do is quoted flat and upfront. No meter running while someone hunts for a part, no mystery line items at the end.
2. Materials are your call — and never your errand. Provide your own, or we source every part for you. Materials always appear as their own line on the quote, separate from labor.
3. The service fee disappears when you approve the work. The visit fee only stays on the bill when you decide not to go ahead; why we charge it at all is answered in the questions below.
4. If it's not worth doing, we'll say so. Sometimes the honest quote is a small repair instead of a big replacement — and sometimes it's "this needs a licensed specialist, not us." You'll hear it straight either way.
Two Ways to Handle Materials
Some people love picking out their own fixtures. Others just want it handled. Both are fine by us — and neither one costs you a Saturday in a hardware store aisle.
You Provide the Materials
Already bought the faucet? Have a specific tile picked out? Perfect — have it on site and we'll install it.
- Use exactly the brand, model & finish you want
- You control the material budget completely
- We'll tell you before the day if anything you bought looks wrong for the job
- Keep receipts & boxes in case of a defective part
We Source Everything for You
Hand us the project and we'll handle the shopping — parts picked up before we arrive, so not one minute of your job is spent hunting for supplies.
- Zero time wasted — we arrive with everything the job needs
- No trips to the store on your clock
- We know which brands last and which ones are box-store orphans
- Billed at receipt as its own line — never hidden inside labor
Typical prices for 27 common jobs are in our Duluth handyman cost ranges, and the estimator totals your list.
Fair Questions, Straight Answers
Do you charge for estimates?
Only when someone has to come out. A quote from photos or a written list costs nothing; a visit to diagnose or measure on site carries a flat $95 fee, the same everywhere we work, and it's waived when you approve the work. So the only visits that are ever billed are the ones where you decide not to go ahead.
Do you charge for travel time?
There's no separate travel or mileage charge anywhere in our service area: no mileage tiers, no zones and no fuel surcharge. Getting to an on-site visit is covered by the same flat visit fee in Duluth, Superior, Moose Lake or Bemidji, and drive time is never added to the price of the job itself. Approve the work, and the visit fee drops off too.
Do you charge by the hour?
Most work is quoted as a flat price upfront, so you approve the number before work starts. Long to-do lists can be booked as half-day or full-day visits, which is usually the better value for a pile of small jobs. A block is priced for the half or full day before it is booked, not counted by the minute; call for current block rates.
How are materials billed?
Materials are billed at receipt, as their own line on the quote, separate from labor and never buried in it. The quote names the product, quantity and finish we agreed on before anything is bought. If you supply your own materials, that line simply drops off, and we'll flag anything you bought that looks wrong for the job before the day.
Why charge a service fee at all?
Because an unbilled in-home visit gets built into everyone's prices — the customers who book end up paying for everyone who didn't. Our way keeps job prices honest: a visit has one fixed price, and it's waived the moment you approve the work. Many jobs never need the visit at all, because photos and a written list are enough to quote them.
How do you take payment?
Card, check, or cash, with payment due when the work is done and you've walked it with us. Larger projects (decks, kitchen updates) split into a materials deposit and a completion payment, spelled out in the written quote. Because the walk-through comes first, you see the finished work before you pay, and the quote states when each payment is due.
Is the quote binding? What if you find something worse?
The quote is the price for the scope we quoted. If we open something up and find hidden damage — rot behind siding, a corroded valve — we stop, show you photos, and quote the added scope before touching it. You decide; nothing gets added silently.
Get Your Number
Send your whole list with photos, and we'll send back a real quote — usually within one business day.