The list every house carries, cleared in one visit

Mounting is the single most booked handyman job, and almost all of it comes down to finding real structure behind the finish. Drywall anchors hold a picture frame. A 65-inch TV needs studs, a masonry sleeve anchor in brick, or blocking added behind the wall. We check what's back there before anything gets drilled.

• TV wall mounting, including tilt and full-motion arms
• TVs over a fireplace, where heat and mount height both need checking first
• Mirrors, floating shelves and heavy artwork
• Curtain rods, blinds and shades
• Closet organizer and shelving systems
• Bathroom hardware: towel bars, robe hooks, toilet paper holders
• Garage wall racks, pegboard and overhead storage
• Wall-mounted headboards, coat rails and drop zones

Flat-pack furniture is designed to be assembled once, correctly. Most of the calls we get are for the second attempt. If a piece is going to hold weight or hold children, it also needs anchoring to the wall, which is the step most instructions bury on the last page.

• Wardrobes, dressers and chests, anchored to the wall
• Bed frames, bunk beds and loft beds
• Desks, office chairs and standing desks
• Bookcases and shelving units
• Patio furniture, grills and gazebos
• Treadmills and home gym equipment
• Basketball hoops and play sets
• Anything that arrived in three boxes and one bag of hardware

Most doors that stop closing have moved, not broken. A hinge screw has stripped out of the jamb, the strike plate has drifted out of alignment, or the slab has swollen in Hampton Roads humidity and will shrink back in January. All three are adjustments. Replacing the door usually fixes nothing, because the frame is what changed.

• A door that sticks, rubs the frame or won't latch
• Sagging doors re-hung with longer screws into the framing
• Strike plate and hinge adjustment
• New deadbolts, smart locks and handlesets on existing prep
• Bifold and sliding closet doors off their track
• Screen doors, screen re-mesh and closer replacement
• Weatherstripping, door sweeps and thresholds
• Cabinet doors that won't stay shut, plus drawer slides and soft-close hinges

Nine times out of ten it's the safety sensors. They sit about six inches off the floor on each side of the opening, and a bumped bracket, a dusty lens or a pinched wire will reverse the door every time. Here's the test that tells you the difference: pull the release cord, lift the door by hand to waist height and let go. A balanced door stays put. A heavy door that drops means the spring has lost tension or broken, and the opener has been doing work it was never sized for. Garage door repair in Virginia Beach and Chesapeake is one of the most searched jobs on this page, and most of those calls are not the door itself.

• Safety sensor alignment, cleaning and wiring
• Remotes, keypads and wall buttons reprogrammed
• An opener that hums but doesn't move
• Chain and belt tension, sprockets and gear kits
• Rollers, hinges and bent track sections
• A door off its track
• Bottom weather seal and side stop moulding
• Opener replacement where an outlet is already in place
• A loaded spring holds enough energy to break bones, so this page says in or out rather than leaving it vague.

Yes, when it's a straight swap. Virginia's building code exempts replacing a plumbing fixture from needing a permit, as long as the supply, drain and vent piping don't change. It also exempts replacing snap switches, dimmers, 125-volt 15 and 20 amp receptacles, light fixtures and ceiling paddle fans in a house. That exemption is the handyman scope, almost word for word. Anything that moves a pipe or adds a wire sits on the other side of it.

• Light fixtures, pendants and vanity lights
• Ceiling fans where a fan-rated box is already in place
• Switches, dimmers, outlets and USB receptacles
• Kitchen and bathroom faucets
• Toilet replacement onto the existing flange
• Garbage disposal swaps
• Shower heads, tub spouts and diverters
• Bathroom exhaust fans where the duct and wiring stay put
• Battery and low-voltage thermostats on the same wires
• Smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, and video doorbells on existing wiring

These are the jobs everyone lives with. Individually none of them justify a call. Together they're an afternoon, and clearing eight of them in one visit is the cheapest way to use a handyman.

• Doorknob holes, nail pops and hairline drywall cracks
• Re-caulking tubs, showers, sinks and countertops
• Cracked or missing tile grout
• Squeaky stairs and floorboards
• Loose stair balusters, newel posts and handrails
• Windows that stick, and window locks that don't catch
• Vinyl planks and laminate boards lifting at a seam
• Baseboard, trim, casing and quarter round
• A toilet that rocks on the floor
• Mailbox posts, house numbers, address lights and fence gates that drag

Two windows in the year matter in Hampton Roads. Before June it's anything the wind can take hold of: loose shutters, unsecured downspouts, a gate that won't latch, torn screens, and clogged gutters that send water down the wall instead of away from it. Before the first hard freeze it's the outdoor spigots, because a split hose bib doesn't show itself until the thaw.

• Clearing gutters and re-strapping downspouts
• Re-securing shutters, trim boards and loose siding pieces
• Storm door and window screen repair
• Hose bib covers and outdoor spigot checks before the freeze
• Weatherstripping doors and windows before the heating bill arrives
• Dryer vent cleaning
• Deck and porch board replacement, plus railing tightening
• Fence pickets, posts and gate hardware after a storm

Small hardware changes keep people in their own homes. The work is straightforward, but the anchoring is not optional. A grab bar screwed into tile and drywall alone will pull out under real weight, which is the exact moment it's needed. We locate framing or add blocking behind the wall.

• Grab bars in the tub, shower and beside the toilet
• Handrails on interior stairs and porch steps
• Lever handles replacing round doorknobs
• Comfort-height toilet swaps and raised seats
• Brighter fixtures and motion-sensor night lights on existing wiring
• Threshold ramps and transition strips at doorways
• Non-slip strips and a fitted shower seat
• A full walk-in shower conversion or a permanent ramp is a build, not a handyman visit. We'll say so.

Turning apartment units between tenants is work Sharpline already does on the commercial side of the business. One walk-through, one list, one visit, one invoice. That process moves onto a single house without any change. It's the same job at a smaller scale, and it's why a fourteen-item list doesn't scare anybody here.

• Home inspection repair addendum items before a closing date
• Pre-listing repair sprints against a hard deadline
• Rental turnover for an owner who moved and kept the house
• Move-in punch lists on a new build
• Landlord make-ready between tenants
• One visit that clears eight small things instead of eight appointments
• Owners and managers running more than one property: see property maintenance for owners & managers

Three tests decide it, and none of them are about how big the job looks. Test one, the permit test: if the work needs a permit, it isn't handyman work. Test two, the connection test: a like-for-like swap at a connection that already exists and already works usually is. The moment new wire is run, a circuit is added, a pipe is cut or rerouted, or a new drain or vent penetration is made, it leaves handyman scope. Test three, the hazard test: gas, combustion, refrigerant, the service panel or meter, the main water shutoff, the main sewer line, or anything holding weight goes to a trade every single time, however small it looks. What's different here is what happens at that line. Most handyman companies give you somebody else's number. Sharpline moves the job to another team under the same roof.

• WE DO: Swap a light fixture, ceiling fan, switch, dimmer or standard outlet onto wiring and a box that already exist.
• WE ROUTE: Add an outlet, run a new circuit, upgrade the panel, wire an EV charger, or look at an outlet that's warm or scorched. Goes to Electrical.
• WE DO: Swap a faucet, toilet, shower head or garbage disposal onto the supply and drain that are already there.
• WE ROUTE: Cut, solder or move pipe, add a drain or vent, replace a water heater, or clear a main sewer line. Goes to Plumbing.
• WE DO: Change a filter, replace a vent cover, or swap a thermostat onto the same wires.
• WE ROUTE: Anything with refrigerant, a gas connection, a flue, or an air handler that stopped cooling. Goes to Heating & Cooling.
• WE DO: Patch a doorknob hole, fix nail pops, re-caulk a tub, touch up a scuff.
• WE ROUTE: A stained or sagging ceiling, a crack that keeps returning in the same spot, or a full room repaint. Goes to Painting & Drywall.
• WE DO: Re-hang a sagging door, move a strike plate, fit a new deadbolt, re-mesh a screen.
• WE ROUTE: Replace the door or window unit itself, or deal with cracked glass and failed seals. Goes to Windows & Doors.
• WE DO: Clear gutters, re-strap a downspout, re-secure a loose shutter from a ladder.
• WE ROUTE: Anything on the roof plane. Leaks, missing shingles and pipe boots. Goes to Roofing.
• WE DO: Re-glue a lifting vinyl plank, replace a threshold strip, quiet a squeak.
• WE ROUTE: A floor that feels soft underfoot, or tile cracking along the same line. Goes to Tile & Flooring, usually after Plumbing or Foundation Repair.
• WE DO: Hang a grab bar into framing, add a handrail to existing studs, tighten a loose railing.
• WE ROUTE: Cutting a joist, removing a wall, sistering a girder, or anything carrying load. Goes to Foundation Repair.
• WE DO: Extend a downspout, reset a splash block, clear a window well.
• WE ROUTE: Water coming through a basement wall or cove joint in South Jersey or Delaware County. Goes to Basement Waterproofing.