Who We Are

Home improvements provided by women & queers

Located in Buffalo, NY, K & M Home Repairs provides skilled and accessible home improvement services to our community. Our certifications include Building Trades, EPA Lead Removal, and OSHA 10.

Our mission is to uplift women and LGBTQIA+ communities in the trades and we work towards this from multiple angles.

First, we employ and subcontract primarily women and queer trades people. The trades are traditionally an industry operated by and for cisgender white men and often exclude and exploit women and queer people trying to enter or work in their respective trades. We work towards creating a referral network of non-traditional tradespeople that allows us to keep work within our community.

Second, the majority of our customers are women and queer people who feel more comfortable and safe inviting queer workers into their homes. We work to create safe job sites, foster clear and compassionate conversations.

A note on costs and fees: We understand that there are companies that charge less than we do, but not all companies are community-focused with a mindset to protect and accommodate their employees' well-being. We strive to be a place where we can support our community through encouraging good mental and physical health for our employees and our prices reflect that.

Meet the Team

  • Katie

    OWNER

    Katie (she/her) is the owner of K & M and an experienced contractor who specializes in electrical repairs and restoration carpentry. She’s spent the past 5+ years honing her skills and has countless certifications and projects under her tool belt. Possessing a knack for the most minute detail, Katie can look at a space and see several variations to what a space can become.

    Katie is an absolute geek for measuring and electrical systems. The tool she searches for the most is her tape measure, and you can usually find her on the job site asking, “Can I use a level on that?” or “Where’s the grounding conductor?”

    She’s also passionate about restoration (because reduce, reuse, recycle). Informed by old school carpentry tricks, her artistry and care for building improvements transform spaces to last for years. Including restoring windows, doors, and art glass, she loves to give new life to home fixtures that are 100+ years old.

    She believes dancing while she’s on the job fuses joy into her work, and thoroughly enjoys working out the math for custom pieces, and making sure you’re wiring is safe and code compliant.

  • MALLORY

    CO-FOUNDER

    Mallory (she/her) is the other founding queer women of K & M (hence the M to the K). She’s an experienced carpenter, raised by a family of plumbers. She’s spent most of her life in the trades doing side projects while owning her own business, A Joyful Dog (one of Buffalo’s premier dog daycare and boarding facilities). 

    Mal’s passions include plumbing and carpentry. The tools she’s always asking for are channel locks. She can usually be found on the job site asking, “Can I put a shut-off valve there?” and “Let’s add more blocking!”

    One of Mal’s many talents includes eyeballing precision cuts like it’s nobody’s business. She is as scrappy as she is creative. Mal always finds new ways to repurpose scrap materials, and you can be sure her joints are tight and gap-free.

    Disco music keeps her motivated on the job, and her motto in life is “Take your time, do it right.” As an animal lover, she’s always going to ask if she can pet your dog.

  • OLIVER

    APPRENTICE