When Superstorm Sandy blew through my neighborhood in 2012, it left our family of four without power. Unable to leave our street because of trees down in every direction, moving temporarily to a hotel wasn’t an option. With perishables in our refrigerator and a household to run, we needed someone to come to us and install a generator–and fast.
I’m not surprised that HomeAdvisor came through for us with a referral to a contractor that could supply and install a generator the day after the storm was over. Lucky for me I had the HomeAdvisor app on my phone so I could place and manage my request since our home Wifi was out. We charged our phones in our cars, which were stuck in the driveway, thanks to those aforementioned downed trees.
Getting a home generator installed might seem like the kind of job that you can expect to be able to complete thanks to HomeAdvisor’s referral service. Truth be told, I didn’t realize it until I needed that generator. Turns out there are more than a dozen services that HomeAdvisor can help you with that you may not even realize were an option. Here are 14 of them, listed in alphabetical order:
1. Appraisers and home inspectors, two important services when buying or selling a home.
2. Child proofing, including installing cabinet locks.
3. Cleaning service, which can include a weekly maid service for your home, someone to clean your carpets, draperies and windows, or a company to power wash your house.
4. Designers to address everything from interior decorating to staging your home before you put it on the market.
5. Universal Design, such as building and installing a ramp to your front door and/or installing an elevator or chair lift on a staircase.
6. Dumpster rental and junk removal.
7. Environmental abatement, testing and removal (think asbestos, lead, mold and radon gas).
8. Furniture repair, refinishing, upholstering and even custom-built furniture pieces.
9. Home energy audit, a great service if you feel like your heating and cooling bills are higher than they should be and you want to identify–and correct–where your home may be leaking energy.
10. Home security system install, which could be an alarm system or a series of surveillance cameras.
11. Holiday lighting for your home and yard–saving you from having to go up on that ladder and string all those lights.
12. Moving services–this came in handy when we needed to move my mother-in-law from her home to an assisted living facility. It was a small job that most moving companies didn’t want to touch but the company I found through HomeAdvisor showed up on time, did a great job moving her precious belongings with care and, most importantly, were able to work within our budget.
13. Pest control, such as dealing with birds, bats or bugs in your home, or insects, rodents and small animals that have invaded your yard.
14. Recovery services after a disaster–water removal, earthquake damage, fire and smoke, etc.
Author Bio: Leah Ingram is HomeAdvisor’s Cost Advisor and the author of 14 books, including two on frugal living: Suddenly Frugal: How to Live Happier and Healthier on Less (Adams Media, 2010) and Toss, Keep, Sell: The Suddenly Frugal Guide to Getting Organized and Making Money from Your Stuff (Adams Media, 2010). Follow her on Twitter @suddenlyfrugal.