Bathroom Remodeling • San Marco, Jacksonville, FL
San Marco's bathrooms come in two generations: the original 1920s-to-1950s rooms in the houses around San Marco Square — small, tiled in pastel colors, plumbed in cast iron — and the builder bathrooms in the newer infill homes on the same streets. Braga Remodeling remodels both, in Jacksonville, FL: the vintage bath rebuilt over modern waterproofing with finishes that respect the house, and the infill bath upgraded past builder grade.
Liability insured · Jacksonville, FL
5.0 · 37 Google reviewsA San Marco bathroom usually does not need a new layout. It needs the dated surfaces and the aging plumbing behind them dealt with honestly, and finishes chosen to the standard of the rest of the house. That is the work we scope in writing before demolition starts.
Overview
San Marco was developed from the 1920s on the south bank of the St. Johns River: Mediterranean Revival and Tudor houses near the Square, brick and mid-century ranches further in, and a steady stream of newer infill homes built on older lots. The bathrooms follow the same pattern — and so do their problems. A bathroom remodel here starts with identifying which generation your bathroom belongs to.
The vintage rooms are small and were built to last with the wrong weak points: pastel wall tile set in thick mortar, a cast-iron tub, a shower pan that has been flexing for decades, and cast-iron and galvanized plumbing behind the walls. Many still have no exhaust fan — a window was the ventilation plan of the era. Our demolition opens these rooms carefully so the pan, the drains and the subfloor can be judged on evidence, and the rebuild puts a continuous waterproofing system where the original had tar paper and hope.
The infill bathrooms are the opposite problem: nothing is old, but everything is builder grade — a fiberglass shower unit, a stock vanity, basic fixtures in a room with good bones. Those projects keep the layout, replace the finishes, and are mostly about tile, a real walk-in shower and fixtures chosen by the owner instead of the builder's catalog.
Vintage baths rebuilt
Mortar-bed tile and cast iron dealt with
Infill baths upgraded
Builder grade replaced with real tile
Ventilation corrected
Real exhaust, sized to the room
Findings in writing
Hidden damage priced before cover-up
The Vintage Bath
Some San Marco owners love their pink or mint 1950s bathroom and want to keep it; others cannot wait to see it go. Keeping it is a legitimate choice when the tile is sound, the substrate is dry and the shower pan and drains are healthy — a deep clean, regrout where needed, a modern valve behind the original trim style and an added exhaust fan can carry a sound vintage bath a long way.
What usually forces the rebuild is invisible: a shower pan leaking at the drain, grout lines that have been letting water into the mortar bed for years, or drains rusted to the point of slow, recurring clogs. Tile that sounds hollow, grout that stays dark, or a musty smell that cleaning never fixes are the tells. When demolition confirms the substrate has failed, patching the surface is money spent twice — the room comes back to sound material and is rebuilt properly.
If the bed is dry and the pan is healthy, refresh beats rebuild
A leaking pan means the wet area is rebuilt, not recaulked
A real exhaust fan protects whichever finish you keep
River Proximity
San Marco sits low along the river, and its bathrooms fight humidity year-round — from the river air, from summer storms, and from showers in rooms that were built before exhaust fans were standard. Every San Marco scope we write treats moisture as a design input: porcelain tile over ceramic in wet areas, mold-resistant grout and flexible sealant at the joints that move, and exhaust that actually clears the room after a shower.
The waterproofing matters more here, not less. A tiled shower in a humid riverfront house rarely gets to dry out completely between uses, so the membrane behind the tile does the real work of keeping the framing dry. That system — detailed on our bathroom waterproofing page — is standard in every shower we build, whatever the finish on top of it.
Straight answers
Braga Remodeling is a Jacksonville remodeling company at 4305 Napoli Rd, Jacksonville, FL 32207, phone (904) 520-1994. The crew rebuilds San Marco's vintage 1920s–50s bathrooms and upgrades builder-grade baths in newer infill homes — demolition, waterproofing, tile, showers and fixtures under one written scope, starting with a free in-home measurement.
It depends on what is behind the tile. If the mortar bed is dry, the shower pan is sound and the drains are healthy, the original tile can be kept and refreshed. If the pan leaks or the substrate has failed, the wet area has to be rebuilt — surface patches over a failed pan do not hold. The condition is assessed at the in-home visit and confirmed during demolition.
What We Build
The 1920s–50s bath taken back to sound material: mortar-bed tile out, pan and drains renewed, and the room rebuilt with tile and fixtures that suit the age of the house.
A tiled walk-in shower replacing a cramped stall or a tub-shower, with a niche, a bench option and an opening built ready for glass.
For households that never use the tub: it comes out and a shower takes its footprint, with the drain checked while the floor is open. See tub-to-shower conversion.
In infill homes: the fiberglass shower and stock vanity replaced with a waterproofed tile shower, a vanity with real storage and fixtures chosen by you.
The finish layer that dates a San Marco bath fastest — vanity, faucets, mirrors and lighting — replaced under the same scope as the tile work or as its own project.
The second and third bathrooms of San Marco's larger homes: durable tile, a proper shower and finishes that handle guests, kids and wet feet from the yard.
Our Process
We measure the room, test what we can of the tile, pan and plumbing, and talk through whether your bathroom is a refresh candidate or a rebuild.
The scope and price are fixed in writing before work begins — demolition, repairs, waterproofing, tile and fixtures, in sequence.
Surfaces come out, the pan, drains and subfloor are inspected, and anything hidden is photographed and agreed with you before the rebuild proceeds.
Waterproofing, tile, fixtures and finish work go in, ventilation is corrected, and we walk the finished room with you.
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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 — vintage or infill, what you love, what is failing — and we'll measure in person 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