Odd Jobs Guide
The best way to find a handyman in Barcelona is to look for flyers posted on light poles, on supermarket notice boards and in the windows of shops. If you happen to live in a building that has a doorman, then quite often, your doorman doubles as a handyman handling all home repairs. If he cannot fix it himself, many times he can assist in hiring the right person to work on the problem.
You won´t find agencies that deal in home repairs but you will find plenty of English-speaking handymen (or handypeople) online. If Spanish (or Catalan) is not your strong suit, then head for sites like loquo, barcelonaconnect or Metropolitan magazine (online). There is no shortage of locals and foreigners advertising their services on these websites.
Many of the advertisements come from expats themselves, often retirees or part-time workers who supplement their income putting their skills to good use in other people´s homes. From experience, these are the best people to have working for you. Apart from being able to speak your language, the conversation and insights into local life can be invaluable.
You can also post inquiries to your local expat organization, and most often someone will have a solid referral for you.
Useful Links:
- http://www.barcelonaconnect.com/classifieds/Home-Repairs
- http://www.loquo.com/cc/serveis/reformes-manteniment/606 (Mostly Spanish advertisements, but there are many English speakers as well).
- http://barcelona.planetanuncios.com/en/categorias/lst/59/limpieza+-+dom%E9stico(Lots of ads for cleaners as well as handyman services).
