Marin work for independent handymen, from docks to canyons
Independent handyman work in Marin means redwood canyons, salt air and fire-season chores. Sign up free, name your trades and regions, and leads come as texts with the job and area. Buy the ones you want and set terms with the homeowner.
- Work for yourself, not a company
- Leads texted with job and area
- Reply STOP whenever you like
How leads reach you
Sign up on this page
Confirm your email and mobile number, then pick your trades and the areas you cover.
A job arrives by text
When a homeowner in your areas asks for your kind of work, the text says what and where.
Take the ones you want
Pay only for a lead you choose. No subscription, no bidding, no cut of the job.
Call the homeowner
You get their details and agree the price and the time with them directly.
Start getting leads
Six short steps, about five minutes. Have a photo of yourself ready.
To sign up, call or text (415) 449-8213.
You're signed up, .
Leads that match your trades and areas will come by text from (415) 449-8213. Save the number so you know it's us.
Jobs are waiting: check your texts now.
Texts are off for this number because it replied STOP before. Text START to (415) 449-8213 to turn lead texts on.
Your profile is also waiting for review for jobs inside the HandymanNow app. Log in with when the app opens to everyone.
What Marin homes call for
Parks and preserves hem the county's towns into canyons and shoreline, so houses live with deep shade, salt air or inland heat. Each setting wears down different parts of a home.
Shade and rot in the canyons
Mill Valley's houses fill tight canyons under second-growth redwoods on Mount Tamalpais, and many are reached by the public steps and paths of the original town plan. Roofs, gutters, decks and siding rarely dry out, so boards go soft, moss spreads and downspouts clog, and tools often climb a long stairway from a tight parking spot.
Chores that keep embers out
A 1929 wildfire burned 117 homes on Mount Tamalpais, and Fire Safe Marin now builds home protection around vents, gutters and Zone 0, the five feet right next to the walls. Raking needles out of gutters, putting new mesh on vents and hauling firewood away from walls fall to a handyman; new roofs and fire-resistant decks are contractor work.
Salt air on the waterfront
Sausalito's shoreline is home to over 400 houseboats, a community that formed from craft and scrap abandoned after the Marinship shipyard closed, and Corte Madera borders bay marsh. Salt air eats at hinges, locks, screws and railings there, so marine-grade hardware is ordinary stock. Float and dock utility hookups are specialist territory.
Newer homes and valley Eichlers
Hamilton Air Force Base, on reclaimed marsh in Novato, closed formally in 1988, and most buildings added over the base's life gave way to subdivisions. In Lucas Valley, Eichler built glass-walled, post-and-beam houses on heated slabs across the 1950s and 1960s. Expect drywall, fixtures and fences in one, and sun-worn seals and sliders in the other.
Why it suits an independent handyman
Nobody takes a cut
The Handyman SF passes along requests from homeowners; it does not employ you. You buy the leads you want, and nothing is taken from what the homeowner pays you for the job.
Weigh the drive first
A text gives the kind of job and the area, so you can judge the trip across the county before buying. Steps, dock access and parking are the first things to ask once you have the homeowner's number.
Photos that show your work
A profile photo is required and work photos are optional. In the HandymanNow app, homeowners see your profile, so pictures of replaced deck boards or rehung doors say more than a list of trades.
Where homeowners in The North Bay ask for help
Questions handymen ask
Can I choose the North Bay as my only region?
Yes. The regions you work in are part of sign-up, and picking only the North Bay keeps your lead texts to that region. If you also drive into San Francisco for work, tick that region too, or text later to add it.
Is a houseboat lead worth buying?
It depends on the work. Inside, a floating home needs the same fixes as a small cottage: fixtures, hinges, shelves, seals and paint. Anything involving the float, the hull structure or the dock's utility hookups is for a specialist. The text tells you the job type and area, so you decide before paying.
Who decides when I show up for a stair-lane job in Mill Valley?
You and the homeowner. Once you have bought the lead and called, agree a time that leaves room for carrying tools and materials up the steps, and ask where a vehicle can stop on the canyon road. The Handyman SF does not schedule the visit for you.
Will the app give me directions to a canyon address?
For jobs you receive through the HandymanNow app, yes: approved profiles can navigate to the job from the app, message the homeowner and update progress. The Android app is rolling out to everyone now, and the iPhone version is coming soon. Lead texts work without it.
How do I stop getting lead texts?
Reply STOP at any time and the texts end. If you only want fewer kinds of jobs, text to change your trades instead, or drop the North Bay while keeping another region you work in. Nothing is owed for leads you never bought.
Your jobs, in the HandymanNow app
Leads by text start the day you sign up. The app adds jobs from homeowners who book inside it, once your profile is reviewed.
- Go online when you want work
- Get requests from homeowners nearby
- Message customers and navigate to the job
- Update the job as you go and see your activity