Handywoman Services

We've used Cecelia before and while she does not always give you the rock-bottom price, she's not going to gouge you,and her workmanship and professionalism can't be beat. She takes great pride in her work and is careful to hire good people when she's subcontracting. She also speaks Spanish fluently, which matters because a lot of the skilled workmen she hires are Spanish-speaking and you don't want little miscommunications when it's your house you're talking about. She's not always the best at promptly returning phone calls, I guess because she's busy, but she does respond to a friendly nudge ("Hey! Where's my estimate?"). If that's the worst I can say about her.....Overall, she's great.

Did not hear from her again. Didnt use the service.

I had some issues with getting Cecelia to respond to my email requesting her assistance. Then I had problems with her providing me with her estimate. Once those issues were resolved, we were able to set a date for her to start working. The entire process took almost two months -- her review of work requested was done on April 28, and the final day of her work was June 22. Most of the work occurred in one day in early June -- that's when she and her assistant did the installations of the light fixtures, ceiling fan, smoke detectors, closet installation, closet door replacements. Also fixed outside motion detector lighting problems, hole in soffit, and triming of lilac bush; however, was unable to figure out successful addition of second door bell downstairs and forgot to do hanging of hose holder. Cleaned gutter out where leak occurred, explained issue about gutter install errors - promised to return with estimate for rehanging gutter (never returned to do that). After reviewing problem of closing of attic pull-down step, promised to return with appropriate supplies to handle that repair (as well as to complete door bell install and hose hanger install). After some delay in responding to my emails asking when the additional projects would be completed, she returned and again worked diligently at the doorbell install - but was unable to determine why new doorbell was not working properly. Worked on pull-down steps and explained why her fix would cause hinge to work properly. Forgot about hanging hose holder (it was pouring rain that day); when reminded, she said that she would return another day and put up the holder. As of today (July 31, 2010) she has not returned. Also - pulldown steps to attic still do not work properly (hinge apparatus still not working properly). All other work she accomplished was done quickly, with good results. She and her assistant cleaned up the work area, and left things as neat as when they first arrived. I would use Cecelia again -- for installing new equipment, plumbing and electrical work, etc. However, for more complicated repairs (e.g., attic steps etc) I would not have her do the work. She is very good for most things. The major issue with her was the scheduling of the work, and responding to emails. She is very pleasant to work with, and is quite upfront and honest about the work estimates.

Very well! She came when scheduled, did the work well, and was very attentive to detail. She also did repairs to our front door the previous month. She will be our go-to repair person in the future. In fact, we plan on having her install a cable jack soon.

I hadn't been able to step out into my back yard since I bought my house 2 years ago because of the weeds, even after I'd spent hours clearing it out myself. After Handywoman Services came to my house, I barely recognized the yard. Their work was wonderful.

Cecilia and her helpers did all the things we asked of them, but with difficulty, since she did not realistically assess the job in terms of her ability to handle it. The mulch beds were not a problem, but cutting back and pruning the ornamental grasses proved to be a real challenge because she chose to use tools that were unsuitable for the job. Because of that decision the job took two days instead of one. We like Cecilia and were grateful for her help. We were satisfied with the effort she and her helpers put out, since we definitely got value for the money, but in future we will hire someone for those jobs whose main line of work is yard work and landscaping.

The door replacement went well. She had to trim the doors to fit which was extra work. When she was finished, the bottom tracks were gone. Not really a BIG issue except in the bathroom - I had installed floor tile several years ago, and about 2 inches of that was now gone. Since whe had to come back to do the tile work anyway, she told me to get some threshold tile and she would install it. For the tile work, the existing tile was ceramic tile in a discontinued color. I bought terra cotta tile to extend around the stove. Because the terra cotta is smaller than the ceramic tile, she said that she didn't want to extend it as is because it would look sloppy. She told me that, if I would remove the existing ceramic tile and bought new terra cotta tile, she would help me by installing it in place of the ceramic tile. I did, and she did. Toward the end of the job, though, she was beginning to get tired and started to fuss about not agreeing to this extra work and how she wasn't going to stay here all day. When the tile work was done, I noticed that the exhaust fan wouldn't stay on straight, and discovered that one of the retaining brackets was busted. I replaced it. There was also a chip in the bathroom floor tile that hadn't been there before. I understand that things happen, but it would have been appreciated if it was brought to my attention instead of having to find it out. We agreed to one more visit to have her install some carpet trim, where the old bottom tracks used to be, and to re-install a spice rack in the kitchen just above the new tile. Everything went fine. About 2 weeks later, the spice rack came completely down, anchor bolts and all. I sent her an email telling her this and have never heard from her again.

I contacted Handywoman services then she came to my home. I was suppose to get a free estimate but was informed to contact her later. I called her but my calls were never returned.

She did a great job! She's very knowledgeable and professional. I appreciated her advice about how to do some of the things better than I had been thinking of doing. The price was good compared to the other estimates I got. I'm very happy with the results and would readily hire her again. I did actually try getting an estimate from her for another project more recently but she didn't return my call unfortunately. Otherwise, definitely make her a first choice!

I left a message and never heard back. I spoke my number clearly twice during the message.

I was led to use Handywoman Services because the business operates out of my current neighborhood and is run by a woman and I'm glad I did. Ms. Cecelia was very professional, as well as personable. She is very knowledgeable when it comes to her craft. She even corrected a terrible caulk job that my husband and I paid for about a month ago and it looks great! We will refer her to our friends and will definitely use her again.

I would hired them again. They are professional, do good work, and know how to listen. Because they are in demand you must schedule them as early as possible. It could take a while to book them.

The job took three days of HARD work with a sandblaster, acid, and other glue removers. But they didn't leave until it was done. The porch is now ready for painting. Even though the job turned out to be a bigger and more time consuming one than originally estimated, Cecilia did not charge us more. We were so impressed with the work, we did pay her additional money. Such a great job! And she also told us which paint to use and how to move forward on several other projects. We will definitely have Cecilia come back for other projects in the future.

I tried to set up an appointment via e-mail. We e-mailed back and forth several times and I finally proposed a date for her to come by to do the requested work. She was slow to respond each time to my e-mails, and never responded to my proposed date. I have never heard back from her since.

Cecilia responded via text, email or phone. Came down, gave me an estimate, returned for the work. Everything went as planned, as expected, no surprises. We have used her since to repair some plaster and repaint in our own home.

All the windows work now!! :-) We are still working out the details on re-glazing. What impressed me about Cecelia was her honesty. First, she identified several windows that didn't need to be re-strung, which saved us money. Then, I asked her about a few other small jobs around the house, and her response was "I can definitely give you an estimate, but that's easy to do yourself, I can show you." Also, while she was working one of the window jambs split, and she came back the following weekend to fix it, no charge, and did a great job. I have already recommended her to friends and co-workers.

I kept e-mailing her and I received no response. I saw her at another location and she said it must be going to her junk mail, but I still have not received any response after that.

Cecelia was very prompt in returning phone calls and emails, extremely punctual (even in the record-setting snow fall we had this winter), worked speedily and was very pleasant and as i said, educated me about my own house. And told me what to expect about these fixtures in the future. I would call Cecelia in a flash for anything that i might need. she only provided plumbing services for me, but i would ask her to do any of the services that she performs, which i understand range from plumbing to plastering and painting and probably more. She's excellent, truly excellent. I have never had a contractor show up on time, but she did, and did a brilliant job..

The trim around our deck sliding French doors was completely rotted. Cecilia replaced the trim, caulked it and advised me on the paint to use when the weather is warmer. She also promised to come back - free of charge in a month or two and caulk again just to make sure that it is weathertight. She replaced the light switch in our bedroom and discovered a cord that was split in a few places and that could have presented a fire hazard. Cecilia also replaced a porch light on our back door. There was a slight delay from the time the estimate was sent and the work completed but that was due mainly to the snowstorms. As an older woman in my sixties, I was far more comfortable dealing with a woman especially one as pleasant and honest as Cecilia. I would highly recommend Cecilia and will use her again.

I am a 50 something, first time homeowner. After hiring a plumber and electrician as needs arose I knew I would need a handyperson to do the many things around the house that the inspector either didn't notice or didn't think were important. All my friends have these wonderful handymen (so they say) who I could make an appointment with, but the appointment time would be months from the time I made the appointment. I, like many on the list, thought hiring a woman would be ideal. Cecilia came right on time to give me an estimate and right on time the day she did the work. What I liked most about Cecilia is that she is pleasant to have around and she noticed other areas that needed attention around the house and did extra repairs without charging me extra. For example, she noticed that one of my cats had scratched up my fairly new paint job and said that she could put some plaster on the area and all I would have to do would be to sand and re-paint it later. She then offered to patch up any holes in the walls with the extra plaster. Since I had not yet painted the basement, there were many holes there left from the previous owner. She also noticed that a window didn't properly close while she was repairing the drywall around the window and so she fixed the window. I can't say I'm an expert on work quality since I am brand new at this, but the work she did to fix a hole that was in my bathroom floor that went down to the basement seemed impressive. Although I've lived in the house for almost a year, I had hesitated to put up a curtain rod over the family room's sliding glass doors for fear that it would not be perfect. I decided to let go of my fear and ran out to purchase one at Bed, Bath and Beyond while Cecilia was working. I am so glad I had her install it. The room is narrow and has a ceiling that slopes. It turned out much trickier than I had expected and it turned out perfect. Cecilia was very patient as the job that she thought would be quick turned out to take much longer. When she first came to my house to give me an estimate, she looked at everything on my list and told me her opinion of what was going on. I had two other professionals look at a space beneath an addition put on the back of the house and give me their opinion. They both seemed perplexed as to why the space was there. It was Cecilia that quickly observed that the previous homeowner built the addition on a pre-existing (less-wide) porch and that is what caused the space. She has a good eye and seems to enjoy her work. She also said she guarantees her work and if I find that the caulking done in one shower doesn't fix a leak, she will come back and find out what is causing the leak. I have not used that shower yet, but I don't doubt that she would honor her word. Cecilia was hard to get a hold of by e-mail, however, she was very responsive every time I called her.

Cecelia Moore came promptly to my home to give a free estimate. She was very friendly and seemed very knowledgeable about the work I needed to have done. I was happy to be working with a woman and felt that I was in good hands. She was very helpful in giving me referrals for other kinds of home repair work. However, she was not able to give an estimate on the spot. It took me a week and an e-mail from me to remind her about the estimate. I then received the estimate. I approved her estimate and asked when she was available to do the work. After a week of waiting for her to let me know about her availability, I gave up. I did contact her but she said she had been waiting on me to give her a date to do the work. I do not think this was a miscommunication. A service provider normally lets the person know when they can do the job. Then they make arrangements for the person to be at home to open the door. I don't think she wanted to do the job. Perhaps the job was not big enough for her as it was under $1,000. Whatever the reason, I was disappointed in that I wasted two weeks of waiting to still not know anything definite from her about doing the work. I will find someone else who is more in integrity. Interesting that I have read this same report from others who received estimates but she did not want to do the job and so she just left the person hanging. Not worth it. There are too many people in these tough times who are looking for work.

They were very responsive. They were very helpful and knowledgeable. They came in and got the work done on time. They actually did it a little bit under the estimate.

The painting was VERY splotchy and streaky on the walls. The ceiling defects were not properly repaired and the semi-gloss paint magnified this poor paint job. We called Ms. Moore with our concerns and she and the painter did come back and she instructed him in Spanish what areas needed to be re-done. During the repeat visit, as the painter was finishing up, my wife indicated an area on the back wall that needed to be touched up. The painter said, "Cecilia didn't tell me to do that." And he left the premises. I would have expected that as a professional, Ms. Moore would contact us after the re-visit to check on our satisfaction, but there was no phone call or contact of any kind. I'm not a "finicky, demanding task-master" but I had every right to expect a thorough and competent job. By the way, the kitchen doors were only painted on the inside facing the kitchen. I thought when you paint a door, you paint the whole door. Would I use Handywoman Services again? Definitely NOT.

She did everything in one day. She was very good and very knowledgeable. I have recommended her to one of my friend. I didn't have anybody to compare the price with but it seemed reasonable to me. I don't have a lot of time and I have absolutely no interest in any of the home maintenance stuff.

I used Angie's list to find "handymen" services. When I saw Handywoman services I thought "yes! someone who will talk "my" language". Then I saw the ratings and thought "yes! someone who knows what they're doing, does it well and is honest." So I called and spoke to Cecelia Moore, the owner. I asked her to clean my gutters and to remove a satellite dish from my roof. She was familiar with where I live in DC (she had been a line woman with Verizon in this area for years) and the types of old flat roof row houses here. I asked her to be careful on my roof because it was copper and I didn't want any dents. Cecelia showed up on the dot. It turned out that my gutters didn't need to be cleaned out---the gutter guards really did work. So she told me she would only charge the service charge of $85.00 which included removing the satellite dish and associated wires from the roof. She wore soft sneakers so she wouldn't dent the roof. I appreciated that she remembered that fact. I felt totally comfortable with Cecelia and confident of her skill. I highly recommend Cecelia and I've been telling all my friends about her!