Interior Demolition • San Marco, Jacksonville FL
By Braga Remodeling · Updated
Demolition in a San Marco home is not the same job as in a new subdivision. These 1920s–1950s houses have plaster-and-lath walls, mortar-bed tile, cast-iron tubs and original millwork worth protecting. Braga Remodeling runs selective interior demolition in San Marco: bathrooms, kitchens, flooring and non-structural walls out — carefully, with the home protected and the debris hauled away.
Free written estimates · Jacksonville, FL
5.0 · 36 Google reviewsWe demo like the crew that has to build on what is left, because we are. In a historic home that also means demoing around what the house should keep: original trim, doors and hardwood outside the scope are protected before the first surface comes out.
Overview
Most of our San Marco demolition is the opening phase of a bathroom remodel or a kitchen remodel that the same crew then rebuilds. That changes the tear-out: tile comes off without destroying the framing that stays, cabinets come out without tearing up plumbing the new kitchen reuses, and original trim and doors in the work path are removed to safety or protected in place.
Older construction is heavier construction. Plaster-and-lath weighs more and comes out slower than drywall; tile set in a thick mortar bed is a different tear-out from tile on backer board; a cast-iron tub is a two-crew carry, not a drag. We price San Marco demo from what is actually in the walls and floors — which is why the scope starts with a walkthrough, not a square-foot guess. The full Jacksonville demolition picture is on our demolition services page.
Homeowners also hire us stand-alone: a bathroom that needs to go back to the studs before a later project, layers of old flooring that have to come out, or a non-structural wall between two small rooms. The space is left broom-clean, debris hauled away, ready for whoever builds next.
Selective demolition
Only what the scope says comes out
Original features protected
Trim, doors and floors outside scope
Plaster & mortar beds
Older construction priced honestly
Debris hauled away
Broom-ready handoff, nothing left
Historic Homes
The surprises in an older home live in its layers: plaster over lath, tile over a mortar bed over earlier tile, wiring and plumbing from three different decades meeting in one wall. Selective demolition opens those layers in order and stops at the right one — wet or damaged material out until the structure is sound and dry, and no further.
What the tear-out finds is shown to you, photographed and priced into the written scope before the rebuild covers it: old leak damage, framing repairs from a long-ago remodel, subfloor that needs sistering. Day one of demo is when those decisions are cheap; week three is when they are not.
Original millwork, doors, fixtures and floors outside the scope are covered or removed to safety first
Water, power and gas to the work area are shut off with the trades on the project before demo starts
Damage found behind surfaces is documented before it is covered or repaired
Straight Answers
Demolition is priced on the work of getting material out and gone. In San Marco the heavy end is common: mortar-bed tile, cast iron, plaster-and-lath. Carpet, floating floors and standard drywall come out quickly; a 1940s tiled bathroom does not, and the estimate should say so honestly instead of pricing it like a new house.
Access does the rest: narrow streets and driveways around San Marco Square, stairs in two-story homes, and how far debris has to be carried. Demolition is most often quoted as the opening line of the remodel that follows it, from a free in-home walkthrough.
Mortar beds, cast iron and plaster take longer than floating or fastened surfaces
Stairs, carry distance and load-out space in an established neighborhood
Older materials are heavier — the load-out reflects it
Hidden damage is documented and priced in writing before the rebuild covers it
Before the first swing
Houses built before 1978 may have lead-based paint on trim, doors and plaster, and older flooring, tile adhesive, pipe insulation or textured ceilings may contain asbestos. In a 1920s or 1950s San Marco house, it is worth testing the materials in the room before demolition starts. Lead-safe work rules apply when painted surfaces are disturbed in pre-1978 homes, and asbestos that tests positive is removed by a licensed abatement contractor before our work.
Plaster on wood lath is heavier and dustier than drywall. We seal the room, protect the floors on the path out, and remove it in sections so it does not crack the plaster in the rooms that stay.
Straight answers
Braga Remodeling, phone (904) 520-1994, demolishes bathrooms, kitchens, flooring, plaster and drywall and non-structural walls in San Marco — usually as the first phase of a remodel it then rebuilds, and with the protection older homes need. Every scope starts with a free in-home walkthrough and a written estimate.
Taking out only what the remodel needs. In a 1920s San Marco house that usually means removing a bathroom or kitchen while the plaster in the next room, the original doors and the heart pine in the hall stay untouched.
What We Demo
Cast-iron or steel tub out, mortar-bed or backer tile tear-out, vanity, toilet and wet-area surfaces removed down to sound material — the standard first phase of a bathroom remodel.
Old cabinets, tops and the floor taken out of kitchens that were often remodeled once already in the 1960s–80s, so there may be two floors and two layers of wall finish to remove.
Layered flooring out — tile over tile, vinyl over wood, carpet over everything — with the residue each layer leaves. Full detail on the flooring removal page.
Plaster-and-lath and drywall tear-out for remodels and water-damage cut-outs, and removal of non-structural walls and partitions to open San Marco's smaller original rooms up.
Cast-iron and steel tubs, fiberglass units and tiled showers broken out and removed — including tub-to-shower conversions where the tub leaves and a shower takes its place.
Debris is loaded out and hauled away as part of the scope and the work area is swept broom-clean. Disposal is in the written estimate — never a pile left in the driveway.
Our Process
We mark what comes out and what is original and stays: trim, doors, heart pine floors, hardware.
Old finishes are tested where needed; paths, floors and trim are covered and the room sealed off with plastic.
Plaster and tile come out in controlled sections; anything found behind them is shown to you right away.
Debris leaves the same day it is produced where possible, and the room is swept for the next trade.
Service Areas
San Marco and its neighbors in ZIP code 32207, minutes from our office on Napoli Road. For the rest of the city, see demolition services in Jacksonville.
Check your service area
Enter your ZIP to see whether it is on our standard Jacksonville-area service list.
FAQ
Google Reviews
5.0 average from 36 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 the room, the year the house was built and which original features must stay. We will call to set up the walkthrough. Prefer to talk? Call (904) 520-1994 or email braga@bragaremodeling.com.
Call (904) 520-1994