STRAIGHT ANSWERS FROM THE VAN.

ADVICE · NOTES FROM THE CREW

Twelve years of fixed-price work in New York apartments, written down. What a price covers, when a boiler is worth saving, how to read a quote. No jargon, no upsell.

Quote paperwork on a kitchen counter before a plumbing job

What a fixed price actually includes (and what it never does)

The number on your phone covers travel, sales tax, cleanup and the labor to finish the job. Here is the short list of what sits outside it, and why.

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Copper heating pipes and valves in a basement boiler room

When a boiler is worth saving, and when it isn’t

A $149 tune-up fixes most winter complaints. Here is the honest math we use before we ever suggest a replacement.

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Electrician’s gloved hands wiring breakers inside an electrical panel

Your electrical panel matters more than your outlets

Pre-war apartments were wired for a lamp and a radio. Here is how to tell whether your panel can carry a modern kitchen, and what an upgrade involves.

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Close-up of a stainless steel kitchen sink drain

The 20-minute check before you call about a blocked drain

Half of our drain calls could have waited a day, and a few of them could have been solved with a kettle. Try these first.

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White subway tile being installed on a bathroom wall

How to read a bathroom remodel quote

Three quotes, three different totals, and none of them say the same thing. Here is the line-by-line way we read them, including our own.

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Window of a pre-war apartment looking onto brick buildings in winter light

Frozen pipes: the winter checklist for pre-war apartments

Pipes in exterior walls, radiators near drafty windows, a cabinet door left closed on a cold night. The $349 repair almost always starts the same way.

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