Bathroom Remodeling • Riverside, Jacksonville, FL
Riverside and Avondale homes were built a century ago, and their bathrooms were built small: one compact bath, a cast-iron tub, hex tile and plaster walls. Braga Remodeling remodels bathrooms in Riverside, Jacksonville, FL — opening the walls carefully, rebuilding the shower, tub and tile over modern waterproofing, and finishing with materials that belong in a historic house.
Liability insured · Jacksonville, FL
5.0 · 37 Google reviewsA Riverside bathroom remodel is two jobs at once: bringing the plumbing, waterproofing and structure up to current standards, and keeping the character that made you buy a historic house. We do the hidden work properly and choose finishes — hex mosaic, subway tile, a kept cast-iron tub — that look like they were always there.
Overview
Most Riverside houses went up between the early 1900s and the 1930s — bungalows, Colonial Revivals and Mediterranean Revivals around Five Points and into Avondale — and most were built with a single small bathroom, often around five by seven feet. A bathroom remodel here is not about a bigger room on paper; it is about making a small, century-old room work like a modern bathroom without losing what makes it a Riverside house.
Behind the tile, these bathrooms hold original infrastructure: cast-iron drain lines, galvanized supply pipes, plaster walls, and valves that predate modern cartridges. That is why our demolition is selective — surfaces come out in a way that shows the real condition of the framing, the subfloor and the plumbing, and anything failing, like a soft subfloor under the tub or a rusted-out cast-iron drain, is documented and priced in writing before the rebuild covers it again.
The rebuild keeps the footprint unless the house offers a sensible way to grow it: a closet that can give up space, or a tub-to-shower conversion that trades an unused tub for a real shower. Finishes stay period-appropriate — hexagon mosaic floors, subway tile, wainscot-height wall tile — set over a continuous waterproofing system the original bathroom never had.
Historic fabric respected
Character kept where it belongs
Modern waterproofing
A sealed system the original bath never had
Period-appropriate tile
Hex, subway and classic patterns
Findings in writing
Old plumbing and rot priced before cover-up
What Demo Finds
Cast iron was excellent pipe, but it rusts from the inside, and after ninety-plus years many Riverside drain lines are thin, scaled and slow. Galvanized supply lines narrow the same way, which is why the shower pressure in an old Riverside house fades a little more every decade. A remodel is the one moment those lines are exposed; the honest scope deals with what the demolition actually finds instead of tiling over it and hoping.
The other regular finding is water damage with a long head start: a subfloor soft under the tub from years of a slow overflow leak, framing darkened around a shower valve, plaster wet walls that crumble at the touch. Wet areas are taken back to sound material and rebuilt with backer board and waterproofing; dry walls in plaster can often stay. You see photographs of anything we find, and the repair is agreed in writing before it goes into the scope.
Thin, scaled or cracked sections are shown to you, not buried
Subfloor and framing damage photographed and priced in writing
Wet areas come down to the studs; sound dry plaster can stay
Layout
Most Riverside bathrooms cannot grow without taking space from a bedroom or a closet, and many owners prefer to keep the original footprint anyway. A small bathroom remodel in a five-by-seven room is a layout problem: a wall-hung or console sink instead of a deep vanity, a recessed medicine cabinet, a shower niche instead of a shelf, and tile that runs in one direction so the room reads larger than it is.
The tub decision drives everything. In a one-bathroom house, keeping a tub is usually the right call — it is the only place to bathe kids, and it suits the house. Where the home has a second bath, the primary often converts to a walk-in shower and the hall bath keeps its tub. We talk through how your household actually uses the rooms at the measurement, then design to that.
Straight answers
Braga Remodeling is a Jacksonville remodeling company at 4305 Napoli Rd, Jacksonville, FL 32207, phone (904) 520-1994. The crew remodels the small, century-old bathrooms typical of Riverside and Avondale — selective demolition, waterproofing, tile, tubs and showers — starting with a free in-home measurement and a written scope.
Yes. The systems behind the walls — waterproofing, drains, valves — are rebuilt to current standards, while the visible finishes stay period-appropriate: hex mosaic floors, subway tile, and a kept cast-iron tub where it is sound. The footprint usually stays as the house was built.
What We Build
A tiled walk-in shower built where a tub-shower or a cramped stall stood, with classic patterns — subway, hex, basketweave — over a waterproofed base.
Where a second bath keeps a tub, the primary converts: tub out, drain and floor rebuilt, and a real shower in its place. The full process is on our tub-to-shower conversion page.
A sound cast-iron tub can stay. We rebuild the surround walls over waterproofing, update the valve and trim, and retile around the tub so the room keeps its anchor piece.
Console and pedestal sinks that suit a historic room, or a compact vanity where storage matters more — plus recessed medicine cabinets that add storage without taking floor space.
Hex mosaic floors like the originals, subway and wainscot-height wall tile, set over a rebuilt substrate instead of the failing mortar and plaster beneath the old work.
For bathrooms with rot, failing drains or a leaking shower: back to the studs, subfloor and plumbing dealt with while open, then waterproofing, tile and fixtures under one written scope.
Our Process
We measure the room, look at the tub, tile, ventilation and any visible plumbing, and talk through what the house allows before anything is priced.
You get the scope in writing — demolition, expected repairs, waterproofing, tile and fixtures — with the price fixed before work begins.
Surfaces come out carefully, the framing, subfloor and old plumbing are inspected, and anything hidden is photographed and agreed with you before the rebuild.
Waterproofing, tile, fixtures and finish work go in, the room is cleaned, and we walk the finished bathroom with you.
Service Areas
Check your service area
Enter your ZIP to see whether it is on our standard Jacksonville-area service list.
Explore remodeling service areas
FAQ
Google Reviews
5.0 average from 37 reviews on Google
“I had a great experience with this construction company. They were honest, reliable, and did exactly what they promised. The team was professional, hardworking, and paid attention to every detail.”
“We had an overall wonderful experience with Braga Remodeling. They were responsible, professional and communicated well throughout the process.”
“Excellent service and outstanding workmanship! The crew was punctual, respectful, and very knowledgeable throughout the entire project.”
Tell us about the bathroom — the age of the house, the tub, what is not working — and we'll measure in person, talk through the options and put the scope in writing, at no cost. Prefer to talk? Call (904) 520-1994 or email braga@bragaremodeling.com.
Call (904) 520-1994