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What a Prague Handyman Can (and Can't) Do
In Prague, a handyman - hodinový manžel in Czech - is a generalist who handles the small-to-medium jobs around a home or apartment: assembly, drilling, mounting, and minor repairs that don't require a specific trade license. It's a different model from booking a separate electrician for one light switch and a separate carpenter for one wobbly door - one visit usually covers several unrelated tasks at once. Here's a practical rundown of what's typically in scope, and where the line sits.
Furniture assembly and TV mounting
Flat-pack furniture - wardrobes, beds, desks, IKEA-style everything - is one of the most common jobs, especially right after a move. That includes properly mounting a TV to the wall: finding the right anchor points, using hardware rated for the wall type, and making sure it's actually secure rather than just held up by hope.
Drilling into Prague's walls - a bigger deal than it sounds
This is where Prague throws a lot of expats a curveball. Housing stock here is mostly either prewar brick (cihla) or postwar concrete panel construction (panelák), and neither behaves like the drywall you might be used to elsewhere. Panel walls in particular are dense, reinforced concrete - a standard drill bit and a random screw will not hold a shelf, let alone a TV. Using a hammer drill, the correct masonry bit, and the right anchor for the wall type is the difference between a shelf that stays up for years and one that comes down with everything on it. This is one of the most requested jobs precisely because it's easy to get wrong without the right tools.
Curtain rails, blinds, and sealing
Hanging curtain rails and blinds so they sit level and are solidly fixed, and resealing or adjusting windows and doors that let in drafts, are both routine handyman jobs. None of it needs a specialist - it needs the right hardware and a level.
Small plumbing jobs
Replacing a tap, swapping out a drain trap, fixing a running toilet, or renewing a worn seal are all like-for-like replacements on fixtures already in place. That's within scope. It stops being a handyman job once it turns into repiping, tracing a hidden leak, or any real work on the building's water supply lines.
Small electrical jobs
Swapping a light fixture, a switch, or an outlet for a new one on the existing wiring is a normal handyman task. What's not in scope is anything involving the fuse box, new circuits, or rewiring - that's licensed electrician territory, regardless of how small the visible symptom looks.
Carpentry and small repairs
Loose hinges, a wobbly table leg, a door that sticks against the frame, a small crack in the plaster, a loose tile - these are the bread-and-butter small repairs that come up in almost every home eventually, and none of them need a specialist.
When you actually need a licensed electrician or plumber
The general rule: if the job is a straightforward swap on something that already exists, a handyman covers it. If it means altering the building's actual electrical, gas, or major water infrastructure - new wiring, fuse box work, gas appliance connections, or larger-scale plumbing - that needs a licensed tradesperson with the right qualification, not a generalist. A good handyman will tell you upfront if a job falls into that category rather than attempting a fix that won't hold.
Bundling jobs saves money
Since the callout fee is flat regardless of how many small tasks you bundle in, it almost always makes sense to list everything that needs doing - the shelf, the curtain rail, the dripping tap - and handle it all in one visit rather than booking separate callouts for each. See our pricing breakdown for how the hourly rate and callout fee work together, or the move-in checklist if you're tackling a whole apartment at once.
Not sure if your job is a handyman job?
Tell us what needs fixing or installing, and we'll let you know if we can handle it, or whether it's better to call a specialist directly. Or call 775 654 443.