Handyman in Westboro, Topeka
Westboro is one of central Topeka's best-known neighborhoods, a few blocks of curving streets bounded by Huntoon Street on the north, Oakley Avenue on the east, 17th Street on the south and Gage Boulevard on the west. Most of its houses went up in the 1920s and 1930s, and a good number of them were model homes for the L.F. Garlinghouse Company, the Topeka firm whose house plans were sold through catalogs across the country. That gives the neighborhood an unusual mix of styles on one street: Italian Renaissance Revival homes with tile roofs, French Eclectic houses with steep rooflines, brick Colonials, Tudors and smaller cottages, all set back on lawns under mature trees. These are well-built houses, but they're close to a hundred years old now. Most have plaster walls, hardwood floors, original wood windows and doors, basements with older plumbing and electrical updated in stages, and detached or tuck-under garages built for much smaller cars. The work here leans toward preserving what's good about the house while making it work for the way people live today, whether that's a quiet ceiling fan in a bedroom, better lighting in a dim kitchen or a door that closes without a shove.
Westboro has a settled, walkable feel. The curving streets break up the grid that surrounds it, and the small shopping strip at Westboro Mart gives residents a handful of shops and restaurants close by. Gage Boulevard runs along the west edge, putting Gage Park, the Topeka Zoo and the Reinisch Rose Garden a short drive north, and Washburn University and the College Hill shops along Washburn Avenue are just to the east. Huntoon Street on the north side connects quickly to downtown and the Capitol. Lawns are deep and the trees are big, mostly oaks, elms and maples planted when the neighborhood was new. They're a big part of the charm and also a big part of the maintenance: they fill gutters every fall, shade the north sides of houses so moss and mildew grow on walks and siding, and push roots against old sidewalks and garage aprons. With driveways on most lots, parking is easy, and we keep the work tidy and the yard clear while we're there.
ZIP codes we cover in Westboro: 66604
What Westboro neighbors book most
- Drywall Repair
- Door Repair & Adjustment
- Light Fixture Installation
- Interior Painting & Touch-Ups
- Faucet & Toilet Repair
- Fence & Gate Repair
Jobs we handle a lot around Westboro
Typical Westboro jobs start with the walls and doors: plaster cracks over windows and doorways that open and close with the seasons, nail and lath lines showing through ceilings, and interior doors that drift out of square as the house shifts on Topeka's clay. Kitchens and baths bring faucet replacements, running toilets, new supply lines and disposal swaps, often in rooms remodeled in the 1970s or 1980s that are ready for an update. We replace dated light fixtures and add ceiling fans in upstairs bedrooms that get warm in July, install smart thermostats and video doorbells, and touch up paint on trim and walls. Outside, it's wood fences and gates that sag, gutters and downspouts that need clearing and re-sloping, and pressure washing of walks, steps and patios. In older detached garages, sturdy shelving and wall storage make tight spaces usable again.
Questions we hear in Westboro
Is my Westboro house plaster or drywall, and does it matter?
Most original walls in Westboro are plaster, though many houses have had a room or two redone in drywall during later remodels. It matters because the repair methods differ. Plaster cracks need to be secured and filled with materials that bond to old plaster, while drywall patches are taped and mudded. We check what we're dealing with first, and we match the surface so the repair doesn't stand out.
Can you replace old light fixtures without damaging the plaster ceiling?
Yes. We remove the old fixture carefully, check the box and its support, and install the new fixture so its canopy covers any marks from the old one. If the box isn't secure enough or the new fixture is heavier, we add proper support. Our licensed electricians make the connections, and any small plaster repairs around the canopy are patched and painted before we leave.
Can you mount a TV over a plaster wall or a fireplace?
Yes. Plaster on lath is harder and more brittle than drywall, so we drill carefully, find the studs behind it and use fasteners rated for the load. Over a fireplace we also check the masonry and the heat coming off the firebox before deciding on the mount and height. We can run cables through the wall where the framing allows, or neatly along it in a paintable raceway.
My basement door and the stairs down to it are loose. Can you fix those?
Yes. Basement stairs in houses of this age often have loose treads, wobbly handrails and doors that rub because the framing around them has shifted. We tighten and re-secure treads, mount handrails solidly into framing at a comfortable height, and adjust or re-hang the door so it swings and latches cleanly. It's a small job that makes a big difference in everyday safety.
Everything we offer in Westboro
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