Our Process
Seven steps from the first phone call to the final walkthrough — and at every one of them, you know exactly where your project stands.
What working with us actually looks like
Every GIL Renovation Services project runs through the same seven steps: you get in touch, we call you back for details, we come out and measure, you get a comprehensive written proposal within 48 hours, you accept and go on the schedule, you pay 50% up front and 50% on completion, and we deliver on or ahead of schedule.
Most of the anxiety in a renovation is not about the building work. It is about not knowing — what happens next, who is coming, when the money is due, and whether the date you were given still stands. A process only helps if you can actually see it, so this page sets out every stage in full, including the two parts homeowners most often have to chase a contractor for: how materials get chosen, and who pulls the permits.
The consultation and the estimate are free. We complete 30 to 40 projects a year across Jacksonville and Duval, Clay, St. Johns, and Nassau counties, so the timelines we give you come from experience rather than optimism.
Everything you agree to is in writing, within 48 hours
You get a comprehensive written proposal within two days of the on-site consultation, with the full scope and the full price in it. Not a verbal number, not a ballpark that firms up later, and not a figure that arrives a fortnight after you have stopped waiting for it.
Two days is a deliberate commitment rather than a target we aim at. A proposal that takes a week to arrive tells you something about how the rest of the project will be run, and a scope written down in full is the only thing that lets you compare two contractors honestly. Vague quotes are where change orders come from.
If you want the scope adjusted, an option priced separately, or a phase taken out to fit a budget, tell us and we will revise it. Nothing begins until you have agreed in writing to what is being built.
The seven steps, in full
This is the expanded version of the process summarised on our homepage. Every project runs through all seven, whether it is a small bathroom or a two-storey addition.
- 1
You get in touch — form or phone
Submit the form on any page or call us on (904) 790-1832. Both reach the same place, and there is no phone tree in between. Tell us roughly what you are thinking about, where the property is, and whether you have a timeframe in mind. You do not need drawings, measurements, a budget figure, or any idea of what things cost — working that out is our job, not the price of admission.
- 2
A team member calls you back for the details
Before anyone drives out, we call to gather the details: what you want to change, roughly how big the space is, whether the project is structural, whether you already have plans or an architect, and what your timing looks like. Ten minutes here means the on-site consultation is spent on your actual project rather than on basics we could have covered by phone. It also means we can tell you honestly at this point if we are not the right company for the job.
- 3
On-site consultation, measured and scoped in person
We come to you, take real measurements, and walk the whole scope with you in the space itself. This is where a renovation stops being an idea and becomes a plan — where the existing structure, the condition of what is already there, and what is genuinely achievable all get looked at properly. Bring every question you have, including the awkward ones about cost and disruption. The consultation is free and carries no obligation.
- 4
A comprehensive written proposal within 48 hours
Within two days of the consultation you get a comprehensive written proposal with the full scope and price laid out — not a number scribbled on the back of a business card, and not a range that quietly moves later. Everything in writing means you can compare us like for like against anyone else you are talking to. If you want something changed, adjusted, or priced a second way, say so and we will revise it.
- 5
You accept, and the project goes on the schedule
Once you accept the proposal your project goes on the schedule with a real start date rather than a vague window. From here we begin permitting and material ordering, and you know which step you are on at any given moment. Nothing starts on your property until you have agreed in writing to what is being built.
- 6
50% deposit, 50% on completion
A 50% deposit is due when you accept the proposal and schedule the work, and the remaining 50% is due on completion. That is the whole payment structure — no progress-payment surprises in between, and no charge for the estimate or the consultation. Financing is available through Houzz’s underwriter if you would rather spread the cost rather than pay from savings.
- 7
Delivered on or ahead of schedule, with your warranty
We finish on or ahead of the schedule we gave you, which is the part of this business most homeowners have learned not to expect. At completion we pass the final inspection, walk the finished project with you, and hand over your one-year workmanship warranty along with the manufacturer documentation for the materials and fixtures we installed.
Choosing your materials, with a designer and without the errands
Through our partnership with Floor & Decor you get professional design help selecting your finishes, and we take on every piece of the buying and logistics that follows. Choosing finishes is the part most homeowners look forward to and then find exhausting — this is the arrangement that keeps it the first thing and not the second.
You sit down with an in-store designer
At Floor & Decor you work through colours, tile, flooring, counters, and finishes with an in-store designer — with the samples in your hands and under the same lighting, rather than squinting at a photograph on a phone.
Your selections go on a form under our account
Everything you choose is written onto a selection form under GIL’s account. That form becomes the single record of what is going into your project, so nothing is decided twice or remembered differently later.
We purchase, collect, and deliver it
From there we buy the materials, pick them up, and deliver them to the job site. You make the enjoyable decisions; we handle the ordering, the collection, the delivery, and the returns when something is not right.
We pull the permits. All of them.
GIL pulls and handles all permits for your project. That is part of what you are hiring a licensed contractor to do, and it is included — not billed as an extra, and never handed back to you with a building department phone number.
Our licensed plumbing and electrical subcontractors pull their own trade permits under our master permit, which keeps the whole permit package under one licence and one point of responsibility. We submit the application, deal with any corrections that come back, and schedule every inspection. You do not need to contact the building department, take a day off to meet an inspector, or learn what your county wants on a plan set.
Requirements, fees, and review times differ across Duval, Clay, St. Johns, and Nassau, and they differ again by zoning district — so rather than quote a number here that would be wrong somewhere, we confirm exactly what your project and your parcel require before work begins. Holding Florida licence CBC1269967 as a Certified Building Contractor is what lets us take that whole burden rather than half of it.
What you are covered by, and what you pay when
A one-year workmanship warranty on the whole job
Every project we complete carries a one-year workmanship warranty covering the entire job — the whole scope, not a few selected trades and not just the parts our subcontractors touched. If something we built is not right within that year, you call us and we come back and correct it.
Manufacturer warranties on materials and fixtures run separately and are usually longer. We hand over that documentation at completion so it is all in one place on the day you need it, rather than something you have to hunt for two years later.
The warranty starts at completion, and the number you call to use it is the same number you called in the first place.
50% to schedule, 50% on completion
The payment structure is deliberately simple. A 50% deposit is due when you accept the proposal and the project goes on the schedule; the remaining 50% is due on completion. There is nothing else in between — no progress draws that arrive at awkward moments, and no charge for the estimate or the consultation.
The deposit is what puts materials on order and your project on the calendar, which is why it lands at scheduling rather than on the first day of work.
Financing is available through Houzz’s underwriter if you would rather spread the cost than pay from savings.
Questions about how a project runs
Cost, materials, permits, timelines, and who you will actually be speaking to — the five things homeowners ask us most before hiring anyone.
It depends on the size and scope of the work, so we price every project individually after seeing it in person. As a concrete reference point, a small bathroom of roughly 7x5 typically runs $10,000 to $14,000, and a master bathroom typically runs $17,000 to $35,000, with materials included in both. Your written proposal arrives within 48 hours of the on-site consultation and lays out the full scope and price, so you are never comparing guesses. Estimates and consultations are free.
We provide them. Through our partnership with Floor & Decor you work directly with an in-store designer to choose colours, tile, and finishes, and your selections go onto a form under our account. From there we purchase, pick up, and deliver everything to the job site. You get to make the fun decisions without managing orders, deliveries, or returns.
Yes. GIL pulls and handles all permits for your project — that is part of what you are hiring a licensed contractor to do, and it is included. Our licensed plumbing and electrical subcontractors pull their own trade permits under our master permit. You do not need to contact the building department or schedule an inspection yourself.
We give you a schedule in the written proposal and we finish on or ahead of it. A small bathroom is usually about 7 days including permitting; a master bathroom is typically 2 to 3 weeks. Larger work such as an addition or new construction runs longer and is scheduled specifically for your project. We complete 30 to 40 projects a year, so our timelines come from experience rather than optimism.
Cesar Perdomo, and he manages customers exclusively. This is the structural difference at GIL: our business partner runs the job sites, so Cesar is never pulled onto a roof or under a house when you call. At most contracting companies one person does both jobs, which is exactly why homeowners cannot reach their contractor mid-project. Someone here is always reachable by phone — no run-arounds and no no-shows.
Step one takes about five minutes
Send the form or call us and we will get the details, come out to measure, and put a comprehensive written proposal in your hands within 48 hours. Free, with no obligation.
State-Certified Building Contractor CBC1269967 · Monday–Friday, 9:00am – 5:00pm