A handyperson preparing a wall fixing, screws and instructions laid out on a table

Book a handyperson in Geneva

Fixings, small repairs and everyday fixes, charged by the hour, with no quote to wait for.

Providers vetted by hand
You choose your provider
Paid once the service is done

No commitment, rate confirmed before you book

What fits into an hour of handywork?

Handywork covers the jobs a tradesperson will not travel out for and a quote would make absurd: hanging a television, putting up a shelf or a curtain rail, replacing a silicone seal, easing a door that catches, changing a cistern, clearing a trap. An hour, two hours, sometimes half a day when several jobs pile up.

It is charged by the hour rather than as a fixed job: you list what needs doing, and the provider tells you what fits into the slot. On Swigo you choose who comes, you see their rate before booking, and the payment is only released once the work is done.

1–3 h

Typical duration

One to three hours, one hour minimum
All supplied

Tools

Brought by the provider
Down to you

Materials

Down to you, wall plugs and screws included

What is included, and what is not

This scope is indicative: it describes what is usually covered. Every provider adjusts their own, and you confirm it with them before booking.

Fixings and mounting

Shelves, curtain rails, mirrors, frames and hooks. Television bracket, with the right wall plug for the wall. Grab rail, whiteboard, letterbox.
Small repairs

Door or window that catches, hinge and handle to adjust. Silicone seal redone around the bath or the sink. Cistern, hose, trap and waste to replace.
Everyday jobs

Bulbs, smoke alarm batteries and filling holes. Assembling a table lamp, fitting an extension socket. Anti-tip fixing for a tall unit.
Optional

Flattening boxes and taking away packaging, if you say so when booking.

Drilling into a marked wall to fix a shelf

What is not included

Any work on the fixed electrical installation, which in Switzerland is reserved for authorised installers
Gas, boilers and concealed plumbing connections
Drilling into a load-bearing wall or into tiling without the owner’s written agreement
Alterations to the home that need the landlord’s prior agreement
Any work needing a tall ladder, scaffolding or a cherry picker
Supplying materials, furniture and spare parts

Something extra to add? Many providers are happy to take on an additional task. Agree it before booking, it saves misunderstandings on the day.

Why choose Swigo for your handywork

A Geneva platform, providers vetted one by one, and the last word left to you.

A Geneva platform

Your data stays in Switzerland and is never sold on.
Vetted by hand

Identity, right to work and liability insurance checked before publication.
You choose

Profiles, reviews and rates side by side. Nobody is imposed on you.
Paid once the service is done

The amount only reaches the provider after the service.

How it works

Tell us what you need

Your postcode, what you need and the slot that suits you.
Choose your provider

Profiles, reviews and rates side by side. Nobody is imposed on you.
Pay after the service

The amount is held when you book and released once the work is done.

How it all works, in detail

Four families of jobs, four ways the price works

Fixings

Shelf, television, mirror, curtain rail. The time depends on the wall rather than the object: ten minutes in sound concrete, an hour in a partition that crumbles.
Everyday repairs

Silicone seal, cistern, trap, handle, a door that catches. These are the minor upkeep jobs that Swiss tenancy law puts on the tenant, and they are often dealt with before handing a flat back.
Small fixes

A bulb, an alarm battery, a unit that tips, a hole to fill. One at a time it is not worth the trip; grouped into an hour, it pays for itself.
What is not handywork

Fixed electrical installations, gas, concealed connections, load-bearing walls. Those need an authorised professional, and the question stops being price and becomes liability.

An hour of travel charged for a single shelf is expensive; the same hour for six jobs on the list is cheap. Walk round the home, write everything down, and book once. On Swigo you compare the profiles, reviews and rates of the providers available in your municipality, from Geneva to Carouge, Meyrin, Vernier or Lancy, and you choose yourself who comes.

Frequently asked questions, handywork

Materials, walls, electricity: the questions that come up most often.

Who supplies the tools and the parts?

The tools are brought by the provider, that is their trade. For materials, wall plugs, screws, silicone, a hose or bulbs, that is discussed with them: some ask you to buy them beforehand, others pick them up and invoice them separately, and others count small parts into their rate. Agree it before booking, bearing in mind that travel time is charged.

Can I have a television mounted if I am renting?

Technically yes, legally it depends. A wall mount is an alteration to the home: it needs the landlord’s agreement, and you will have to make the wall good when you leave if that agreement was never given. Ask the letting agency in writing, it takes two minutes and it saves money being withheld from your deposit.

Can a handyperson change a socket or a light fitting?

No. In Switzerland, work on the fixed electrical installation is reserved for authorised installers: a socket, a switch, a wired light point, none of that is handywork. A Swigo provider will change a bulb or assemble a table lamp, but will turn down the rest, and that is the right sign.

How long should I allow?

One hour is the minimum charged. A simple fixing takes twenty minutes, a shelf in an old wall can take an hour. List everything you want covered and hand the list over when booking: the provider will tell you what fits into the slot.

What if the provider damages something?

Every Swigo provider has to supply a certificate of liability insurance before being published: that insurance covers damage caused on site during the visit. Report the damage straight away, and take a photo.

Does the provider take the waste away?

Packaging and flattened boxes, often yes, if you say so when booking. Rubble, old furniture and bulky waste, no: they go through a recycling centre and are handled separately.