Sid’s Workshop

Wow, what a find. He came out and spent 3 hours fixing light switches and fixtures in our very old Palo Alto home and all was done carefully and skillfully. He even had to go up into our attic to work on some of the old wiring. My wife and I can’t be more pleased. His fee was VERY reasonable. We will definitely recommend him to friends and neighbors and call him again when we need some work done.

Sid was referred to us by a neighbor — and we think he’s an amazing, versatile, professional handyman. We provided him a list of repairs and work that was very diverse, and he completed plumbing, carpentry, painting, troubleshooting with a high degree of skill and in such good time that we wondered why we had not found him years ago! He has a wonderful list of providers who do specialty work at reasonable rates that he recommends as appropriate. We have used a couple of them and have been quite pleased. We would (and we plan to) hire him again in an instant and recommend him for your projects without reservation.

Sid is amazing! I’m the office manager in a large building in Palo Alto and have been using Sid as my «primary care» handyman for a few years. He is extremely knowledgeable, and willing to give you his advice! He has helped me do so many projects at our office, including replacing dozens of lightbulbs in 15ft ceilings, putting together metal cabinetry, replacing high pressure tanks in our toilets and even helped me save tons of money by installing metal conduit to the outside of our building that an electrician quoted me $ 2000 more than it cost Sid to do it. If I can’t do it myself, I know Sid CAN. I have yet to come across a problem that Sid can’t help me with! If you want a TRUSTWORTHY and reliable guy who is not going to charge you an arm and a leg, Sid is your guy. To top it off, he is very pleasant to work with.

Just called to offer a work project to Sid. I live in a newly constructed home Fremont next to the Dumbarton (literally 10 min from downtown Palo Alto). He replied in a rather snooty tone, «Yeah sorry I just don’t cross the bridge.» I could understand if it was a distance, but it’s hard to call a 10 minute drive a long trip. Sid, you are a handyman. Work ethic like yours will ruin our country.

I needed a handyman and had tried a couple of them and did not feel they were a) competent, b) neat, nor c) conscientious. I’m so tired of trying to contact handymen who don’t call back right away, or who call back but are rude on the phone, or who call back and come over with muddy shoes and do a sloppy job to boot. (no pun intended.) I also work long hours, so it was crucial that I find someone who was completely honorable and trustworthy– given that they would be doing work when I was not at home. I looked on Unilocal!and lo and behold, I came across a review I had written about Sid 5 – 6 years ago! I had totally forgotten about him! My review praised him to no end– and I was startled to see that I had actually written it! Needless to say, I called him, we reconnected, and I couldn’t be happier or luckier! Sid is a wonderful human being, very conscientious, astute, meticulous, and willing to do anything. He made design suggestions, unsolicited, that ended up being incredibly useful for me. My only hesitation in recommending him so highly is that so many highly praising recommendations might make him less available in the future when I need his services again. Seriously, folks, this guy is a delightful GEM.

Sid is an exceptional handyman! He has repaired many things for me with excellent results.
Recently I had problems with a refrigerator door. It was a challenge finding a replacement part. Sid persisted until the part could be obtained and the installed it.
He is my first call whenever anything goes wrong around the house.

We love Sid! He is extremely smart (a former techie), hugely knowledgable, and he does beautiful and careful work. He repaired the water damaged wood cabinetry under our sink, and it looks brand new. He found perfect replacement handles to fit our faucet, so we didn’t have to spend a ton replacing the whole thing. He gave me excellent advice for dealing with the hard water in Los Altos to keep our dishwasher in top shape. And that’s just a few things I can think of off the top of my head. There’s nothing more frustrating than home repairs done poorly, so save your sanity and get it done right the first time by Sid.

Amazing! I needed a bunch of random jobs done around my new home at the last minute (hanging mirrors/​floating shelves/​décor and installing lighting). I called Sid on Monday around 3:15 (so he does work Mondays, at least occasionally), and he was at my place within 15 minutes. He is a perfectionist in the very best way and super thoughtful and careful in his work. He was also just really pleasant to have around the house for a few hours. We will absolutely use him again for any future projects and recommend him most highly.

After numerous trips to Home Depot to try and get the right drilling equipment to install curtain rods and a mirror into the concrete walls of my office, I finally broke down and decided to call a handyman.
Enter Sid… He arrived on time (after hours on a weekend, no less) and really took the time to do a quality job, put down a drop cloth so that the dust from the drilling didn’t get on my furniture, fixed some other odds and ends in my office while he was there, and charged a very reasonable $ 75 for an hour’s work. Sid was quite down to earth and easy going, and I’m very glad that I gave him a call.
I’m also happy to now have some piece of mind that my mirror and curtains aren’t going to come tumbling down on my head and computer (which probably would have happened had I tried to go ahead and do the job myself). Also, given that my office is right next door to a bathroom, it gave me comfort to know that Sid was a professional, and that I wouldn’t have to worry about us drilling into a water line, and flooding the place!

five stars.
if you are looking for a job done right, call Sid.
However, if you just want a cheap fix and don’t want to shell out $$$$ for it, don’t call him. Find somebody else. Sid doesn’t understand the concept of a «cheap fix» or why somebody wouldn’t want to fully repair something. So seriously, if this is what you want (and I can understand why you might want a cheap fix at times) don’t call Sid.

Sid came to my house to assist with various jobs that my husband and I had procrastinated doing. He was very professional, on time, courteous to me and my children, and a real pleasure to work with. He did all of the jobs without making a mess and his craftsmanship was very good. I would whole-​heartedly recommend Sid to anyone needing a handyman.

Does good work – prompt & efficient !

Sid came to install the recommended pocket door solution (because, alas, we did not in fact have the time or patience to install it ourselves), and I was equally pleased with his demeanor and care when he came. He is a problem solver who is engaged in coming up with a lasting solution to your dilemma and I appreciated his care. He helped us find a much lower cost solution to a potentially expensive dilemma (curse you pocket doors) and I am very appreciative!

I agree with «Amy R» that I almost want something in my house to be broken just so I can hire Sid! I called him to get quotes on a few jobs I wanted done in my new house. But all were a bit too involved/​specialized for what he is used to. When I mentioned skylights, he said he doesn’t really like to install them but has in the past. He then offered to sell me one that he has left over from a previous job, for a huge discount. I’ll definitely keep Sid in mind in case I need something fixed. FYI: He generally just works on a per-​hour basis.

Sid is wonderful!
He did some work for our company when we moved in to our new office space. More specifically, he hung some Ikea kitchen cabinets for us and was thoughtful about it (e.g. he asked me if we would be adding additional cabinets or if he should cut the railing the cabinets hung on so it would look nicer). His measurements were accurate, the cabinets were straight, sturdy (we overload them on a regular basis with no problems) and they look great!
He has a great energy about him and I wouldn’t use another handyman for our office projects now that I know about Sid. (Plus he remembered to send me a W9 as soon as he got to a computer and that’s as good as it gets in the eyes of an office manager). :)

Sid is great! He came by my rental unit in Redwood City and did a bunch of odd jobs. He was thorough and reliable, pleasant to be around and neat. Thanks Sid! You made me and my tenants happy campers!

Sid was wonderful. I had some very small jobs for my small apartment, but he was totally down to earth and didn’t mind coming in to look at what help I needed. He made several suggestions on things I could do myself and didn’t charge me for the consult.
I had him install a pot rack to the ceiling, and he was totally fine with my insistence to find the studs as I am paranoid about safety issues (and my neighbor upstairs jumps up and down alot – wii fit, i think). He also helped my fix this window that required counterweights. It was a really old school window, and he took out the frame and was able to put it back good as new.
He was really efficient and didn’t charge me for advice, which was really nice. I may try and do some of the repairs myself, but I’ll be calling him again when I need professional help.
Also, he tries to bike to your house if you aren’t too far, and my dogs liked him (always a good sign =).

I found Sid on Unilocal and was impressed with his reviews, which I can happily say, were all quite accurate.
I needed help installing a cat door before leaving on a vacation and he came out quickly, made recommendations on where to put it, and did a professional and neat job. No repainting necessary!
If only all «professionals» were as professional.

Did good work.

Sid is the best handyman I have ever hired. I have hired a lot of handy people, some have cost less and some have cost more, but Sid consistently delivers better work than others.
First, I must comment on his drive for quality. Every job Sid has done lasts. He fixed a futon couch bed of mine that broke – two legs collapsed. After he fixed it the couch was better than what it was new.
Sid has an understanding of design and a brilliant mind that make him a delight to work with. The last project he did for me was to install a carrier pulley system to the roof of my garage. I have one of those plastic boxes that go on top of my wagon to hold my skis. My goal was to pull in my car and have a mechanism to lower the box on top of the car. To make this work Sid had to augment the ceiling and make changes. He did what I asked and he knows me enough to design the system so I could take it with me if I move. I loved that he thought of this. Now, not only is the design awesome for my life now, if I move to new place the install would be less work and I still have the same great design that will now work in any garage.
Sid will use recycled materials, and if the job is close, he rides his bike. He has really cool tools that I have never seen before. When he uses the saw to cut wood there is a vacuum attached so the sawdust goes into the vacuum. He always leaves my home clean after every job. I love this about him.
My favorite part is I can email him photos of the space, object or thing I need his expertise for and he starts thinking about what is needed.
With Sid, I feel like I get my money’s worth on every job and his brilliance at design make him the kind of handyman who I would sit down and write a five star review for. I highly recommend him.