For Melbourne homeowners planning a bathroom renovation
It happens more than most builders will admit. The old tiles come up. The subfloor is soaked through. And now the walls sitting on top of it need to come out too. Jake is a qualified carpenter and a qualified waterproofer, so he checks for this before your quote is locked in, not after your bathroom is a demolition site. If anything unexpected is found once work starts, you get the exact cost and the exact reason before a single extra dollar is spent.
Before you sign anything
Not always. If the leak is recent and the water hasn't traveled far, only the damaged subfloor and joists need replacing. But if it's been leaking for months or years without anyone noticing, the water works its way up into the bottom of the wall frame, and once that happens, the wall comes out too. The only way to know which one you're dealing with is to actually pull up the floor and look, not guess from the quote stage.
What nobody tells you upfront
The floor comes up. The rot is there. Now you find out what kind of builder you hired.
Some builders just keep going. They cut around the rotten joists instead of replacing them properly. They run the waste pipe through without adding support underneath. It holds for now. It doesn't hold for long.
Some leave the wall studs bowed and out of plumb, then tile straight over the top. Looks fine on handover day. Six months later, the tiles crack and the grout lines open up. Nobody tells you why, because the reason is buried behind the wall.
And then there's the moment that breaks trust faster than anything else. The rot is found. The builder goes quiet for a day, maybe two. Then a number appears. No breakdown. No explanation of what it covers. Just a bill, and a choice: pay it, or stop the job halfway through your own bathroom.
You're not in a position to argue. Your bathroom is already gutted. You don't know what a fair price for structural repair even looks like. So you pay it, and you spend the rest of the job wondering what else is going to show up.
That's not bad luck. That's what happens when nobody had a plan for this before the floor came up.
How Jake actually handles it
Here's the part most builders skip.
Before Jake writes your quote, he comes to the property and checks the areas most likely to be holding water damage, the exact problem from the last section. He talks through what you actually want the finished bathroom to look like. Then he prices the job on the real scope, the design, the materials, and the labour it will actually take. Not a guess dressed up as a fixed price.
If something is found once the job has started, here's exactly what happens.
Jake stops. He tells you straight away, not buried in an invoice three weeks later. He explains what he found, what it means, and what it will cost to fix properly, in plain terms, not trade talk you need translated.
And every part of it goes in writing, for you to sign off on, before any of it happens.
No verbal agreements you have to remember later. No "I thought we'd discussed that." You see the reason. You see the cost. You approve it before the work continues. If you don't approve it, the work doesn't continue.
That's the difference between a builder with a plan for this, and one who's hoping it never comes up.
What it's actually like
These aren't testimonials picked for the website. They're Google reviews from homeowners who went through this exact process.
"We had Level A Builders complete our bathroom renovation and the whole experience was honestly better than expected. Jake and his team were great to deal with, really respectful, easy to talk to, and always showed up when they said they would."G AGoogle Review
"I was impressed by how fast the job was completed without anything feeling rushed. Every stage was done properly and the quality shows in the details. Waterproofing, tiling, cabinetry, everything is spot on."Zane ThomsonGoogle Review
"I recently used Level A Builders to renovate my home, which required extensive remodeling across every room. From day one, the goal was to find the best outcome without cutting corners, and the bathroom transformation is a perfect example."Yin ZhangGoogle Review
The in-house design service was a game changer for us. Instead of running around trying to pick tiles, fittings, and layouts ourselves, everything was guided and thought through properly. Jake and the team made sure the space actually worked, not just looked good. The final bathroom feels super practical but still high-end. Couldn’t be happier with how it all came together.DANNI1 review · 1 photo · 3 months ago · Google Review
What you're actually getting
Bad waterproofing fails from the inside. You don't see it until the rot's already there. Jake is a qualified waterproofer, so he understands what to look for when water damage is uncovered and what needs to be addressed before the bathroom is closed back in. Not two different people passing responsibility between them.
Remember the contractor who notches through a joist without adding support, or tiles straight over a bowed stud because it's faster? That's not how Jake works. With 8 years of hands-on construction experience and a carpentry qualification, he knows what to look for when framing is exposed and when something needs further assessment before the bathroom is rebuilt.
You deal with Jake. Not a salesperson who quoted the job and vanished. Not a project manager who has no idea what was found under your floor last Tuesday. The person who found the problem is the same person who explains it to you.
Your schedule, quotes, invoices, and any variations, all in one place. No calling and waiting on a callback. No wondering if you missed a text about a decision that needed your sign-off.
Remember the surprise bill with no explanation? That doesn't happen here. If anything outside the agreed scope turns up, work stops until you've seen the reason and the cost, in writing, and signed off on it yourself.
T&C: All variations to the agreed scope are priced and confirmed in writing before proceeding. Final costs depend on the extent of work required once identified.
If something doesn't look right after the renovation is finished, you can contact Jake directly. He'll review the issue with you, explain what needs to happen next, and work with you to get it properly addressed.
Ready when you are
You don't need a final budget. You don't need to have picked your tiles. You just need someone to actually check, before a price gets written down, not after.
Jake comes to the property, looks at the space, and tells you straight what he sees, including anything that could turn into a bigger job once the floor comes up. That's the whole point of a site visit: finding out now, while it costs you nothing, instead of finding out halfway through your own bathroom.
Tell Jake what you're planning, where the property is, and when you'd like to begin.
One point of contact. One clear view of the job. No unexplained extras.
Questions before you book
Not if it's planned properly from the start. Getting the right fall to the drain means the floor structure needs to be set up for it before the screed and tiles go down, not adjusted after. Jake plans for this at the framing stage, so your finished bathroom floor sits at a sensible height against the rest of your home, instead of leaving you with an awkward step at the door.
Jake stops and shows you exactly what he found. You get a clear explanation of what caused it, what needs to happen to fix it properly, and what it will cost. Everything goes in writing for you to approve before any further work happens. Nothing gets added to your bill without your sign-off first.
T&C: All variations to the agreed scope are priced and confirmed in writing before proceeding. Final costs depend on the extent of work required once identified.
It depends on the scope. If your renovation involves structural work, such as altering floor joists, bearers or load-bearing walls, building-permit requirements need to be addressed before that work begins. Jake will flag this during the planning process and, where permits or specialist input are required, explain the next steps and coordinate the relevant parts of the process with you and the appropriate professionals.
T&C: Permit and approval requirements depend on the specific scope of the project and are confirmed before the relevant work begins.
There's no single answer, and any builder who gives you one before seeing your bathroom is guessing. A small ensuite update takes a lot less time than a full bathroom that's being resized, re-plumbed, and rebuilt with different materials. Jake gives you a realistic timeline once he's actually seen the scope, the size, and the materials involved, not a generic number pulled from a brochure. And if that timeline changes once the job starts, you'll know straight away, not find out when the date you were expecting quietly slides.
If something doesn't look right after the renovation is finished, contact Jake directly. He'll review the issue with you, explain what needs to happen next, and work with you to get it properly addressed. Any statutory rights and protections that apply to your project remain unaffected.
