Baihn Construction does bathrooms, kitchens and extensions across Brisbane and the Gold Coast. Its team told Az that one simple AI tool has changed how its quotes land, and that plain communication does the rest.

Most renovation clients cannot read a floor plan. They can read a picture.

That is the thinking behind one of the simplest uses of AI we have heard from a builder this year. Baihn Construction, a renovation business working across Brisbane and the Gold Coast, now sends AI generated renders with its quotes.

The team says it has changed how often those quotes turn into jobs.

Az sat down with Leithen, Jordan and Ange from Baihn at a builder summit, in an unplanned recording that began when the three walked up to our stage. It became a grounded look at how a small renovation team uses AI, markets itself and chooses clients.

Who is Baihn Construction?

Leithen came into construction around 10 to 15 years ago, including work for the Department of Veterans’ Affairs. Weekend jobs for Jordan’s father grew until there was no room for both, so he went out on his own. Roughly a decade on, the business is still building.

Ange, who worked with Leithen about 20 years ago, joined when the office needed order. Today she is effectively the business’s CFO, and by his account keeps a firm hand on spending.

The work is mostly bathrooms, kitchens and laundries, now growing into extensions. The team has also recently completed a new build.

The summit was their first. Leithen said the value is simple. When he started out, he had no one to compare notes with.

“You sort of only know what you know,” he said.

Why do AI renders matter for renovation quotes?

On extensions, Baihn works with an architect or draftsperson. On a straightforward bathroom, the team says most clients do not want to pay for drafting, and do not want to wait for it either.

So the process is lean. A consultation, the team’s recommendation, a simple floor plan, then AI renders that show the client what the finished room is likely to look like.

“We honestly think it’s generated business and got us over the line, because they can really visualise what their space will look like,” the team told Az.

They started with renders for a brochure, then rolled them out across every quote. For a stretch after that, they say, they won every job they quoted. They put it down to one thing. Until a client can see what they are being asked to pay for, the decision is hard to make.

The logic holds up. Many renovation clients have never done this before and want one builder to take the decisions off their plate. A picture closes the gap between a price and a room the client can imagine standing in.

A picture closes the gap between a price and a room the client can imagine standing in.

What is an AI render?

An AI render is an image produced by a generative AI tool from a prompt, photo, sketch or floor plan, showing how a finished space could look. For renovation builders it sits between a verbal description and a full architectural visualisation. It is quicker and cheaper to produce, but it is indicative only and is not a construction document.

Do builders need to be AI experts to get results?

The team is candid that it is not across AI yet. The business is used to its existing systems, and a new way of working takes time to learn.

Az’s response was that what they had already built was the point. In his view, builders do not need to go big with AI. The value sits in the foundational uses that move something along.

That matches what we have heard from other builders. Many who tried to hand large parts of their business to AI found themselves more distracted than productive, and pulled back to narrower, practical uses.

Baihn’s renders are that narrower use. One task, one clear outcome, no new system to maintain.

What does authentic marketing look like for a small builder?

Baihn’s marketing is mostly filmed on site. Photos and video of the crew at work, kept loose and fun rather than polished. A professional photographer captures finished projects, but the day to day content is unscripted.

The reasoning is that building is a relatable, community driven industry, and “people want to see behind the scenes,” as the team put it. Facebook ads bring in leads on top of that.

Ange’s challenge is time. She says marketing can easily swallow hours, and she admits to overthinking captions. She sees AI as a way to put some scheduling and frameworks in place.

“It takes a lot of time and effort. I think AI might help with that,” she said.

Az’s view was to stop polishing and let the personality show. On builds that run 18 to 24 months, he said, clients need to like the builder as much as the work.

How does choosing the right clients shape the business?

Baihn’s repeat work is built on relationships. Some past clients have become friends, and their next job comes without the usual first meeting about budgets.

The team says its Google reviews speak for themselves. Clients name individual site supervisors in their reviews, and the team sees that as feedback that lands with the crew as much as the business.

Az, who has worked for big builders, said much of the good building he sees happens in small businesses like this, where clients know the names of the people on site.

Part of that comes from being selective at the front door.

“Instead of just literally answering the phone and going out and quoting anybody and everybody, we’ve really tried to nurture that sales process at the start,” the team said.

Budget and time frames are tested early, so neither side wastes time. They admit to red flags they should have caught. Each one became a lesson.

What makes a good builder, according to Baihn?

Az closes every interview with the same question. Baihn’s three answers landed in the same place.

Leithen said communication and transparency. In his experience, every mistake the business has made has traced back to communication. He matches each client’s preferred channel, and follows up a phone call with an email.

“If you can get that right, it goes a long way to solving a lot of issues,” he said.

Jordan added owning mistakes when they happen, staying solutions focused and keeping a step ahead of the client to manage expectations.

Ange focused on timing. Get on top of issues quickly and do not let them fester, with the crew as much as clients.

“Have that hard conversation as early as you can,” she said.

Az said the answers matched what he saw in his corporate role at GJ Gardner Homes, where he recalls the business monitoring around 10,000 builds over five years. The common failure point, he said, was communication, transparency and not dealing with problems early.

THE GOOD BUILDER TAKE

None of Baihn’s tools are complicated. An AI render, a phone on site, a filter on who they quote.

What makes them work is where they are aimed. Each one targets a moment where small builders commonly lose a client: the gap between a price and a picture, the silence after a mistake, the job that should never have been quoted.

Small builders rarely lose work for lack of technology. They lose it in those moments.

Listen to the full conversation with Leithen, Jordan and Ange on The Good Builder Podcast.

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Last updated: 19 October 2026

General Information Only: This article provides general information only and does not constitute legal, financial, technical or professional advice. It reflects the views and experiences shared by podcast guests and is not an endorsement of any product or service. Readers should seek independent professional advice for their circumstances.

Author: TGB Editorial