Tell us what broke

Yes — we answer the phone 24 hours a day, every day of the year, including weekends and holidays. Burst pipes and failed water heaters do not wait for business hours, so neither do we. Call or text (732) 924-8444.

Yes. Any Time Any Job Handyman is licensed and insured.

Usually, yes. Long Branch enforces the State Uniform Construction Code through its own Plumbing Subcode Official, and most work that adds, moves or significantly alters water supply, drainage or gas lines needs a permit pulled before the work starts — filed on the Plumbing Subcode Technical Section, Form F-130, with a fixture schedule. Straight like-for-like repairs generally do not. The Construction Code Official’s office is at City Hall, 344 Broadway. We can tell you which category your job falls into before we start.

Because of the water table. Around 43% of buildings in Long Branch carry flood risk, and in three of the city’s nine census tracts more than half of all buildings are at significant risk. Older homes here sit over a high coastal water table, and the low-lying stretches near Branchport Creek and Whale Pond Brook take on water in heavy rain. A sump pump is often the difference between a damp basement and a flooded one.

Shut off the main water valve first — that limits the damage if a frozen section has already split. Open the taps the frozen line feeds so melting water has somewhere to go, and keep heat on the area. Do not use an open flame on the pipe. Then call us on (732) 924-8444.

No. Estimates are free. Describe the job over the phone or through the contact form and we will tell you what is involved.

Long Branch and the surrounding Monmouth County shore towns. If you are not sure whether you are in range, call and ask — it is a quick answer.

It depends on the job, so we do not publish a flat rate card — a dead outlet and a full room of trim carpentry are not priced the same way. Describe what needs doing on the call or through the form and we will give you a straight number before any work starts. Estimates are free.

We do not quote a fixed response window, because it genuinely depends on where you are and what is already on the board that day — a number like "30 minutes" is a marketing line, not a real promise. Call or text (732) 924-8444 and we will tell you honestly how soon someone can get to you, whatever the hour.

Most trades set a minimum call-out fee that covers the first hour on site, and out-of-hours calls usually carry more than daytime ones. Angi puts general handyman work in the United States at roughly $50 to $150 an hour in its 2026 cost guide, averaging about $90. We do not publish a rate here because the honest answer depends on the job: the estimate is free, most work can be priced on the call once you describe it, and you hear the number before anyone is dispatched — not after.

Ask on the call and you will be told before we set off. The phone is answered at any hour, every day of the year, and whatever the job costs is agreed with you first. What we will not do is quote you a daytime price and hand you an after-hours one at the door.

Four, in the order they usually show up. A price that will not be said out loud on the phone. Pressure to decide in the next ten minutes. A large cash payment wanted up front, before anything has been done. And no registration number when you ask for one — in New Jersey, home improvement contractors must register annually with the Division of Consumer Affairs, and a real one will not mind being asked. Urgency is the emergency, not the salesman.

After the work is done and you have seen it, unless something different is agreed with you in advance. New Jersey law requires any home improvement job costing $500 or more to be put in writing, with the start date, the finish date, a description of the work and the total price — so on a job that size you are not relying on anyone's memory, including ours.

Yes, paying cash is perfectly legal. What matters is what you get back: a receipt, and for anything at $500 or more the written contract New Jersey requires. Be wary of anyone who wants cash specifically because they will not put the job in writing — that is a different thing entirely.