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Leeming Home Renovation Testimonial and After Images

We certainly made the right decision when we chose John Bodin as our builder. We feel this renovation has been a pleasure rather than a stress and John and his team had a lot to do with that.

When Miranda and Chris wanted to expand their home, they decided to get three quotes, which is smart. They wanted a new, and much bigger, master bedroom and ensuite, an enclosed garage instead of a carport, and the old master bedroom would become a ‘man-cave’ connected to the garage. Like a lot of people, their first two quotes were from big builders. I asked Miranda if there was anything wrong with the big builder experience? Not really. They were very professional and the salesmen who came out to see them were excellent. But they realised they would probably never see that guy again. Once contract is signed they would work with a different team (actual builders) from the company. That’s when a friend of Miranda’s recommended John Bodin and One Design and Construct.

When John came to see us for the quote, we just really liked him as a person. We felt he was a really nice guy right from the start.

This is what Miranda said of her experience.

We told John that we had a quote and a plan we kind of liked but it was quite expensive. John was happy to talk about doing the work in ways that would reduce cost. He offered plenty of options that helped to lower the price. For example, he pointed out that if we moved the bathroom to the other side of the plan, it would mean less plumbing and less cost. He helped us maximise the bang we got for our buck. It seemed to us that suggesting ways to reduce cost was something the larger builders didn’t bother much about.

And we saw John every day and that was something we appreciated, knowing that the vision we had communicated and worked on together was shared by the man in charge on the work site. We did the plans with John. As it was our third quote, we had more of an idea of what we wanted by then. Everything was very smooth and John gave us exactly what we wanted. It all seemed easy.


So was it mainly cost that influenced the decision to give John and One DC the contract? Miranda says no. A winning aspect was that John was local, but it was probably more about just the way that John is as a person.

John is very accommodating and he’s like a friend you’re happy to welcome into your home.

And Miranda had nothing but praise for John’s right hand man, Ash, who was so nice and always found time for Miranda’s 10 year old son, Marcus. And guess what? Marcus has his heart set on becoming a builder now! Miranda said everyone on John’s team were so nice! They were all really great guys to have around and Miranda and Chris felt very lucky.

So was the renovation stressful? Again, Miranda says no.

The build was really stress free and that’s mainly, I think, down to John’s nature.

For example, when Miranda and Chris had the roof and gutters off and just plastic to protect from the rain, one morning it really pelted down and they ended up with a small leak. While Miranda was having a chat with one of the team about what to do next, there was a knock on the door.  John had already organised a solution and everything was fixed straight away. And there were all sorts of little design details that John would point out and make suggestions so things would look and function better.

Even though everything gets done right without us saying anything, and a lot of things we would never even think of, we’re always informed every step of the way.

Like making sure the heat lamp in the bathroom was in the best position, then making sure that the lighting was central and aligned with everything else – it was exactly what needed to be done and Miranda never even had to worry about it. John’s onto everything and he’s very meticulous. It’s a wealth of knowledge that shows in everything John and the rest of the team do.

Miranda and Chris added things as they went. Like the addition of a shower niche. Initially, they wanted to have a dish in the shower area. Miranda called John and got a quote on how much it would cost to install what she had in mind. An hour later he called her back to say he’d talked with the tiler, found a better option and if we bought a particular soap dish we could get what we wanted at a much lower price. They went with John’s suggested shower niche which suited the tiles perfectly and turned out to be more cost effective!

Even though he’d answered my question, he still went ahead and researched about how to get a better deal.

It’s that kind of initiative, that extra mile, that Miranda very greatly appreciated and she felt it showed real respect for her and what she wanted.

I asked about timelines and Miranda said One DC had it all wrapped up before the deadline and they were so happy with the outcome and the whole process.

So is this the end of the renovation? Miranda says no, she’d like to do the kitchen. “I’d definitely like to have the guys back. Really, I’d have them all back in a heartbeat. It’s been so easy to open the front door to them. It really has. I was actually getting teary when it was all over and I wasn’t going to see them again.”

So a great price, finished before the agreed deadline, excellent quality and a team that was a pleasure to have around. It doesn’t get much better than that!

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