Kitchen Remodeling • Mandarin, Jacksonville, FL
Mandarin's brick ranches and two-story homes under the oak canopy were mostly built in the 1970s and 80s, and most of their kitchens still run on the original surfaces: sheet vinyl or ceramic tile floors, a plain wall behind the range, and cabinets that are solid even when the finishes around them are tired. Braga Remodeling remodels Mandarin kitchens around the surfaces we install best — LVP and tile flooring, tile backsplashes, the removal and preparation underneath them, and the finish details that tie the room together — with the exact scope written down before work begins.
Free written estimates · Jacksonville, FL
5.0 · 36 Google reviewsWe measure the kitchen in person, check the floor that is there now and the wall behind the range, and give you a written scope that says exactly what Braga is handling — so a Mandarin kitchen update never turns into open-ended work halfway through.
Overview
Mandarin sits at the southern end of Jacksonville along the St. Johns River, and its kitchens follow the houses: eat-in layouts that open to a family room, a door out to a screened lanai, and floors that have carried forty-plus years of cooking, kids and sand tracked in from the yard. A kitchen remodel here rarely means gutting the room. For most owners it means replacing the surfaces that date it — the floor and the backsplash — while keeping cabinets and countertops that are still in good shape.
The original floors are the usual starting point. Sheet vinyl installed over the slab curls at the seams and holds moisture at the edges; ceramic tile from the same era is hard and durable but often cracked at the refrigerator line and impossible to match. Our flooring removal takes the old surface out, the slab is checked and corrected under floor preparation, and the new LVP floor or porcelain tile goes down at a height that still clears the dishwasher, the range and the doorway transitions into the family room.
Many Mandarin owners pair the kitchen with the bathroom work these houses also need, or phase the rooms one at a time. Either way each room gets its own written scope after a free measurement. The wider picture of working in these homes is on our Mandarin remodeling page, and the bathroom equivalent of this page is bathroom remodeling in Mandarin.
Kitchen flooring
LVP, vinyl plank and porcelain tile
Tile backsplashes
Layout planned before the first tile
Original floors removed
Sheet vinyl and old tile taken out
Written scope first
Exact work defined before start
| What changes the price | How it is priced |
|---|---|
| Plank floor | LVP is from $3.99/sq ft installed (material + installation, for 1,000 sq ft and up). In Mandarin ranches the kitchen often opens to the family room and breakfast area, and the price follows the area you choose to run the floor through. See LVP flooring cost. |
| Porcelain floor | Depends on the square footage, the tile format and pattern, and how much the slab needs flattening. See the tile installation cost guide. |
| What is on the floor now | Sheet vinyl with its glue, 1970s ceramic on thin-set, or a second layer laid over the first. Each comes up at a different pace, so removal is a separate line once we have seen it. |
| Backsplash run | Linear feet of counter, tile height up to the upper cabinets or soffit, the tile you pick, and the outlet and window cuts. |
| Finishing | Shoe molding or new baseboard, the threshold at the family room and the door to the Florida room or lanai, and any paint or drywall patches you add. |
The visit and the written estimate cost nothing; the estimate is the price. Published starting prices: pricing page.
What We Do
In most Mandarin kitchens the visible update is two surfaces: the floor and the wall between the counter and the upper cabinets. We take up the old floor, flatten the slab, put down plank or porcelain, tile the backsplash and finish the trim. The oak or painted cabinets and the counters stay, and we protect them while we work.
Moving the sink, adding circuits, new cabinets, new counters and removing the wall to the family room are other trades. Braga does not do plumbing, electrical or structural work. If they are in your plan we tell you the order, so the floor goes in after any cabinet change and the backsplash after the counters are set, and our estimate lists only our part.
Kitchen Flooring
Both work well here; the right choice depends on the house. Most Mandarin kitchens open straight into the family room, so luxury vinyl plank is the natural pick when the same floor should run through both rooms without a break — it is waterproof on the surface, warmer underfoot at the counter, quieter, and faster to install. Porcelain tile suits owners who want the hardest surface under heavy appliances and the grit that comes in from oak-shaded yards, and it matches the tile many of these homes already carry in the entry.
Expansion gaps, trim around fixed islands and finished heights at the dishwasher and lanai door are measured before you buy; the details are on vinyl flooring, waterproof flooring and tile installation.
Backsplash
Many original Mandarin kitchens have painted drywall behind the range and sink — forty years of splashes wiped off a surface that was never meant for it. A tile backsplash is the highest-impact wall change in the room, and because the area is small, layout is everything: where the pattern starts so the end cuts balance, how the tile meets the underside of the upper cabinets and the range hood, where outlets land in the pattern, and how the exposed edge at the end of the counter is finished.
Subway tile in an offset or stacked pattern, herringbone on the range wall, and large-format porcelain are the choices we install most in Mandarin. More ideas are on kitchen backsplash tile and backsplash installation.
Before removal
Some sheet vinyl, vinyl tile and black cut-back adhesive installed before the 1980s contains asbestos. In a Mandarin house from the 1970s, ask for a lab test of the old floor before anyone scrapes or grinds it. If the result is negative, we remove it as normal flooring. If it is positive, removal belongs to a licensed abatement contractor, and we start once they have finished.
After removal the slab is checked with a straightedge, high spots are ground and low spots filled; see floor preparation. Slabs near the river and Julington Creek are tested for moisture before plank goes down.
Wall details
Many Mandarin kitchens from the 1970s and 80s have a boxed soffit above the upper cabinets and a pass-through window to the family room. A soffit does not change the backsplash, which ends under the upper cabinets, but it decides how a tile run up to the hood looks. The pass-through ledge and the window return over the sink need a clean tile edge, finished with a trim piece or a bullnose.
We draw these edges on the estimate so you know where the tile will stop before it is ordered.
Straight answers
Braga Remodeling is a Jacksonville remodeling company at 4305 Napoli Rd, Jacksonville, FL 32207, phone (904) 520-1994. In Mandarin the crew replaces original kitchen floors with LVP or porcelain tile, installs tile backsplashes, and handles the removal, preparation and finish work around them — starting with a free in-home measurement and a written scope.
The floor and the wall behind the range. Original sheet vinyl or 1970s ceramic tile and a blank painted backsplash wall make an otherwise solid kitchen look its age. Replacing those two surfaces — while keeping cabinets and countertops that are still sound — is the update most Mandarin owners choose.
Our Process
We measure the kitchen, check the existing floor and the wall behind the range, and talk through what you want changed and what stays.
Flooring, tile, layout and finish details are confirmed and the price is fixed in writing — exactly what Braga handles, before work begins.
The original floor comes out, the slab and walls are prepared, and anything found underneath is photographed and agreed with you before installation.
Flooring, backsplash and included finish work go in, the kitchen is cleaned, and we walk the finished room with you.
Service Areas
Mandarin ZIP codes 32223, 32257 and 32258, from San Jose Boulevard to the St. Johns River and south to Julington Creek. Next door: kitchen remodeling in Ponte Vedra and Nocatee.
Check your service area
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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 year the house was built, what is on the kitchen floor today and whether you want a backsplash. We will call to set up the visit. Prefer to talk? Call (904) 520-1994 or email braga@bragaremodeling.com.
Call (904) 520-1994