KST HandymanOne person, and a written price.
KST Handyman is me. Small repairs and installations in San Jose, Campbell, Los Gatos and Saratoga, priced in writing before the work starts.
How this came about
My name is Aleksei Kasatkin. Most people call me Alex. I run KST Handyman in San Jose, and KST Handyman is one person: me, a van, and a list of jobs I know I can finish in a day.
Before this I spent years running larger remodels — bathrooms taken back to the studs, kitchens, decks, a garage turned into a home office. Those jobs ran with crews and trade subcontractors, and a lot of them came out well. You can see them on the work page, marked for what they are.
What I learned from them is where the money and the goodwill actually leak out of a small job. It is never the work. It is the quote that was a guess, the extra that arrives after demolition, the day that turns into a window from eight to five. So KST is built the other way round: a written price first, a small enough scope that I can hold it, and one person on the hook for it.
I do not take work that needs a permit, and I do not take remodels. That is not modesty. A job that needs a permit needs a licensed contractor behind it, and if you ask me for one I will tell you so on the phone rather than three days in.
What you get out of it
The price is written down
Before anything is touched. It lists what is included, what is extra, and what would change it. If the number changes, you hear it with the reason, before I carry on rather than after.
The same person all the way through
You speak to me, I quote it, I do it, and I am the one who comes back if it drips. There is no dispatcher and no second crew who did not get the message.
A day means a day
Small scope is how that stays true. I take four or five jobs a week, not fifteen, and that is why I can give you a time instead of a window.
An honest no
Roughly one call in five gets told that it is not my job. Water heaters, panels, gas, roofs, anything needing a permit. It costs me the work and saves you the worse outcome.
Tools and tidying
What goes in the van
A compact impact driver and a stud finder that works on lath, a basin wrench, a short pipe wrench, a laser level, a tile bit set, a shop vacuum and drop cloths. The vacuum and the cloths come out before anything else does.
What I leave behind
A floor that is cleaner than when I arrived, and the old part if you want to keep it. Packaging gets broken down and stacked, not left in your hall.
Who you are hiring
KST Handyman is a business name of KASATKIN LLC, registered in Santa Clara County. The company carries general liability insurance. We are not licensed under the California Contractors State License Law.
That last sentence is required by California law for work of this size, and it is exactly why the job list on this site stops where it does: small repairs and installations, nothing needing a permit, no remodelling. Anything bigger than that belongs with a licensed contractor, and I will tell you so rather than take it on.
Written price before the work, your go-ahead before any change to it, and payment after the work is done. Zelle, check to KASATKIN LLC, cash or Venmo. No cards.
Rather just talk to me?
Call (650) 780-6722. It is answered by an assistant that takes the details and passes them to me, and I ring back myself.