A house in Los Cabos is not damaged randomly. It fails in an order, and the order is almost always the same: coatings first, then metal, then anything that holds water, then anything with a motor.
Understanding that sequence is the whole of home maintenance here, because it tells you where money buys years and where it only buys a season.
1. Coatings go first
Eleven months of near-vertical UV chalks pigment, and salt in the afternoon wind accelerates everything. An exterior paint chosen on price can look tired in two seasons; the same wall with the right primer and an exposure-appropriate system will hold five or more.
Two rules save most of the grief:
- Specify by elevation. The south and west faces of a house are doing three times the work of the north side. They do not need the same product or the same cycle.
- Preparation is the product. Most “paint failures” on this coast are a finish coat applied over a chalked, unsealed surface. A primer chosen for the existing condition is the least glamorous line on the quote and the one that decides the outcome.
Buy where you can buy again. Availability matters as much as chemistry on this coast: a touch-up two years from now has to match, which means the same product, the same sheen, from a supplier who still stocks it.
2. Then metal
Railings, gates, hinges, light fittings, outdoor kitchen hardware. Salt finds every scratch. Stainless is not a solution by itself — the wrong grade rusts here, and fasteners are usually the first thing to go.
Wash exposed metal with fresh water on a schedule. It sounds trivial. It is the single highest-return maintenance habit on the coast.
3. Then anything that holds water
Flat roofs, parapets, drains, planter boxes and the joint between terrace and wall. Los Cabos gets very little rain and then, occasionally, gets a great deal of it at once. A drain that is 60% blocked works perfectly for ten months and fails in the one hour that matters.
Clear roof drains before September, every year, without exception.
4. Then the motors
Air conditioning, pool pumps, pressure pumps. Humidity climbs through late summer and so does the load. Service before the season, not during it — every technician in the municipality is booked in August.
Scheduled home watch earns its fee mostly in this category: catching the pump that is running hot in July instead of replacing it in September.
A maintenance year
- November – February: exterior painting season. Mild sun, low humidity, best cure conditions.
- March – May: metal wash-down, seals and glazing, pool equipment service.
- June – August: shade, drains cleared, storm preparation, AC service done.
- September – October: the season to be watched, not the season to start work.
None of this is exotic. It is simply ordered — which is the difference between a home that ages well on this coast and one that consumes money every year.
