POULSBO — Gloria Legere calls Jim Honeycutt and his crew “husbands-for-hire.”

The Poulsbo resident has called upon the men several times to help her with projects from laying a new floor in her office to fixing a leaking faucet, to installing new windows and doors.

“In one word, I’d call them invaluable,” Legere said.

For the last 10 months, Honeycutt and his business The Maintenance Crew have been tackling honey-do lists across Kitsap County. Specializing in small, odd jobs around homes, Honeycutt said no job is too small for them.

“Not a lot of people want to take on these small house jobs because there’s not a lot of money in it but I enjoy it,” he commented. “I enjoy working with my hands and I feel like I’m helping (the homeowner) out after I’m done with the job.”

The Maintenance Crew is actually the brainchild of Honeycutt and Rick Roach of Ball Design dry wall company in Poulsbo. The two worked together and Honeycutt said the idea for a small jobs company actually came to them about three years ago, but it wasn’t until recently that they made the idea a reality.

The small crew of about three workers (Roach’s son Andy included) does minor plumbing and electrical jobs, carpentry, fixture installation and even clean up jobs like power washing and cleaning out gutters. Staff also install and repair decks and do minor roof repair.

Honeycutt, who has worked in construction for more than 30 years and built about 3,000 houses, said the odd jobs make the work very interesting.

“I enjoy this more than any other job I’ve had in construction before,” Honeycutt commented.

Jobs start with a call from someone with a project needing work. Honeycutt will come to the site and give the homeowner a price estimate for the entire project. The crew will also work on an hourly basis, so Honeycutt said he always includes an estimate of how many hours the project will take as well. Then, it’s as simple as setting a time and letting them get to work.

And in less than a year, The Maintenance Crew has become a hot commodity. They’ve received calls from Bremerton, Seabeck, Poulsbo, Kingston and even just across the Hood Canal Bridge. The business also recently landed the job of doing all the warranty work for Poulsbo Place. Honeycutt said the reaction he got from Poulsbo Place residents was one that is echoed at every job they go to.

“Every customer just went crazy for it, there were so happy someone else was doing the work for them,” Honeycutt recalled.

In fact, work has taken off so much that the new company is already thinking of expanding. Honeycutt said he’s looked into opening a new branch to better serve requests on the Olympic Peninsula. The Maintenance Crew has also been requested at a new project in Issaquah by Security Properties, managers of Poulsbo Place, which could expand The Maintenance Crew in the West Sound as well.

But for now, Honeycutt said he and his crew are enjoying their successes right here in Poulsbo.

Legere said The Maintenance Crew has been a life saver for her. She actually met Honeycutt at Home Depot one day just before her husband died. In the checkout line, she burst into tears telling Honeycutt she was going to have to learn how to take care of their home by herself and had no idea where to start. Not only has The Maintenance Crew provided Legere with help maintaining her abode but Honeycutt has even taught her how to use some of the tools her husband left her.

“It’s like they’re family,” Legere said. “They’re concerned about the jobs they do. They do a good job. They know my house just about as well as I do.”