JF Maintenance

JF Maintenance is a family carpentry team based in Geelong, established in 2012 by Michael and his dad Karl. The carpentry trade has been in the family since the 1950s, when Bob Moodie started his own building company, M&D Homes, and trained the family in heritage and period carpentry. The business operates on the same family ABN under the legal entity Jochum Family Maintenance Pty Ltd. Michael Jochum is Director and General Manager; Karl Jochum is Operations and Carpenter; Judith Jochum works in the office; William Hope is Lead Carpenter; and Charlie Cook is a Carpenter.

Michael, Karl and Judith own the business together. The team are trade-qualified carpenters and are not registered builders. They hold $20M public liability insurance, workers compensation insurance, police checks, and Working With Children Checks. They complete a SWMS on every job. They serve Geelong, the Surf Coast, the Bellarine and Golden Plains. They have worked with Programmed for 12 years, and with Barwon Water and Barwon Health for 10 years. Around 80 to 90% of their clients come back. They do all areas of carpentry and coordinate other trades including plasterer, painter, electrician and plumber.

Property maintenance and renovation work across Geelong forms the core of what this team delivers, with customers describing projects that range from full kitchen and bathroom updates to shed linings, structural repairs and garden transformations. A point that comes up often is the diligence and workmanship applied to each job, with several customers noting that corners were not cut and that the finish exceeded their initial expectations. Michael is named repeatedly, praised for working within a stated budget, addressing questions promptly and maintaining clear communication from the quoting stage through to final fit-off.

Reviewers also mention that staff members such as Karl, Charley and Josh were friendly and easy to deal with. The scope of work described includes framing, insulation, plastering, architraves, skirting, brickwork and decking frame repairs following water damage, as well as a Japanese-style garden and a shed conversion into a home office. Tidiness after completion is raised more than once, with rubbish removed once the work is done. Customers repeatedly note that they engaged the team for further jobs at other properties, and a kitchen renovation with a stone benchtop fitted to within a millimetre is singled out for its precision.