Remodeling & Construction in St. Augustine, FL
Where the housing is older and the permitting deserves more care.
Building in the oldest city in the country
GIL Renovation Services works throughout St. Augustine and the rest of St. Johns County — whole-home renovations, kitchens and bathrooms, and additions. We hold Florida licence CBC1269967 as a Certified Building Contractor, which covers structural work rather than finish work alone, and we pull and manage every permit ourselves.
St. Augustine is not like the rest of our footprint, and pretending otherwise is how projects here go wrong. Founded in 1565, it is the oldest continuously occupied European-established settlement in the continental United States, and the housing reflects that: genuinely old buildings in some parts of the city, ordinary modern suburban development in others, often within a few minutes of each other.
Two houses on the same afternoon can therefore have completely different answers to the same question. That is not a reason to avoid the work — it is a reason to find out what applies to your property before anyone draws anything.
Why the county seat is its own kind of job
St. Augustine is the county seat of St. Johns County and the oldest continuously occupied European-established settlement in the continental United States, founded in 1565. That history is not a decorative fact here — it is the practical difference between working in St. Augustine and working anywhere else we build. The city holds genuinely old housing alongside much newer suburban development, and parts of it carry review requirements that do not apply elsewhere in the county. We confirm exactly what applies to your specific property before any design work starts, because finding out afterwards is what turns a renovation into an argument.
We are a building contractor, and we will always tell you what we do and do not know about a specific property rather than guessing at it. Where a project needs a specialist we do not have, we say so.
What we are asked for most in St. Augustine
Older housing shifts the work toward renovation and reconfiguration rather than starting from scratch. These three come up most, and we do all nine across the city.
How we approach an older house
Not every St. Augustine property is old, and not every old property carries extra requirements. This is the order we work in so that whichever yours is, you find out early and cheaply.
- 1
Establish what the property actually is
Before scope or price, we establish what we are working with and what requirements attach to it. Anything that changes the permitting path is far cheaper to discover now than after a design is paid for.
- 2
Look behind the finishes
Older houses hide their condition. What is behind the plaster, under the floor, and inside the walls decides how much of the work is visible improvement and how much is putting right what is already there. We would rather find it at the consultation than bill you for it as a surprise.
- 3
Scope the work honestly, in writing
A comprehensive written proposal within 48 hours of the consultation, with the full scope and price laid out. Where something genuinely cannot be known until we open a wall, we tell you that in the proposal rather than burying it.
- 4
Permit it properly
We pull and manage the permits, handle any corrections, and schedule the inspections. Our licensed plumbing and electrical subcontractors pull their trade permits under our master permit. You never contact the building department.
- 5
Build it, and answer the phone
Our business partner runs the job sites so Cesar Perdomo can manage customers exclusively. On a renovation where conditions can change, being able to reach someone the same day is the difference between a decision and a delay.
Everything else we build in St. Augustine
The rest of our nine services, available here exactly as they are everywhere else we work. We do not offer roofing or handyman services.
Licensed & insured
Florida Certified Building Contractor CBC1269967, active through August 2028, with $1,000,000 general liability and a $2,000,000 aggregate.
Permits handled
We pull and manage every permit. Our licensed plumbing and electrical subcontractors pull their trade permits under our master permit.
One-year warranty
Every project carries a one-year workmanship warranty across the whole job — not just selected trades.
St. Augustine project questions
The five questions homeowners ask us before hiring anyone, plus two about building in St. Johns County.
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.
Yes. GIL Renovation Services pulls and manages every permit your St. Augustine project needs, including the submission, any corrections that come back, and the scheduling of each inspection in St. Johns County. Our licensed plumbing and electrical subcontractors pull their own trade permits under our master permit. You never need to contact the building department or book an inspection yourself. Requirements and review times differ between jurisdictions and change over time, so we confirm exactly what your specific project needs before work begins rather than working from an assumption.
St. Augustine sits in St. Johns County, and we build across Duval, Clay, St. Johns, and Nassau counties — Jacksonville, Orange Park, Green Cove Springs, Fleming Island, Mandarin, St. Augustine, Ponte Vedra, Nocatee, St. Johns, and Fernandina Beach. Being based in Orange Park, FL keeps all of that inside a comfortable drive, with Jacksonville our largest market. If you are just outside that footprint, call and ask: we would rather tell you honestly whether we are the right company for your job than take on work we cannot schedule properly.
It might, and we find out before design work begins rather than after. Parts of St. Augustine carry review requirements that do not apply elsewhere in St. Johns County, and whether they apply to a particular property depends on that property. We check what your specific address is subject to, tell you plainly what it means for the scope and the schedule, and factor it into the written proposal. We do not quote you a process from memory — we confirm it.
Yes, and we treat them differently from a 2015 build, because they are different. Older construction hides its condition behind finishes, so the useful work happens before demolition: understanding what is actually there, what has been altered by previous owners, and what needs putting right regardless of what you wanted to change. We are a Certified Building Contractor, so structural work is within our licence rather than something we sub out and hope for. Where a project needs a specialist discipline we do not hold, we tell you that up front.
Planning a project in St. Augustine?
Tell us what you have in mind. We will come out, take measurements, confirm what your property allows, and put a full written proposal in your hands within 48 hours — free, with no obligation.
State-Certified Building Contractor CBC1269967 · Monday–Friday, 9:00am – 5:00pm