The small print, kept readable
Terms & Conditions
of Service
Bryan White trading as The Wairarapa Handyman. These terms apply to all work we carry out across all service models. By engaging our services you agree to the following.
Effective 31 May 2026 · Last updated 20 October 2026 · Version 1.7
How We Work
We operate under one of three service models, confirmed with you before work begins. If you're unsure which applies to your job, call Bryan on 027 202 5876 and he'll give you a straight answer.
Call-Out & Time on Tools
For repairs, maintenance, small builds and general handyman work. Charged by time and materials. Rates confirmed before starting; checked with you before going past what was expected. No formal written quote unless the job is likely to exceed $3,000.
Open-Scope Projects
For larger projects where the full scope can't be reliably fixed at the outset. Operated on a transparent time-and-materials basis against an agreed working budget. Invoiced weekly or at natural project milestones. Materials purchased by the client through their own trade account wherever possible. Any materials we source outside that account are charged at the retail price you’d pay in store, no mark-up.
Fully Quoted Jobs
For well-defined scopes of work typically exceeding $3,000. These start with a ballpark estimate from your photos, at no charge. If you then want a fixed price, a formal written quote is provided following a quote visit, which you book from the ballpark estimate. The quote visit is $247.50 including GST, plus travel outside Masterton. You get the invoice first; once it is paid, Bryan offers you a date. If you go ahead with the work, the fee comes off your bill. If the work does not go ahead, the fee is kept for the time spent.
For the full explanation of how each model works in practice, see How We Work →
Rates & Charges
We'll confirm the applicable rate before we start, and check in before clocking on past what was expected. All rates include GST at 15%.
| Item | Rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| First visit, solo | $247.50 | Covers the first 2 hours, includes travel in Masterton. Minimum charge, on the first visit of a job. |
| First visit, with labourer | $385 | Same coverage, with an additional person on site. |
| Additional time, solo | $109.25/hr | Charged after the initial 2 hours. We'll always check in before continuing. |
| Additional time, with labourer | $184/hr | As above, with an additional labourer. |
| Out-of-Masterton travel | $1.30/km | Round trip from Masterton CBD. Added to the first visit. Confirmed at booking. |
| Materials & supplies | At retail | At the retail price you’d pay in store, no mark-up on everyday jobs. A quote for a bigger project may add a margin for ordering and handling, and a charge for the time spent ordering and collecting the materials. If it does, the quote says so and shows both. |
| Subcontractors | Cost + 15% | Plus 15% coordination and management margin where applicable. |
| Machinery fuel, consumables and specialist tooling | Cost + 12% | Where a job uses them: fuel for machinery (not travel in the ute), consumables such as blades and grinder discs, and tooling hired or bought for the job, at cost plus 12% handling. Shown as its own line on the invoice. |
| Waste & rubbish removal | At cost | Tip runs or skip hire charged as incurred. Confirmed before arranging. |
| Quote visit | $247.50 | For jobs likely to exceed $3,000. Plus travel outside Masterton. Invoiced first; once it is paid, Bryan offers you a date. Comes off your bill if the work goes ahead; kept for our time if it does not. |
Payment
Invoices are issued weekly, at project milestones, or on job completion, depending on the service model in use. Payment is due on completion of the work and presentation of the invoice. The one exception is letting agencies and landlords with an account with us: their invoices are due on the 20th of the month after, as set in their account.
On a bigger project, the quote may say the materials are invoiced before the work starts, so they can be ordered. That invoice is due on presentation, and what you pay for the materials comes off the final invoice.
Payment by bank transfer only. Account details are shown on all invoices. We do not accept credit card or cash payments.
Overdue accounts may result in work being paused until the outstanding balance is cleared.
Open-Scope Projects: Additional Terms
Where an open-scope arrangement has been agreed, the following additional terms apply.
A working budget is agreed before work begins. This is an indicative figure, not a fixed price. We will notify you before that budget is approached and will not exceed it without your agreement.
Where the client maintains a direct trade account (e.g. Mitre 10 MEGA Masterton), materials purchased through that account are the client's responsibility and are not invoiced through us.
Either party may pause or wind up an open-scope engagement with reasonable notice. Labour to the date of notice will be invoiced. Materials ordered or committed prior to notice remain the client's responsibility.
Scope changes are discussed and agreed before additional work begins, with no additional spend without your explicit go-ahead.
Variations & Unforeseen Work
Where work uncovers conditions that materially change the scope, such as concealed damage, non-compliant existing work or structural issues, we will stop, tell you what we've found, and agree a way forward before proceeding. We do not carry out additional work without your knowledge. No exceptions.
Health & Safety
We have NEBOSH health and safety training and carry $2,000,000 of public liability insurance, underwritten by AIG Insurance New Zealand and arranged through BizCover. We can show you the certificate of currency on request. We operate under our own health and safety plan.
Clients are responsible for ensuring the site is reasonably safe and accessible, and for disclosing any known hazards before work begins.
Liability
Except for your rights under clause 16, which no term here can take away, our liability is limited to the value of work performed. We are not liable for pre-existing conditions, latent defects, or issues arising from materials supplied by the client.
Where work is subject to building consent or compliance requirements, it is the client's responsibility to obtain those consents unless otherwise agreed in writing before work begins.
Cancellation
Jobs cancelled with less than 24 hours' notice may be charged the first visit.
Where materials have been ordered or collected for a job, those costs remain the client's responsibility regardless of when the cancellation occurs.
Disputes
We prefer to resolve any concerns directly and promptly. If you have an issue with any aspect of the work or invoicing, contact Bryan first, and most things can be sorted in a conversation. We will respond within 2 business days.
Call or text 027 202 5876, or email jobs@wairarapahandyman.co.nz about work (bryan@wairarapahandyman.co.nz is for general correspondence), and we'll get back to you promptly.
Privacy
Client information is used solely for the purpose of providing and invoicing for services. We do not share client information with third parties except where required to complete the work, for example with suppliers or subcontractors.
Materials you buy directly, or that we source for you
Where we help you choose or source materials, plant or equipment but you buy and pay the supplier or dealer directly, your contract for those goods is with that supplier or dealer, not with us. We add no margin to them. Any question of the quality, fitness or warranty of those goods is between you and the supplier or manufacturer under their terms and under the Consumer Guarantees Act as it applies to that sale.
Our advice and recommendations
We give practical, hands-on trade advice based on experience. We are not architects, engineers, designers or licensed building practitioners, and our advice is not professional design, engineering or building-consent certification. Where a job involves the Building Code, structural adequacy, consents or specialist design, obtaining the right professional advice or consent is your responsibility unless we have agreed otherwise in writing. Our recommendations are given in good faith. The final choice of product, specification, supplier and method is yours, particularly where you also take advice from a supplier or dealer.
Choices made against our recommendation
If you choose a product, material, specification or method that we have advised against, or that we have told you does not meet a relevant standard or compliance requirement, we will say so plainly, and if you still wish to proceed we will record that choice in writing. Where you direct us to proceed on that basis, we are not responsible for consequences that flow from that choice, as opposed to from our own workmanship.
When these terms apply, and which version
These terms apply to all work we carry out. By booking through our website, engaging us, or instructing work to proceed, you confirm you have had the opportunity to read these terms and that you accept them. The version that applies to your job is the one published on our website at the date you engage us. The revision history below records when each change was made.
Governing law and disputes
These terms are governed by New Zealand law. We would always rather resolve a concern by talking first (clause 09). Any dispute that cannot be resolved that way may be dealt with by the New Zealand Disputes Tribunal or the courts, as appropriate.
Our guarantee on the work
The law guarantees our work, and we stand by it. Under the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993, our work must be done with reasonable care and skill, be fit for the purpose you told us about, and be finished within a reasonable time. Anything we supply as part of the job must be of acceptable quality. For building work on your home, the Building Act 2004 adds its own warranties, and for 12 months after we finish we must fix any defect in that work that you tell us about.
If something we did is not right, tell Bryan. We will come back and put it right at no charge. If it cannot be put right, or we do not do it within a reasonable time, the law gives you further rights, such as having someone else fix it at our cost, or a refund.
The guarantee does not cover normal wear and tear, damage that happens after we finish, materials you or someone else supplied (clause 11), choices made against our advice (clause 13), or problems with the property that were there before we started.
These rights come from the law, not from us, so nothing in these terms takes them away.
Revision history
We add to these terms as we learn. Earlier entries are never changed. We only add new dated entries below.
| Version | Date | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1.0 | 31 May 2026 | Initial published terms, covering clauses 01 to 10. |
| 1.1 | 4 September 2026 | Added clauses 11 to 15, covering materials bought direct, the nature of our advice, choices made against our recommendation, acceptance and versioning, and governing law. Clauses 01 to 10 are unchanged. |
| 1.2 | 30 September 2026 | Clause 01, Model 03: bigger jobs start with a free ballpark from photos, and the assessment and quotation fee is charged for the assessment visit when you book one, instead of upfront. No other clause changed. |
| 1.3 | 3 October 2026 | Added clause 16, our guarantee on the work, which sets out the rights the law already gives you. Clause 07 now says it does not limit those rights. Clauses 01 and 02 now show prices including GST, and use the words free ballpark estimate; what we charge has not changed. Clauses 01 and 02 also now say plainly that the quote visit fee is kept for our time if the work does not go ahead. Clause 02 now says the first visit’s 2 hours include travel. No other clause changed. |
| 1.4 | 10 October 2026 | Clauses 01 and 02 now say a ballpark from your photos, at no charge, instead of a free ballpark estimate, and call the assessment visit and its fee the quote visit and the quote visit fee. Clause 01 (Model 03) and clause 02 now say the quote visit is invoiced first, and once it is paid we offer you a date. Clause 03 now says payment is due on completion of the work and presentation of the invoice, with letting agencies and landlords on account as the one exception. Clauses 01 and 02 now say materials are at the retail price you’d pay in store, no mark-up. Clause 08 now says a late cancellation may be charged the first visit. What we charge has not changed. No other clause changed. |
| 1.5 | 18 October 2026 | The rates table now says materials have no mark-up on everyday jobs, and that a quote for a bigger project may add a margin for ordering and handling and a charge for ordering and collecting the materials, which the quote shows. Clause 03 now says a bigger project’s quote may have the materials invoiced before the work starts, and that this comes off the final invoice. No other clause changed. |
| 1.6 | 19 October 2026 | Wording only: what was called a ballpark is now called a ballpark estimate everywhere. Nothing about how it works or what it costs has changed. |
| 1.7 | 20 October 2026 | The rates table now lists machinery fuel, consumables and specialist tooling at cost plus 12% handling, where a job uses them. This has been the charge on invoices that carry those costs; the table now says so. The health and safety clause now states the public liability cover ($2,000,000) and who underwrites it. No other clause changed. |
Call or text Bryan on 027 202 5876, or email jobs@wairarapahandyman.co.nz about work. For general correspondence, email bryan@wairarapahandyman.co.nz. He'll give you a straight answer.
Bryan White · Sole trader · Masterton, Wairarapa, New Zealand