Flat-pack assembly and common odd-job prices
Flat-pack furniture assembly is commonly cited as the single most requested job UK handymen are booked for, and it's a useful starting point for understanding how these smaller, one-off jobs tend to be priced compared with a straightforward hourly call-out. Assembly typically costs £40-£120 per item or task, with a commonly quoted national average of around £80 — a simple bookcase or bedside table sits toward the lower end, while a large wardrobe, especially one with sliding doors or multiple sections, sits toward the top. Where a handyman charges purely by the hour rather than per item, flat-pack work is commonly billed at £20-£60 an hour, averaging out at roughly £40. For comparison, IKEA's own in-house assembly service is cited as starting from around £33 for the simplest items, giving a rough sense of the entry-level end of the market.
Shelving and general fixing work follows a similar per-job or hourly pattern. Putting up a set of shelves, whether floating shelves or a bracket-mounted unit, is a common handyman task priced in the same broad band as flat-pack assembly, and complexity — how many shelves, what they're being fixed into, and whether the wall needs special fixings — is the main thing that moves the price up or down. Mounting a TV on a wall bracket is another frequently requested job, and pricing here tends to depend heavily on the wall type and whether cables need to be hidden or channelled into the wall, since concealing cabling neatly takes considerably longer than a simple surface-mounted job.
Curtain rails, poles and blinds are another very common small job. Fitting a single curtain pole, track or roller blind typically involves measuring the window, drilling and fixing the brackets, and hanging the rail or blind itself, usually with the customer supplying the rail or blind and the handyman supplying the labour and fixings. As with shelving, the wall material makes a real difference — fixing into solid masonry generally takes longer, and needs different fixings, than fixing into plasterboard or a stud wall, so it's worth mentioning your wall type when asking for a quote.
Resealing a bath, shower tray, sink or basin with fresh silicone is one of the more specialised small jobs a handyman is often asked to do, and it's commonly priced separately from general call-out work because it requires stripping out old, often mouldy sealant before applying new. A full bath or shower tray reseal, including materials and labour, commonly costs around £50-£100, while a smaller job such as resealing a kitchen sink or bathroom basin tends to sit toward the lower end of that range or slightly below it; one specialist provider's example fixed prices were roughly £70 including VAT for a sink or basin and around £110 including VAT for a full bath or shower tray, offered here as an illustrative example of the kind of pricing you might see rather than a fixed nationwide figure.
A few practical points make a real difference to how these jobs get priced and how well they turn out. Tall or heavy flat-pack furniture, particularly wardrobes and tall bookcases, should generally be fixed to the wall for safety once assembled, and the wall-fixing brackets or rawl plugs needed for this typically add a modest £2-£12 in materials on top of the main job. Grouping several small tasks together into a single visit, rather than booking separate call-outs for each one, is consistently one of the most effective ways to bring the total cost down, since many handymen offer a day rate — commonly around £200-£350 outside London for a full day — that works out considerably cheaper per job than paying the minimum call-out fee repeatedly.
When getting a quote for any of these jobs, it's worth being specific: how many items need assembling, what the walls are made of, whether old sealant or fittings need removing first, and whether you're supplying materials such as the curtain rail or blind yourself. Clear details up front generally lead to a more accurate quote, and fewer surprises once the handyman actually starts work.
Frequently asked questions
Typically £40-£120 per item or task, with a commonly quoted national average of around £80; simpler pieces sit toward the lower end and large wardrobes or multi-part units toward the top.
A full reseal, including stripping old sealant and applying new, commonly costs around £50-£100 including materials and labour, with smaller jobs such as a sink or basin often costing somewhat less.
Tall or heavy flat-pack furniture is generally recommended to be secured to the wall for safety once assembled, and the fixings needed for this typically add a modest £2-£12 in materials on top of the assembly cost.
Usually yes — bundling multiple small tasks into one visit lets you use a handyman's day rate, commonly around £200-£350 outside London, which typically works out cheaper per job than paying a separate minimum call-out fee for each one.