St. Augustine · St. Johns County, FL
Flooring Contractor in St. Augustine, FL
St. Augustine sits about 39 miles south of our Jacksonville base, and its floors carry more history than most. Calls run from heart pine in historic-district houses to tile over old slabs, plus ground floors soaked when the bayfront floods. JW already knows the city from painting a two-story home here.
- 5.0 on Google · 82 reviews
- Based in Jacksonville, FL 32254
- Where Precision Meets Perfection
Homes and local risks
Heart pine, coquina and the Matanzas Bay waterfront
Pedro Menéndez de Avilés founded the city on September 8, 1565, making it the oldest continuously inhabited European-established settlement in the contiguous United States. Its builders worked in coquina, a stone of compacted shells cut at the King’s Quarry on Anastasia Island. The Castillo de San Marcos rose from it between 1672 and 1695.
Houses in the historic district stack up layers from every century since. Original heart pine turns up often, and it deserves repair and refinishing rather than a cover-up, because matching old-growth boards is slow work. Where a house meets the ground in coquina or old concrete, moisture wicks upward, so nothing gets glued down before a reading.
Water is the other constant. When Hurricane Matthew struck on October 7, 2016, the National Hurricane Center reported water up to 4 feet above ground in town, worst near the bayfront and the San Sebastian River. Irma came the next year, and its surge off the Matanzas River flooded riverfront businesses in the historic district. The city put its Irma losses at just over $8.2 million. For a ground floor that has flooded once, the next floor should be one that can get wet and still be saved.
Local knowledge
Working with HARB and the city’s historic districts
Inside the five Historic Preservation zoning districts, HP-1 through HP-5, the city requires a Certificate of Appropriateness for most work. Removing historic exterior features gets its own review, though staff can approve like-for-like replacements, and their decisions can be appealed to the Historic Architectural Review Board. Before replacing a porch floor or entry, ask the preservation staff what applies.
Building permits come from the city’s own office, not the county’s. Finish flooring is generally exempt under the residential code as adopted, but the building official decides, and flood-zone improvement rules can still apply.
Jobs vary by neighborhood, from Lincolnville, a National Register district, to the blocks around Flagler College, which occupies Henry Flagler’s 1888 Hotel Ponce de Leon. In older frame houses, floors and framing get checked together. Newer slab houses farther from downtown mostly call about plank and porcelain.
Services in St. Augustine
Which floor services fit homes from Lincolnville to the bayfront?
Old houses and low streets shape most requests here. These are the services that come up, with the reason behind each.
Hardwood & Laminate Flooring
Heart pine in historic-district homes is usually worth saving. We patch in matching boards where they can be found and refinish the rest instead of covering original wood.
Buckled & Cupped Floor Repair
Old pine over damp ground can cup or crown after a wet season or a flood. We find the moisture source first, then flatten, replace or refinish the affected boards.
Water-Damaged Floor Replacement
Bayfront and San Sebastian River streets took in water during Matthew and Irma. Soaked flooring comes out, the slab or framing dries and gets tested, and only then does new material go in.
Tile Flooring Installation
On ground floors that may flood again, porcelain set in thin-set on the slab is a FEMA-recognized flood damage-resistant assembly, provided the movement joints are left in.
Floor Sealing & Clear Coat Protection
Old concrete and tile at grade can be sealed to slow staining and make cleanup easier, which helps where sandy courtyards and wet streets meet the front door.
Luxury Vinyl Plank Flooring
Newer slab homes away from the historic core often want waterproof plank. Older vinyl underneath gets tested for asbestos before removal, as the EPA advises.
Reviews
Reviews from homeowners across the First Coast
5.0 out of 5 from 82 Google reviews
We hired JW Painting to paint our two-story home in St. Augustine, and we couldn't be happier with the results. Jimmie and his crew did an outstanding job from start to finish. They were always polite, professional, and respectful of our property and time. The quality of the work is excellent, and the finished result looks beautiful. Thank you again, Jimmie and the entire crew -- we highly recommend JW Painting!
Map and nearby areas
Anastasia Island, Vilano Beach and nearby pages
The barrier islands, the US-1 suburbs to the south and the golf communities along I-95 each have their own floor problems. These pages cover them.
Map of St. Augustine, FL
Questions
Questions about historic floors and San Sebastian River flooding
Does HARB review floor work in St. Augustine’s historic districts?
Yes, some of it can need review. The city requires a Certificate of Appropriateness for most work in the HP-1 to HP-5 districts, and removing historic exterior features, such as an old porch floor, has its own process. Matching replacements can often be approved by staff. Ask the preservation office before work starts, including for interior projects.
Can original heart pine be saved after a flood?
Yes, often. Heart pine is dense and resinous, and boards that soaked briefly can usually be dried, flattened and refinished once the moisture under them drops. Badly cupped or rotted pieces get replaced with matching stock. On low streets where Matthew put up to 4 feet of water, the drying step decides whether a floor comes back.
Which floors cope best on a low street near the bayfront?
Tile, vinyl and sealed or coated concrete. Agency lists drawn from FEMA’s Technical Bulletin 2 rate them flood damage-resistant, while ordinary wood flooring is not. FEMA also treats ceramic tile set in thin-set on a slab with cement grout as a flood-resistant assembly. For ground floors that took water in Matthew or Irma, those are the safer picks.
Old heart pine or a flooded ground floor near the Bridge of Lions?
Call (904) 533-7260 with the address and the rooms, and we will set a date to measure and test the floor.
JW Painting & Pressure Washing & Epoxy Flooring · Jacksonville, FL 32254 · (904) 533-7260
Mon–Sat 7am–8pm · Sun closed