Rated 4.37 / 5 from 19 reviews
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Urban Handyman With nine children running through its halls, slamming its doors and tramping up and down its steps, the Schicker house has taken its share of abuse during the years. Linda Schicker, the mother of these five boys and four girls, has seen her Chicago-area home's garage door go on the fritz, its plumbing fall apart and even its plaster fall from the ceilings.

But more than anything, Schicker has seen her home's windows shattered by baseballs, footballs or other projectiles launched by one of her five sons."It's happened so many times, by now you'd think I would know how to fix it myself, " Schicker said.
Reviews (19)
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Laura S.
Apr 12, 2021
Chris is wonderful! He installed our new GE microwave. It had been delivered and was scheduled to be installed by Home Depot, but when they got there they told me they couldn't do it because it would be a liability, that the cabinets would be destroyed, etc. Well, Chris had no problem at all installing it and did a fantastic job! He is also just a fun person to talk to! Hire him.
Phyllis H.
Oct 30, 2018
.Chris was fast, efficient, reasonable. Replaced thermostat and smoke alarm batteries. Very easy to work with.
J. P.
Aug 02, 2018
I called Chris and it turns out that he does not service the Southeast side of Chicago. However, he took the tine to help me troubleshoot my issue and he was right! All I had to do was open the panel under my bathtub and push the GFCI button.problem solved! Thanks Chris!
Allen B.
Jun 18, 2018
I can't recommend Chris highly enough. I hired him again, this time for help with my A/V setup and he knew exactly what needed to be done and organized everything efficiently and quickly. He made me feel welcome to watch what he was doing and ask questions, and he enjoyed having me around while he worked.and it was enjoyable to have him here. Reasonably priced, only charged me for time spent. He will be my go-to guy for anything around the house I need done.
Matt G.
Jun 18, 2018
Didn't even need service. He was nice enough to tell me how to fix it over the phone because it was very simple. This dude is crazy nice.
Shirley M.
Apr 10, 2018
This is a very good handyman that takes you through everything he does and explain in details to you. He was very prompt, polite and his quality of work is great. I will be using him in the future and he comes highly recommended.
Carolyn T.
Jun 13, 2016
I called Chris to help hang a 7' tall bi-fold door that had come off, and to re-tile a bathroom surround. He made time to come over on the same day to do an estimate, and was completely honest and helpful, above and beyond expectations. First of all, he took a look at the bathroom tile and immediately said he wouldn't be able to do the job, and explained why.

It wasn't a simple matter of loose tiles, but the underlying surface was warped from moisture due to age. So it's a much larger job that will likely require construction. And then, he actually proceeded to call around for me to try and find someone, and gave me a better idea of what I needed to do. But wait, there's more. He then re-installed my closet door for me on the spot.

This sounds like a small job, but it's not. It involves a concrete sub-floor, old hardware, and 7' tall solid wood doors. Did I mention that I don't have a ladder? And somehow, he made it work. Chris is a really great, knowledgeable, resourceful handyman. And pricing was remarkably fair.
Ivana S.
Mar 03, 2016
I used Amazon home services to schedule a handy man to come do some light work around my condo, lock changes, doors needing some tlc, etc. The idea is great, Amazon posts your job and then businesses bid for it. However, after getting a few bids and scheduling a business to come out and do these things, I never heard back from them and Amazon gave me a nonchalant dismissal.

Such lousy service! So I turned to Yelp and found Chris. He lives nearby and was easy to schedule. I am very happy with the work, he didn't only fix things he explained what he was doing and why. And he had suggestions for other future projects. Overall a great experience, I whole heartedly recommend him!
Jocelyn H.
Sep 26, 2015
Used him twice. No issue with quality of work, but man this guy is a real dick. Business to me is not just about the cheapest price - though of course that's always a factor. But if you care at all about being able to communicate respectfully with people and having people you work with in your own home be courteous - this is NOT your guy. I could go on explaining my interactions with him but it doesn't matter. Bottom line we will not use him again and would not recommend him.
Sandy G.
Aug 03, 2015
Chris did a great job helping to get our Rogers Park condo up to move in ready shape! Since I am new to the area, I was initially a bit worried about the hourly rate, but he was very hard working and extremely efficient! Worth every penny, his work is high quality and he knows what he is doing. I liked that he assigned assigned us a few of the more "menial" tasks like cleaning off old caulk, etc. so he didn't have to charge for these time consuming items.

I appreciated his recommendations for repairs. He clearly wants to provide his customers with a good balance between cost-effective but quality solutions to repair problems. He installed 2 ceiling fans, replaced the kitchen faucet, garbage disposal, replaced broken GFI's, shower faucet repair, grout, caulk, backsplash repair, door hinge, strike plate adjustment, planed doors, repaired backsplash and several other items.

He has proven to be equally skilled and knowledgable in all areas, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, and general repairs. We had a great experience, and appreciated his no-nonsense direct approach. Kristi was also helpful with the scheduling and communications. I will most definitely use him in the future to help keep the place in good condition! Thank Chris and Kristi! Sandy and Alana
Marcee W.
Mar 31, 2015
Called Chris after two other local handymen didn't return my calls and I couldn't be happier with his work. After hoping a leaking toilet tank was the result of some rusty bolts or a rotted rubber ring, Chris gave me the bad news that my tank was cracked. Since it looked like it had been repaired once in the past, I didn't want to risk trying to repair it again.

Rather than hunt around for a replacement tank for an older model toilet, I decided to go with Chris' recommendation for a new efficient Kohler model, which he went to Home Depot to purchase for me. The entire job was finished in under two hours. He was professional and pleasant and I would definitely call Chris again.
Tony H.
Jan 22, 2015
I called Chris to replace the deadbolt lock on my front door. He was on time and replaced the lock in no time! He also had some great suggestions for sprucing up our old door. Very knowledgable and helpful! Call Chris if you need something fixed!
Richard P.
Sep 04, 2014
This was our second time using Chris. He showed up as scheduled and did a fine job. Highly recommended.
Pete D.
Jul 09, 2013
Chris came to install a light fixture, and even had an extra screw in his bag of tricks when one piece of crucial hardware was missing. Got it done right the first time, and efficiently. I would definitely use Chris again.
Leah H.
Nov 13, 2012
Chris did some very painstaking work on our very old house's doors, helping us retain the beauty of the paned glass while replacing with much more kid-friendly glass. It looks great and we appreciate his thoroughness and efficiency. He is great with these old houses! Highly recommend!
Keith P.
Dec 06, 2011
We've used Chris for years for everything from broken doors to clogged drains. He's reliable, does great work, charges a more-than-fair price, offers great advice, and is a nice guy on top of everything else. I can't recommend him highly enough.
Kym H.
Nov 21, 2011
I had Chris out less than a month ago to fix a blockage in my master bathroom toilet, which had been running slow and overflowing for a while. Chris showed up with what I imagine to be some sort of pipe snake or rod encased in a filthy trash bag and half an hour later pronounced my toilet fixed. It flushed all right, but a little slowly, but it had been so long since it had worked properly, I thought whew, look at it actually go.

Less than a month later, the toilet has the same problem and after a call to Chris to let him know that and see what kind of warranty/guarantee they offer with their work (none, FYI), he said, "It either works or it doesn't work. You might need to stick a rod down there and unclog it." Uh-huh. Next time, I'll know better than to trust word-of-mouth reviews and will stick with an honest professional who stands behind their work.

Now I have to pay again to get the same thing fixed twice, and there was no amount of remorse or acknowledgment that perhaps he'd done something wrong or, upon realizing the clog was more severe than his skills were capable of fixing, should have recommended I call an actual professional. Whatever you save by calling Urban Handyman, you'll wind up paying it later. Never again.
Casia J.
Oct 24, 2011
Sorry to spoil the accolades, but our experience was not good. Unhappy demeanor over pricey work that did not last. We had him do 5 different simple jobs which took him several visits and not one job lasted. Rather than dealing with him again, I called a handyman recommended by a neighbor and paid again for the work to be done. No problems. Never again will I contact any type of repair person based on a handful of sterling online reviews.
Lisa C.
Nov 04, 2010
Chris Erickson is very knowledgeable. He not only fixed the problem I called about but we went over a few other items on my "to-do" list and he gave me jumping off points. I will definately have Urban Handyman back to do more work.