Home Remodeling in St. Petersburg, FL

Ask most remodelers for proof and you get stock photos. We'd rather point at a map. Five of our six completed projects sit in the towns ringing St. Petersburg, all 10 to 25 minutes from downtown.

In Gulfport, we built a modern spa-style master bathroom. In Treasure Island, a contemporary luxury master bath. In Kenneth City, we renovated a kitchen and its living space in a contemporary luxury style. A suite-style master bedroom and closet renovation in Tierra Verde and an elegant kitchen-and-bath project in St Pete Beach complete the circle.

That circle matters because St. Petersburg isn't one housing market. A 1925 Kenwood bungalow, a Snell Isle waterfront home, and a Coquina Key block ranch each fail differently, and each needs a different remodel plan. We design around what's actually behind your walls, not what a franchise template assumes.

We're TGA Kitchens & Remodeling. One team designs your project, files the City of St. Petersburg permits, and builds the job. Before demolition starts, you'll see photorealistic 3D renderings of your exact rooms. And our Design Center in Pinellas Park is about 15 minutes away whenever you want to touch the materials.

Historic Kenwood and Old Northeast: Plaster, lath, and knob-and-tube

Historic Kenwood packs roughly 125 blocks with 1920s American Craftsman bungalows, one of Florida's densest concentrations. About 170 of them were physically trucked over from downtown in the mid-1930s. The neighborhood is proud enough of them to host BungalowFest, a home tour, the first weekend of every November.

Historic Old Northeast is older still on paper: platted in 1911 as the city's first planned residential neighborhood, then built out with Craftsman bungalows, foursquares, and Mediterranean Revival homes. Its hexagon-block sidewalks, brick streets, and granite curbs are protected.

Here's what that means for your remodel. Open a 1920s wall and you'll find plaster over wood lath, and often the original wiring, sometimes knob-and-tube. That's the old system that runs ungrounded wires through ceramic knobs. Electricians replace it during kitchen and bath work, and most insurers require it gone. We budget the rewiring up front instead of springing it as a change order. Our kitchen remodeling in St. Petersburg process starts with what the house actually is, not what a catalog assumes.

Coquina Key and Pinellas Point: Midcentury block, built to open up

Coquina Key, 'the Friendly Island', went up starting in 1955 under the Mackle brothers, then among the country's biggest homebuilders. The original concrete-block ranches run roughly 1,200 to 1,800 square feet, three bedrooms and two baths. Even the main road, Elkcam Blvd, is 'Mackle' spelled backwards.

These slab-on-grade ranches are St. Pete's classic open-kitchen candidates. Take down the wall between kitchen and living room, add an island, and the whole floor plan breathes. Block walls can be load-bearing, so the job needs an engineered beam and a permit, routine for us, and exactly the housing type that surrounds our Kenneth City project.

Pinellas Point mixes eras. The Pink Streets around Lakewood Estates, about 4.5 miles of pink-tinted concrete first poured in 1925, run past 1920s Spanish Revival homes and midcentury block ranches. When the streets needed major repairs in the early 1990s, residents insisted they stay pink. Remodels here split the same way: gut-and-rewire for the 1920s houses, open-up-and-modernize for the block ones.

Nearly every kitchen or bathroom remodel in St. Petersburg needs a permit, and we pull it as part of the job. Permits come from the city's Construction Services & Permitting Division at the Municipal Services Center, One 4th St. N. Applications and status checks run through the city's online Building Permits portal, and plans go through ePlan review (727-893-7230). The general permitting line is 727-893-7231.

Don't let Florida's new exemption mislead you. Since July 1, 2026, HB 803 lets some single-family work under $7,500 skip a permit, but it excludes all electrical, plumbing, gas, mechanical, and structural work, and it never applies in flood zones. A genuine kitchen or bath remodel touches at least two of those trades, so plan on permitting.

Two more St. Pete specifics. Permit fees are set by municipal code and calculated on job valuation, so they scale with your project rather than following a flat table. And the city sits in Florida's wind-borne debris region, design wind speeds run roughly 140 to 150 mph, so replacement windows and exterior doors generally must be impact-rated or protected by shutters.

We hold Florida license CBC1268077 and handle the drawings, the ePlan uploads, and every inspection ourselves. You'll never be the one on hold with the permit counter.

Do I need a permit to remodel a kitchen or bathroom in St. Petersburg?

Almost certainly, yes. Florida's HB 803 exempts some under-$7,500 jobs as of July 2026, but not electrical, plumbing, gas, mechanical, or structural work, and never homes in flood zones. A real kitchen or bath remodel touches those trades. We file through the city's portal and ePlan, and we manage the inspections.

What is St. Petersburg's 49% rule?

It's the city's own substantial-improvement threshold, 49% of your home's pre-improvement market value, stricter than FEMA's 50% baseline. If cumulative repair and remodel costs reach it, the entire structure must meet current flood code, usually through elevation. The city's reference page is stpete.org/Rule49.

How much does a bathroom remodel cost in St. Pete in 2026?

Most hall bathrooms run $20,000 to $35,000, and master bathrooms run $35,000 to $75,000. Tile selections, glass enclosures, and moving plumbing drive the spread. A tub-to-shower conversion is the lower-cost route, typically $10,000 to $25,000.

Will remodeling my Kenwood or Old Northeast bungalow mean rewiring?

Often, yes. Opening 1920s plaster-and-lath walls routinely exposes original wiring, including knob-and-tube, and electricians replace it during kitchen and bath work. Most insurers want it removed anyway. It's far better found during a planned remodel than during an insurance claim.

How long does a kitchen remodel take in St. Petersburg?

Plan on a few weeks for design and selections, a few more for city plan review through ePlan, then roughly six to ten weeks of construction for a typical kitchen. Structural changes and flood-zone review add time. You'll have a written schedule before demolition starts.

Do replacement windows in a St. Pete remodel need impact glass?

Generally, yes, or shutters. St. Petersburg sits in Florida's wind-borne debris region, with design wind speeds of roughly 140 to 150 mph. When a remodel replaces windows or exterior doors, they must be impact-rated or otherwise protected.

Can I get my home's elevation certificate before planning a remodel?

Yes. The city keeps elevation certificates from 1990 to present for new construction, substantial improvements, and additions in flood hazard areas. Requesting yours early tells us exactly how the 49% rule applies to your project, and we'll help you read it.