Welcome to Handy Tips

Hi every­one!

I’m going to, peri­od­i­cally, write spe­cial ‘Reli­able Rick Handy Tips.’  I’ve learned a whole lot in the past few years as a Handy Man in and around Palm Springs and San Diego,  and want to share some easy things you can do at home or around your property.

Hardwood Flooring Installation

Here I installed new hard­wood floor­ing after tile had been removed. I had to align the new floor with the exist­ing wood in the adjoin­ing room.

Exterior Fencing


Here I extended an exist­ing fence and built the gate.

Custom Blind Installation

These are some cus­tom blinds I installed. This was a lit­tle chal­leng­ing because the home­owner wanted them as close to the ceil­ing as possible.

Window Air Conditioner & Toilet Installation

Here I added a new elec­tri­cal out­let and installed a new win­dow A/C unit. (I had pre­vi­ously installed the toi­let for this home­owner too.)

Fireplace Design and Construction

One of my more artis­tic cre­ations. Slate tile, plas­ter man­tle shelf, and cast-iron Satyr around a gas fireplace.

Kitchen Redo


This room was orig­i­nally plumbed for a washer and dryer, but the home­owner had those installed in the garage. After hav­ing a plumber “stub out” for a sink and the gran­ite coun­ter­top fab­ri­cated, I installed the cab­i­nets and dish­washer, and hooked up the faucet, drain, and ice maker. I also had to patch a big hole in the dry­wall under the sink left by the plumber.

Home Theatre


For this project, the home­owner changed the lay­out of the room after the house was fin­ished, putting the front speak­ers and TV on the oppo­site wall from where they were orig­i­nally. I ran a line up from the front speak­ers orig­i­nal out­let to the new rear speak­ers, then replaced the orig­i­nal rear speak­ers with sconces.