Duval County
Renovating in Riverside and Avondale
Jacksonville's oldest intact residential neighbourhoods, and the ones where a renovation is as much a paperwork exercise as a carpentry one.
Housing stock
What we find when we open a wall here
Mostly 1905 to 1935 wood frame on brick pier foundations, with a band of 1920s masonry bungalows along the river streets. Heart pine floors, ship-lap sheathing, knob-and-tube or early cloth-wire branch circuits, and additions from every decade since.
What Riverside and Avondale does to a renovation
Historic review
Much of Riverside and Avondale sits inside a locally designated historic district. Exterior changes visible from the street, including windows, siding and porch details, go through a certificate of appropriateness before a building permit is issued. Budget four to ten weeks for that review and design to it from the start.
Window replacement
Replacing original wood sash with vinyl is usually refused in the district. We design around repair, or around a wood or aluminium-clad replacement with an approved profile and a correct sight line.
Foundation and floor levelling
Brick pier foundations settle unevenly. Re-shimming and sistering joists before flooring is standard here, not an upsell.
Parking and staging
Narrow streets and short driveways. We stage deliveries and keep a dumpster window short to stay on good terms with your neighbours.
From the archive
Work we finished in Riverside and Avondale
2025A 1926 frame house taken back to studs
Every system in the house was original or close to it. The owners wanted to keep the street elevation exactly as it was and change everything behind it.
$412,000 (sample figure) · 38 weeks
Reviews
What people in Riverside and Avondale said
They told us about the historic review in the first meeting instead of after we had paid for drawings. Thirty-eight weeks and the front of the house looks exactly as it did.
Priya RaghunathanAvondale · 1926 frame house, full rewire and rear addition
The plaster in our hallway had been patched by four different people over ninety years. They skimmed the whole thing flat rather than chasing a texture match.
Angela FoyRiverside · Nine rooms, plaster repair and repaint
Reviews shown are sample content for this demo site.
Riverside and Avondale questions
Questions
Working in Riverside and Avondale
Yes. Riverside and Avondale is 12 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.
Much of Riverside and Avondale sits inside a locally designated historic district. Exterior changes visible from the street, including windows, siding and porch details, go through a certificate of appropriateness before a building permit is issued. Budget four to ten weeks for that review and design to it from the start.
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.