Twenty years owning a renovation company known for kitchens and baths, five years in carpentry before that, and time building homes in Atlanta. I've stood in every kind of build in the Tri-Cities — now I run this one on my own.
I started in carpentry — five years learning wood, trim, and framing the way it's supposed to be done. That led to twenty years owning J.CO Renovations, a company that built a name around kitchens and baths. Before all that, I spent time building homes in Atlanta. Between the framing crews, the renovation clients, and the years running my own company, I've been on nearly every side of a construction job there is.
Carpentry is still where I started, and it's still where I'm most at home — you can see the full carpentry and wood rot repair work I take on now.
Most handymen are climbing a ladder — they start small and work toward calling themselves a contractor. I came down the ladder in reverse. I already ran the company, already bid the big jobs, already managed the subs. Now I do the smaller work myself, on purpose, because I like being the guy who actually shows up and does it — not the guy managing five crews on five jobsites at once.
That means when I tell you something is or isn't in a handyman's scope, it's not a guess. I've run the company that would've bid the bigger version of your job.
A handyman who says yes to everything is a handyman you should worry about. I'll change out a light fixture, but I won't run new wiring — that's a licensed electrician's job, and I'll tell you so and hand you someone I trust. Same with plumbing beyond a fixture swap, same with anything structural that needs an engineer's eyes on it. Twenty-five years in the trades taught me exactly where that line sits.
If you're staring down a decision bigger than a repair — a full renovation, an addition, a project with real money on the line — that's exactly what having a veteran in your corner is built for. I've sat on the contractor's side of that table for twenty years. Now I sit on yours.
Years ago, on a renovation job, I had a choice: patch a section of subfloor to save the client fifty dollars, or replace the whole run because I could feel it wasn't right underfoot. I replaced it. Fifty bucks isn't the kind of money that keeps a business afloat — but the conversation where a client finds out you cut a corner they couldn't see? That's the kind of thing that ends a relationship, and word travels in a place this size. I've built this business on the opposite bet: do it the way you'd do it in your own house, every time, and the relationships take care of themselves.
Running a renovation company means managing people as much as building anything. I got good at it, but somewhere along the way I missed doing the actual work with my own hands. Highlander Handyman is me choosing to go back to that — one job at a time, no crew to manage, just the work in front of me.
That doesn't mean I work alone when a job needs more than I can offer. Twenty years in this business built a network of licensed electricians, plumbers, roofers, and painters I trust completely. When your job needs one of them, I'll say so and make the introduction myself — you can see the full range of what I handle personally on the services page.
I take care of minor gutter repairs myself, but when it comes to gutter cleaning or the bigger gutter work, I send folks straight to my son. He owns Watauga Gutters, right here in the area — and watching him build his own business in this trade is one of the things I'm proudest of. If you need your gutters done right, you'll be in good hands with him.
Before you hand a contractor $40,000 based on a gut feeling, have someone who's built these for 25 years look at the numbers with you.
Get an independent read on your estimatesHow long has Jeff been in the trades?+
25+ years — 20 owning J.CO Renovations, plus 5 years in carpentry before that.
Why did Jeff go from contractor to handyman?+
He wanted to get back to doing the work himself instead of managing crews across multiple jobs.
Is Highlander Handyman licensed and insured?+
Yes — licensed and insured, with 25+ years of hands-on trade experience behind it.
What if my job is bigger than a handyman job?+
Jeff will tell you plainly, and if you want an independent second opinion on contractor bids, that's exactly what A Contractor in Your Corner is for.