Drouin has changed enormously in recent years. Once a quiet country town on the Princes Highway, it is now one of the fastest-growing towns in Gippsland, with new estates spreading out from the town centre and families arriving from Melbourne’s south-east for more space and a country lifestyle within reach of the city. Alongside the new homes, Drouin still has its established streets of older weatherboard and brick houses, and rural-residential properties on the surrounding hills.

We provide handyman services across Drouin 3818, from the older streets near Princes Way and the town centre to the new estates and the acreage on the edges of town. New-home fit-outs, repairs, maintenance and rental work are all part of what we do here.

Handyman services in Drouin

• TV wall mounting on plasterboard and masonry, with neat cable management.
• Picture and shelf hanging using the right fixings for every wall type.
• Flat-pack assembly for bedroom, living room, office and outdoor furniture.
• Plaster and wall patching for settlement cracks and holes.
• Door repairs and installation for doors that drop, stick or will not latch.
• Fence repairs and gates for side gates, palings and posts.
• Deck and pergola repairs for timber decks, steps and railings.
• Gutter cleaning for single-storey homes.
• Silicone and caulking for showers, baths and kitchens.
• Window and flyscreen repairs for torn screens and catches.
• End-of-lease and rental repairs for tenants, landlords and agents.
• Odd jobs and rubbish removal for the to-do list.

See all services.

New homes in Drouin

Many Drouin households live in homes built in the last decade or so. A new home comes with a long list of things to set up, and builders usually hand over a house without the finishing touches that make it home:

• Window furnishings: blinds, curtain rods and tracks need fitting to the right fixings.
• TV and media: wall mounting the TV, hiding cables, and fitting floating shelves beneath.
• Storage: garage shelving, wardrobe organisers, pantry shelves and hooks.
• Furniture: assembling flat-pack beds, desks, wardrobes, bookcases and outdoor settings.
• Hanging: pictures, mirrors, clocks and art, level and secure.
• Bathroom accessories: extra towel rails, robe hooks and toilet roll holders.
• Outdoor: letterboxes, house numbers, clotheslines, and side gate latches.

Settlement cracks

New homes settle in their first few years as the timber frame dries and the slab and soil adjust. Hairline cracks at cornices, above doors and windows, and at plasterboard joints are common and usually cosmetic. We rake out, fill, sand and touch up cracks once the house has settled. Large, widening or diagonal cracks, sticking doors across the house, or cracks in brickwork should be checked by the builder or a structural engineer, especially while the home is still under builder warranty.

Builder warranty

If your home is still within the builder’s maintenance or warranty period, defects should be reported to the builder first. We can help with items outside the builder’s responsibility, such as additions and upgrades, and with repairs after the warranty period ends.

Established Drouin

The older parts of Drouin have homes from many eras: early timber cottages, post-war weatherboards, and brick veneer homes from the 1970s and 1980s. Jobs here include sticking timber windows, damaged doors, worn kitchen cupboards, tired bathrooms needing regrouting and new silicone, fence replacement, deck repairs, and gutter cleaning under mature trees. Older homes can contain asbestos cement products, and we do not disturb materials that may contain asbestos.

Rural-residential properties

Around Drouin, many homes sit on larger blocks with sheds, long fences, gates, outbuildings and water tanks. Common jobs include repairing farm-style gates, replacing fence palings and posts on boundary fences, fixing shed doors, cleaning gutters on outbuildings, and clearing debris around homes before summer. Larger rural fencing and earthworks are specialist jobs, and we will tell you when a fencing contractor is better suited.

Weather in Drouin

Drouin sits in the green rolling hills of West Gippsland, with a cool, wet winter and mild summer. The damp brings mould in bathrooms and on window frames, swelling doors, and fast-growing moss on paths and decks. Winds through the hills loosen fences and gates. Gutters need cleaning at least once or twice a year, more often under trees. Pressure washing paths and decks in spring removes slippery moss and algae. See pressure washing.

Rental properties in Drouin

With so many new homes bought as investments, Drouin has a large rental market. Property managers need reliable trades for vacated properties, routine maintenance and minimum standards repairs. We provide before and after photos, itemised invoices and clear communication with tenants for access. See property managers.

A typical Drouin job

Here is a common example. A couple has just moved into a new home in a Drouin estate. Their list includes: mounting a large TV in the living area, fitting floating shelves beneath it, assembling a wardrobe and a bed, fitting curtain rods in three bedrooms, hanging a set of family photos along the hallway, installing garage shelving, and adding a lock to the side gate.

The visit

The TV bracket is fixed into the studs and cables run inside a neat cover. Floating shelves are fixed with heavy-duty fixings. Furniture is assembled and the wardrobe secured to the wall for safety. Curtain rods are fixed into the timber above the windows. Photos are hung level and evenly spaced. Shelving goes into the garage framing, and a lockable latch is fitted to the side gate.

The result

The home is set up and liveable in a single day, and the packaging is taken away.

Furniture anchoring

Tall furniture such as bookcases, wardrobes and chests of drawers can tip over if climbed on, a serious risk for young children. Drouin has many young families, and anchoring furniture to the wall is one of the most important small jobs in a new home. We secure furniture into studs or with suitable fixings for the wall type, using anti-tip kits supplied with the furniture or our own hardware.

What we do not do

We do not do electrical wiring, plumbing, gas work, structural work or asbestos removal. We work on single-storey gutters from ladders where it is safe, and do not work on steep or fragile roofs. We will tell you when a licensed trade is needed.

Getting a quote in Drouin

Send your list or job description, photos and measurements through our free quote form. We will reply with a written scope and free quote. We do not publish prices online.

Neighbouring areas

We also work in Warragul, Longwarry, Buln Buln, Rokeby, Neerim South, Nilma, Darnum, Yarragon and Trafalgar. See all service areas.

Tips for new homeowners

• Keep the builder’s paint colour schedule and a small tin of each colour for touch-ups.
• Note stud positions before plastering is complete if you are building, or use a stud finder later.
• Report defects to your builder within the warranty period.
• Fit blinds early; bare windows heat and cool rooms quickly.
• Anchor tall furniture as soon as it is assembled.
• Plan garage storage before boxes pile up.

Working from home

Many Drouin residents work from home some or all of the week, saving the commute to Melbourne. A comfortable home office makes a real difference. We can assemble desks and office chairs, fit shelving and pinboards, mount monitors on wall arms where the wall is suitable, hide cables neatly, and fit blinds to reduce screen glare. If a spare bedroom is becoming a permanent office, a few small changes can make it a much better place to work.

Outdoor living

Drouin’s newer homes often have alfresco areas and small backyards, while established homes have larger gardens with decks and pergolas. We assemble outdoor furniture and storage boxes, install shade sail fixing points on suitable structures, repair timber decks, oil decking and pergolas, fit garden edging, repair timber screens and fix gates. Kids’ play equipment such as cubbies and swing sets can be assembled from kits and anchored securely.

Pets

Dogs and cats are part of most Drouin families, and they bring their own jobs: pet doors fitted to suitable doors, fence gaps closed to stop escapes, gates fitted with self-closing hinges, and chewed skirting and door frames repaired. Flyscreen doors with pet-resistant mesh are a good option where dogs scratch screens.

Frequently asked questions