Licensed and insured Florida contractorsKitchen, flood and tax rules checked first
$100 off your first job, credited by us. Terms apply.

Tampa Bay, in Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco counties

A First-Floor Primary Suite When the Stairs Have Become the Problem

Put a bedroom and a bathroom on the ground floor for someone who can no longer manage the stairs, without the addition pulling the whole house under current flood rules.

Start Your Quote
A new ground-floor bathroom with a curbless shower and grab bars
62The age at least one parent or grandparent must have reached for the living quarters reduction in Florida Statute 193.703
50%Of a structure's market value, the cost at which 44 CFR 59.1 makes an addition a substantial improvement
16 townsCovered across Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco counties, each with its own local rules set out on its page
Get In Touch

First-Floor Suites quote

The address, who the suite is for, and whether the house carries flood insurance. Those three answers decide most of how big this job really is.

$100credit

$100 off your first job

Credited by us on your first booked job.

  • One credit per customer per property, on your first booked job.
  • Valid through December 31, 2026.
Start Your Quote

Mention this offer when you book. Full terms.

Five short questions about who the space is for and what it needs to hold, then where to reach you. Most people finish in about a minute.

Question 1What are you thinking of building?

Pick the closest. If you are not sure yet, that is exactly what we help sort out.

Question 2Who will live in it?

This matters more than it sounds. In Florida the answer can change the property tax on what you build.

Question 3Does the new space need its own kitchen?

In Florida law a space with its own kitchen, bathroom and bedroom is a second dwelling, and each city and county decides whether one is allowed on your lot.

Question 4Is the house in a flood zone?

In a flood zone, a large enough addition can mean the whole house has to meet today's flood rules. Your insurance declarations page or the county flood map will say.

Question 5When does the space need to be ready?
About you, and the house the space would join

Who should we ask for?

How can we reach you?

We call to confirm the details before anyone is sent out.

Where is the property?

The contractor match is by property, not by person, so the street line matters.

Anything else we should know?

Your $100 credit is attached to this request. Mention this offer when you book. See terms.

Your details are used only to respond to this request and arrange the service.

Overview

What a first-floor primary suite involves

A first-floor primary suite, what many people still search for as a first floor master suite, is a bedroom, a bathroom and a closet added at ground level so the person who owns or shares the house can live on one floor. It is usually for a homeowner planning their own later years, or for a parent who lives with you in a two-story home, and sometimes for a single-story house whose original bath is too tight to adapt. The bathroom carries most of the design. The largest risk is not the design, though: on a low house in a flood zone, a big enough addition can require the existing house to be brought up to current flood standards as well. We find out where that line sits for your house, then connect you with a vetted Florida-licensed contractor who designs, prices and builds it.

  • A ground-floor bedroom and bath added to a two-story house so its owner can live on one level
  • An accessible primary bath with a curbless shower, a wider door, room to turn a walker, and blocking in the walls for grab bars
  • A larger primary suite on a single-story house whose original bedrooms and bath are too tight to adapt
  • A walk-in closet and laundry beside the new bedroom, keeping daily routines on one floor
  • A step-free route from the driveway or garage into the new suite
  • Pricing the tie-in work on the existing house separately, so its effect on the flood calculation is visible
Hurricane straps and a new window in the framed wall of an addition
Assessment

What decides the size of a first-floor suite job here

The bathroom and the square footage matter less than people expect. On an older Tampa Bay house, these are what decide how much work a first-floor suite really involves.

The flood zone, and the value of the house without the land

In a Special Flood Hazard Area, an addition costing 50 percent or more of the structure's market value is a substantial improvement. Unincorporated Pinellas and St. Petersburg apply a 49 percent line instead.

Whether the job also remodels the existing house

FEMA's desk reference says a lateral addition combined with remodeling is judged on the combined cost, and past the line both the house and the addition must be elevated. In an A zone, an addition joined only by a doorway, with no other work, can be judged on its own; in a V zone both must comply.

How old the house is

The test compares the cost to the depreciated value of the structure, so an older house crosses it with a smaller suite. In Pinellas County, 58.8 percent of homes were built before 1980, by the Census Bureau's latest five-year count.

How the cost is counted

Hillsborough County counts volunteer labor and donated or discounted materials at normal market value in the improvement cost, so family help on the job does not shrink the figure.

Who the suite is for

If it is for a parent or grandparent aged 62 or older, the county may reduce the assessment on the new space. A suite for yourself is assessed at just value like any other addition.

Wind protection on new openings

Hillsborough's residential design criteria tie protection of windows, doors and skylights to the building's risk category and a design wind speed of 140 mph or more, which affects what the new bedroom's openings cost.

Next Step

Is the house in a flood zone?

Send the address and what the suite needs to hold. We will tell you what the flood line means for it before anyone prices the work.

Start Your Quote
Process

How a first-floor suite gets from idea to move-in

  1. Tell us who needs the ground floor

    Who will use the suite, what they need from a bathroom, and the address. Photos of the stairs and the existing bedrooms help.

  2. Find the flood numbers

    The flood zone and the structure value the building department will use. Tampa's substantial improvement form values the work from ICC square-foot cost data and compares it to the depreciated structure value.

  3. Meet a vetted contractor

    We connect you with a Florida-licensed contractor who fits the job, who measures, designs and prices it. Florida requires a contractor's license number on every bid, contract and advertisement they use.

  4. Permit and notice of commencement

    The contractor applies for the permit. On a direct contract over $5,000, the building department needs a recorded notice of commencement before the first inspection.

  5. Build, tie in and move downstairs

    The suite is framed, closed in, finished and inspected, and the doorway into the house is usually opened late so the home stays sealed while the work goes on.

Recent Work

First-Floor Suites work we have arranged

Draft placeholder for work-first-floor-primary-suite-additions-01. Replace with a real description.
In The Field

What first-floor suites looks like

A small kitchenette with a sink and under-counter refrigerator in a suite
Floor plan drawings for a small home addition beside a tape measure
Scope

When a first-floor suite may be more than you need

When you may not need this at all

  • If there is already a first-floor room that could serve as a bedroom and a bathroom that can be widened, a remodel inside the house may be enough. That is a bathroom modification job, not an addition, and it is not work this site arranges.
  • If the stairs are the only obstacle, a stair lift or a home elevator inside the house is a different job and sometimes a smaller one. Price it before you build.
  • If the house is in a flood zone and the suite would cross the substantial improvement line, moving to a single-story home may compare well against elevating this one. Ask for the flood figure before you commit.

What is out of scope

  • Stair lifts, elevators, ramps and grab bars fitted inside the existing house with no new space built.
  • Surveys and elevation certificates.
  • Pricing, contracts and permit applications, which belong to the contractor you choose.
  • Deciding which substantial improvement rule applies to your house. The building department makes that call.
  • Medical or therapy advice about what the bathroom should include.
Licensed and insured Florida contractorsVetted local contractors licensed by the State of Florida and insured for the work, who price and contract it themselves
The three rules checked for your addressThe kitchen, the flood line and the county tax rule looked at before any contractor is asked for a number
Told when an addition is not the answerIf a first-floor room or a bathroom change inside the house would do, you hear that before anyone draws a suite
Coverage

First-floor suites arranged by town

Questions

Questions about adding a primary suite on the ground floor

Does the 50 percent rule apply to an addition?

It can. The federal definition of substantial improvement includes additions, measured against the market value of the structure before work starts, and unincorporated Pinellas and St. Petersburg use 49 percent. A 2025 Florida law bars local governments from counting improvements cumulatively, while some local guidance still shows a 12-month window, so ask your building department how it counts yours.

Why not add a second story instead?

Apart from the stairs themselves, FEMA's desk reference says a new upper story on an older house in a flood zone that is a substantial improvement requires the original building to be elevated and its foundation modified. A ground-floor suite can sometimes be judged on its own.

Can I build a first-floor suite for myself rather than a parent?

Yes, and many of these suites are. The parent or grandparent assessment reduction applies only to quarters for a parent or grandparent aged 62 or older, so a suite for your own use is assessed at just value like any other addition.

What makes a bathroom easier to use in later years?

Most designs start with a shower that has no curb, a door wide enough for a walker or wheelchair, room to turn, and solid blocking behind the walls so grab bars can go wherever they are needed later. The contractor and the person who will use the room should settle the details together.

How do I find the structure value for my house?

In Pinellas, the Property Appraiser's parcel page has a FEMA/WLM letter, reached from the Quick Pick Tool, showing the value used for the 49 or 50 percent test. In Hillsborough the figure comes from the Property Appraiser's FEMA 50% value or an independent appraisal.

Next Step

Live on one floor without leaving the house

Tell us who the suite is for and where the house is. A person reads each request, and sending one binds you to nothing.

Start Your Quote
Start Your Quote