Duval County
Renovating in Mandarin
Slab-on-grade ranches and two-storey colonials from the 1970s through the 1990s, most of them due for their first real renovation.
Housing stock
What we find when we open a wall here
Single-storey slab ranches from the 1970s, larger two-storey houses from the 1980s and 1990s, and pockets of newer construction. Original slabs frequently have no vapour retarder, and panels are commonly 150 amp or a fully populated 200 amp.
What Mandarin does to a renovation
Slab moisture
Mandarin slabs from the 1970s often sit directly on sand with no vapour retarder. We test relative humidity in the slab before specifying any resilient or wood flooring, every time.
Bearing walls in ranches
The long spine wall in a 1970s ranch usually carries the roof. Opening it up is a beam, columns and footings, not a weekend of demolition.
Attic access
Low-slope hip roofs make duct replacement awkward and drive the mechanical labour line up. We look in the attic on the first visit.
Septic and wells
Some older Mandarin lots are still on septic. Adding bedrooms can trigger a health department review of the drain field.
From the archive
Work we finished in Mandarin
2025A 1974 ranch with the spine wall removed
Six small rooms across the middle of the house, one bearing wall in the way, and a slab that turned out to be wetter than anyone expected.
$238,000 (sample figure) · 24 weeks
Reviews
What people in Mandarin said
The slab tested wetter than the product allowed and they said so instead of laying it anyway. Two years on the floor is still flat and tight.
Marcus WhitfieldMandarin · 2,610 sq ft of plank, 22 ft beam
The ledger detail took a week longer than planned because they found rot behind the old one. Right call, clearly explained, priced as a change order the same day.
Curtis NakamuraMandarin · Screened lanai, 430 sq ft
Reviews shown are sample content for this demo site.
Mandarin questions
Questions
Working in Mandarin
Yes. Mandarin is 22 minutes from the shop, which is inside the radius we deliberately keep. It means a punch item gets handled the same week rather than waiting for someone to make the trip.
We do, as the licensed general contractor, and we carry every inspection in Duval County. We hold the licences and portal accounts for Duval, St. Johns and Clay counties.
Mandarin slabs from the 1970s often sit directly on sand with no vapour retarder. We test relative humidity in the slab before specifying any resilient or wood flooring, every time.
Also serving
The other five areas
Start where every one of our projects starts
A two hour site visit, then a written budget band inside a week. No drawings, no deposit.