About Florida Renovation Guide

Florida Renovation Guide is a resource for homeowners planning remodeling and home improvement projects in Florida. We explain what projects really cost, when they need permits, how Florida's hurricane and flood rules affect them, and how to choose and work with a licensed contractor, in plain English and with links to official sources.

Why we built it

Most homeowners only remodel a handful of times, and the information they find is often too general, written for another state, or written to sell them something. Florida is different: a statewide building code with some of the country's strictest hurricane provisions, product approval rules, a contractor licensing system with its own lookups, a construction lien law that can make homeowners pay twice, and flood rules that can change a project's scope. We focus on that.

What you'll find here

• Cost guides with realistic Florida price ranges and the date they were last reviewed
• Permit guides that explain when projects need a permit, how counties differ, and where to confirm
• Hiring guides covering state licenses, insurance, workers' compensation, contracts, deposits, liens and red flags
• Calculators for building a preliminary budget
• Local guides for Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Hillsborough, Orange, Duval, Pinellas, Lee, Brevard, Indian River, Volusia and Flagler counties, with in-depth guides for Melbourne and Palm Bay, Vero Beach and Sebastian and Daytona Beach and nearby

How we're funded

Florida Renovation Guide is free for homeowners to use. The site is supported through relationships with contractors serving Florida. If you request help finding a contractor, your project may be referred to an affiliated or participating contractor that serves your area. We may receive a financial benefit from some referrals. This does not affect the information or pricing guidance published on the site.

Our referral disclosure explains exactly how this works.

Our standards

We research rules using official sources and compare several sources for pricing. We date every cost and permit guide and correct errors when they're reported. Read our editorial standards.

Not a government website

Florida Renovation Guide isn't affiliated with the State of Florida, the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, or any county or city. For official decisions about permits, licensing and codes, your building department and the state agencies are the authority.

Contact

Questions, corrections or privacy requests: contact us through our contact form.