Serving the greater Tampa Bay area

Home Updates and Repairs in St. Petersburg

St. Pete has some of the best old housing stock in the bay, and some of the most exposed. A Kenwood bungalow and a block house three streets off the water need very different attention, and the salt air decides a lot of it.

I'm Ricky Powers. Thirty-plus years working in people's homes, and I'm on every job myself. Call us and you get me.

The kind of homes we see in St. Pete

The Old Northeast and Kenwood are bungalow country: 1920s construction, real wood, original trim, and decades of previous owners' decisions layered on top. Good houses that reward doing it properly and show it immediately when you don't.

Out from there it's mid-century block, plus the newer builds where the bones are sound and the finishes are whatever the builder bought by the pallet.

Closer to the water, everything ages faster. Salt gets into hardware, fasteners, screens, and paint, and it does not slow down.

What we do

A short list, done properly, with the same crew from the first day to the last.

Cabinets. New doors and fronts, new hardware, refinishing, or new boxes set in the same layout.
Counters and backsplash.
Tile on floors, showers, and backsplashes.
Flooring. Vinyl plank, laminate, and wood, plus the transitions that make or break the look.
Interior and exterior paint, with the prep and caulking that decide whether it holds up.
Trim, doors, and hardware, and the carpentry that goes with them.
Fixtures swapped in place, a faucet or a vanity going back where the old one was.
Repairs and upkeep. Drywall, rotted fascia and trim, caulking, pressure washing, gutters, screens.

Three of these have their own pages: kitchen cabinets and counters in St. Petersburg, bathroom tile and vanities in St. Petersburg, and deck repair in St. Petersburg.

What the salt air does

Near the water the exterior is the whole battle. Caulk joints open, paint gives up on the exposed elevation, screens go brittle, and exterior hardware rusts from the inside out. Fascia and trim rot where the gutter has been overflowing quietly for two seasons.

On plenty of these houses that work matters more than a new backsplash, and it is cheaper every year you do it on time.

The honest part

Not every item on the list earns its money. If the cabinet boxes are sound, doors and paint get you most of the result for a good deal less, and I'll tell you that even though it's the smaller job. If the budget and the wish list don't match, you'll hear it before you spend anything.

The bigger projects

Moving walls, adding square footage, or reworking the wiring and plumbing behind them is a different kind of job, and it isn't what we take on. St. Petersburg runs its own building department, and a historic district address can add a review on top. Call them early and ask two things: what your project needs, and who has to pull it.

Still worth telling us. There's usually a piece we can handle while the big decision waits.