A small Perth crew that builds things properly
Nine years on the tools, six people on the team, and a stubborn refusal to grow past the point where we'd stop recognising our own jobs. This is who we are and how we work.
Started with a borrowed ute and one apprentice
Perknomad kicked off in 2016 doing single bench swaps in Mount Lawley. Christopher had spent the previous six years running renovation crews for bigger outfits and got tired of watching subbies rush jobs they didn't care about. He bought a secondhand ute, borrowed a trailer, and started taking on work himself.
The first two years were tough. Jobs were small, margins were tight, and half the enquiries were people fishing for a cheaper quote they'd already got from someone else. But the work that did come through was good, and the same clients started referring their neighbours. By 2019 we were fully booked four months out.
Now we're 680-odd rooms deep and we've still never advertised. Every job we do comes from someone who saw a kitchen we built or a bathroom we rebuilt, and rang us off the strength of it.
The four things we won't compromise on
These aren't marketing words. They're the reasons clients keep coming back for a second room, and the reasons we still enjoy doing this work after nearly a decade.
Do it once, do it right
Waterproof a bathroom properly and it lasts thirty years. Cut corners and it lasts three. We always take the longer route.
Plain-speak quoting
No jargon, no hidden line items, no "as per plans" fudging. If you can't read our quote in five minutes, we've done it wrong.
One crew, one site
We don't run three jobs at once. When your renovation is on, it gets our full attention until it's done.
Answer the phone
Even three years later, when a drawer runner fails or a hinge needs adjusting. Warranty means warranty, not a polite brush-off.
Six people, six trades covered
Small enough that your site supervisor knows the details of your job. Big enough to handle a full kitchen and two bathrooms at once.
Runs every job personally. Started the business in 2016 and still does the first site measure on almost every project.
The person on the other end of your emails. Schedules trades, chases deliveries, and keeps stone lead times from blowing out handover dates.
Cut and installed more than 300 of our kitchens. If a wall is 12 mm out of square, Dean is the one who spots it before the carcasses arrive.
Ray has tiled nearly every bathroom we've done since 2018. Certified in waterproofing and particular about mitred corners in a way most tilers aren't.
Licensed plumber who handles every wet area we build. Checks shower falls with a bucket before tiling starts, every single time.
Looks after all our kitchens' circuits, rangehood ducting, and underbench GPOs. The reason we can hold install dates rather than waiting on another company.
Nine years, one room at a time
Every milestone below changed how we work — not just a bigger number on the invoice. The 2021 switch to CNC-cut carcasses is what lets us promise accurate install dates. The 2023 storage bay in Malaga is why cabinetry arrives flat, dry and undamaged.
See Our PricingFirst job, one borrowed ute
A bench and splashback swap in Mount Lawley. Christopher and one apprentice, both working out of a secondhand ute they'd owned for a month.
Bathrooms added to the mix
Ray the tiler joined after we'd botched a waterproofing attempt on a Subiaco ensuite. Learned the lesson, brought in proper certification, and never looked back.
Moved to CNC-cut carcasses
Cut install time by about a third and finally let us promise accurate start dates instead of three-week windows.
Opened the Malaga storage bay
Cabinetry and stone now arrive flat, dry and undamaged, stored off-site until the room is ready for it. Reduced damage claims to almost zero.
680 rooms, still six people
We've knocked back offers to expand into a second crew twice. Growth would mean losing the hands-on supervision that keeps our jobs running the way they do.
What nine years actually added up to
Two specialities, one crew
We're deliberately not a general builder. Everything we do falls into one of two categories, and we've spent nine years getting better at both.
Kitchen Renovations
Full strip-outs, made-to-measure cabinetry, stone benchtops and lighting that makes the room feel twice its size. Most builds finish inside a fortnight, with the same crew on site every morning.
- Cabinets milled to your actual wall measurements
- Engineered stone, laminate or porcelain benchtops
- Splashback tiling, appliance fit-off and full clean
Bathroom Renovations
Certified waterproofing, rectified tiling that lines up at every corner, and shower falls cut with a level. Compliance paperwork emailed the same day the membrane passes its test.
- Bonded membrane with pre-formed corners and bandage
- Full-height tiling with mitred edges and cut niches
- Ten-year waterproofing warranty available
A small selection of recent work
Photographs taken on handover day across Perth, from small ensuite rebuilds to full home interior renovations.
Handleless white kitchen with a 3.2 m stone island, carried out in Nedlands.
Level-entry wet room with linear drain and brass accents, Applecross.
Black carcasses with Victorian ash doors and brushed brass pendants, Mount Hawthorn.
Terrazzo floor and large-format stone-look walls for a cottage reno, Cottesloe.
A tight 2.4 m galley made workable with pull-out pantry drawers, Victoria Park.
Dual stone vanity with backlit round mirrors and matt black tapware, Scarborough.
Licensed, insured, and properly registered
A renovation is a big financial commitment. Here's what backs up the promise when you sign a Perknomad contract.
- Registered building contractor in Western Australia
- Public liability insurance covering the property and every trade on site
- Contract works insurance on every project we take on
- Workers' compensation for all employees and apprentices
- Waterproofing certification issued in the installer's own name
- Seven-year workmanship warranty on completed kitchens and bathrooms
Reviews from people we've worked for
Real names, shortened for privacy. Every quote below comes from a client whose contact details we can share on request.
We'd been quoted eight weeks by two other mobs. Perknomad had scaff up on the Monday and I was cooking on the new cooktop twelve days later. The bloke running the site even moved my old dishwasher out to the garage for the tip run.
Three years on and the kitchen still looks like we finished it last month. A drawer runner failed once and they came out and swapped it under warranty without arguing about it.
Two bathrooms back to back in one mobilisation, which is what kept the cost sensible. The ensuite ended up being our favourite room in the house.
Reading material before you commit
How Long Does A Perth Kitchen Renovation Actually Take?
An honest day-by-day breakdown of how long a kitchen renovation really takes in Perth, what slows it down, and how to keep your build inside two weeks.
Read Post
Five Bathroom Waterproofing Mistakes That Cost Thousands Down The Track
The five waterproofing mistakes we find most often in Perth bathrooms, why they fail, and what a properly certified wet-area build should include.
Read PostLet's talk about the room you're tired of
Send us a couple of photos through, tell us roughly what you want to change, and we'll come back within one working day to lock in a free site measure. No pressure, no sales call.
- Free site measure across the Perth metro area
- Written, itemised quote within five working days
- No deposit taken until the contract is signed
Perknomad Office
+61 8 6391 2748
perknomad@gmail.com
11 Mount Street, Perth WA 6000
Mon – Fri: 7:00am – 5:00pm · Sat: 8:00am – 2:00pm