Straight & Level

“Over thirty-three odd years, we orchestrated and survived two major addition/ remodels and three minor upgrades on our former home in Michigan. We went into the renovation on our Austin condominium with a very significant understanding of the process and very clear expectations. The first rule of remodeling is “when walls come down, there are always surprises”. Our experience with Straight and Level Construction and John Martin exceeded our expectations.The crew from Straight and Level transformed an 80’s Tuscan style condo into an “urban loft”, an open concept space that included reclaiming an outdoor balcony for interior space, removing walls to relocate the kitchen and gutting two outdated bathrooms. John was calm and professional when confronting the “surprises”, and there were several on our project. His bid on the project was realistic, though not inexpensive. It was worth every penny. John had great resources/subcontractors, firm control of the budget and a willingness to solve any concerns or critiques we had. We think the results are spectacular. John has returned several times to “tweak” some minor issues promptly and graciously, testimony to the fact that Straight and Level guarantees their work. It would be a pleasure to work with John on a project again.We recommend John Martin and would be willing to communicate with any of his potential customers to show them the quality of his work and to reassure them of the professional capabilities of Straight and Level Construction.”
John & Colette Sirhal, Austin

Straight and Level Construction helped us with several projects, including an update to the kitchen in our 1940s stucco home. Two weeks into the project we hit a brick wall, literally, when John and his crew began taking down the pony wall that separated the kitchen from our family room. We knew the wall was solid and anticipated that the demo might be challenging, but no one expected two layers of solid brick. What should have been a one day project quickly morphed into three very noisy, messy days. Nevertheless, John worked hard to minimize costs and impact to our family. He borrowed my Swiffer on more than one occasion to make sure that things were cleaned up at the end of the day, and he was a great communicator, making sure that we had the information and guidance we needed to make smart decisions regarding our home.In the end, we exceeded our original time line, but the process and product also exceeded our expectations. This was due to the hard work of John and his crew, and we will definitely be calling Straight and Level Construction for help on our next project. Mindy Weber and Lowell McRoberts, Austin

We chose John Martin to remodel our bathroom, bedroom and laundry room because we had heard wonderful things about him and had seen a few of his beautiful projects. From the very beginning, he was extremely upfront and accurate about cost and time. He also anticipated problems we might encounter during the project, especially plumbing issues. There were no surprises when the project was finished. At all times, John was extremely professional, patient, and easy to work with. John is detail minded and offered helpful suggestions about everything. Plus, he hired exceptional subcontractors to make sure our cabinetry fit our needs well and tile work was gorgeous. Several times we changed our minds, and John thought out our issues carefully as though he was working in his own home. We didn’t feel rushed or pressured and truly felt as though John wanted us to be happy with all the remodeling being done. We will happily work with Straight and Level Construction again. Jon and Nicole Tyler, Austin, TX

“When we decided to close in an unused upstairs balcony to expand our game room, I met with John who came highly recommended by two of our neighbors. I knew right away that he was the one for our project. He explained every step of the process as we went through it, he was always on time, the job site was left clean each day, his sub-contractors were all great to work with, and we love the finished product. Even when we significantly expanded the scope of the project, he remained calm and ensured that it was completed with the same high quality as the initial project. I especially appreciate that John took the time to look at all aspects of our house and make suggestions for small improvements that have made a big difference. John is easy to work with, up front, honest, insists on high quality and I would definitely recommend him for any home remodel project.” Diane and Bryan Lee, Austin, TX

“After working with John on multiple projects, it is evident that his primary focus is on providing high quality work and a positive remodel experience. He makes every decision thoughtfully and with the intent of “doing it right”, and he stays personally involved through the entire process. As I designer that is important to me because I know our client will be cared for every step of the way and will be all the more satisfied with the end result. I highly recommend John to any homeowner venturing into a remodel, as he cares about what’s important and takes great pride in each and every project.” Laura Burton, Laura Burton Interiors

“This was our first home remodel and choosing a remodeler was very intimidating, but John was a terrific choice. We chose him because he showed us all the detailed cost line items…nothing was hidden. He further impressed us with his construction knowledge, ideas, and honesty–he didn’t try to hide the negatives or overemphasize the positives. Finally, showing us his former projects and introducing us to former clients gave us the confidence we needed to choose him. He was worth it. Our new downstairs media room, bathroom, and upstairs remodeled and enlarged master bath and closet surpassed our expectations! Throughout the build John was thorough and diligent with answering questions and getting feedback. He strove to make the experience as positive as possible, ensuring a clean site at the end of each day and letting us know the progress and what was to happen next. John was flexible, thoughtful (trying to get our master bath complete enough for the holidays), and careful to make sure that we were happy with the results. He made sure his contractors completed their work to our expectations, even to the point of redoing a shower tile bench seat to reduce grout lines and redoing a small bath cabinet to meet the original color choice. We had two other remodelers we were considering, one of which had a lower estimate, but we honestly believe that if we had chosen them the costs would have been the same or higher in the long run. We would definitely use John again and highly recommend him.” Paul and Sherrill Packebush

“We love our house! It exceeded our expectations. Thank you for listening to us and always trying to figure out a way to help us get exactly what we wanted. In addition to being on time and on budget, your superior workmanship, attention to detail, great communication, and willingness to be flexible puts you at the top of your profession. The quality of your work continues to greatly impress all who enter. We could not be more pleased!”
Tracy and Ron Bradshaw, Austin

“John came highly recommended from an associate of mine, and immediately, I understood why. Not only is his work impeccable, but his eye for detail and superb taste are top-notch. The best part, however, of working with John is his laid-back nature, dry sense of humor, and honest integrity in everything he does. Not only did he create a wonderful home for me to live in, but he has become a trusted friend for life. You can’t put a price on that.”
Jeannie Bissell, Westlake

“We have now utilized Straight & Level for three separate home remodeling projects, and each time has been an excellent experience. The first project was a total remodel/add-on of the entire second story of our home, the second was a remodel of our kitchen and the most recent project involved a remodel of our master bath. John Martin personally supervised each project on an almost daily basis, and he brought unmatched enthusiasm, creativity, workmanship and skillfulness to the process. John worked within our vision of each of the projects, provided great ideas and suggestions along the way, and was always available to answer questions or concerns on and off the job site – even on weekends. John and his subcontractors were always very respectful of our home and our needs. They showed up when they said they would, and we never felt uneasy about not being at home when they were working. They also always took care to clean up each day after their work, which was much appreciated since we lived in our home during each of the remodeling projects. John clearly takes pride in what he does, and for good reason – his work product is first-class! His attention to detail, his conscientiousness and his professionalism have made each of our projects special and something that we are very proud to show off to our families and guests. We can’t thank Straight & Level and John Martin enough for making our remodeling experiences very positive in all respects.”
Marybeth and Jeff Hubenak, Austin

“This is the second time I’ve used John to do a home remodeling project, and we’ll do more together. I love working with him because he listens carefully to what I want to accomplish and offers great suggestions for both technical and design solutions (“there’s a quiet fan that can do that”, “how about natural cherry?”, or, “what if we do outlets here?”). He has the skills, work ethic and subcontractors to deliver on his — and my — high expectations for quality workmanship. And unlike most workers, he cleans up every night, so it doesn’t feel as though we’re living in a construction zone even if we are. When I look at our new master bathroom, I can’t tell which were my ideas and which were John’s, but it’s wonderful and we’re delighted by the end result.”
Alison Silverstein, Pflugerville

“Britt (professional chef) LOVED the kitchen! It was great hearing him “ooh” and “aah” over everything. His favorites were the stove and the warming drawer. He said it was just like cooking in a professional kitchen. After cooking, he took a shower in our shower and said that it was second only to the outside shower they had just experienced on their honeymoon in Hawaii. Looks like you have done a great job-but we already knew that!”
Mary Esquivel, Austin

“Having suffered through a remodeling nightmare in a previous home in Dallas, we were reluctant to become involved with another project and another contractor. After much scrutiny we hired John for our project and it was a completely different experience. His thoughtful organization of the project was evident from the beginning and never let up. Easy to communicate with and considerate of our family, dogs and neighbors, John kept to his schedule and managed to keep the site neat and organized. His eye for detail and commitment to quality guided us throughout the project. He was prompt, accountable and genuinely interested in our ideas and requests. It’s rare to find someone in this business with the intelligence, ingenuity and integrity that John has. We were so happy with his work on the first project, that we hired him again!!” Katie and Richard Willis, Austin

“We never thought that remodeling could be an “enjoyable” experience, but John Martin changed our minds. OK, maybe “enjoyable” is too strong a word for the process of remodeling, but the experience of having John work on our home exceeded our expectations and we are thrilled with the final results. John always kept us informed about the status of the job, he cleaned up thoroughly every day so we didn’t feel like we were in a remodeling “war zone,” and he asked lots of insightful questions to ensure that our media room would turn out in a way that would make us happy. John is a pleasure to deal with, is very trustworthy, and when the inevitable but unforeseen bumps in the road occurred he managed those few situations with calm and confidence, which allowed us to feel the same way. Basically, it was a joy working with John. And, amazingly, all of John’s subcontractors seem to be cut from the same mold as John, so he obviously chooses his subcontractors well. We highly recommend John and we’re looking forward to our next remodeling job with him.” Suzanne and Kevin Zarling, Austin

“John completely rebuilt our screened-in porch. From start-to-finish, the quality of his craftsmanship and the timely manner in which the job was completed were outstanding. We could not have been more pleased.” Joan and Carey Windler, Austin

“John is worth his weight in gold as a general contractor. He is professional, punctual, reliable, honest, very competent and, most importantly, protected my interests as a homeowner. John makes sure the job is done right and in a cost-effective manner. Each of the subcontractors did excellent work, as well. John came highly recommended, and did a great job.” Jan Foster, Austin