Maintaining your home in Costa Rica

What issues are you having with the Maintenace
Is structural or cosmetic

Is this the same property that you had issues with before?

Problems can be many: termites if you have a lot of wood not properly treated or the wrong type of wood; mold if you don't have proper airflow or the house is not sealed well enough for the a.c. or dehumidifier to work; carpet could be a big problem I'd imagine - that's why most places I know don't use carpet (if you're in a high humidity area; again, dehumidifier or a.c. may help that issue); septic tank may not be big enough; electricity or water installation not up to proper standards...
What are you experiencing?

Justagirl..........Just look at the maintenance of electrical grid,it is 24/7 maintenance monster.The factor of climate figures in with,tropical heat,wind and monsoon rains coming up.Guanacaste/Nicoya Peninsula,the capital of the world for the electrocuted Howler Monkey...

Same nightmare, unending issues.  I am curious what your budget for maintenance is and what you are addressing.  It is constant repairs, replacements and "maintaining".  The obvious pool, yard, cleaning I understand.  But what kind of cleaning?  Like upkeep once a month or do most of you hire someone to consistently maintain all on a continual basis?  Do your homes require constant repairs, upgrades or are they pretty "solid" for a few years?  Does the rainy season cause a lot of specific needs and then the dry season others?  Honestly, we face different issues for the different seasons every different year.  House?  or Place?  THANKS!

I did not know that about the electrical grid, or the monkeys!  But, the electricity and internet are continually going out...

J-girl8870.....They did our free up-grade to Fios 5g a few months ago.Most of our neighbors got their modem put in weird places of the house,like in the laundry room or garage and were still asked for a bribe,which they paid.I just told the guys to please leave once I realized what they wanted to do.Finally,they did what they were suppose to do for us ! Once you own a home and start living here the vacation is over.

What is the name(s) of companies providing electricity and internet services? My builder is going to charge me for them initially but I will definitely link them to the corporation I've opened. I just need to figure out how to get hold on them.

Your first problem is - Guanacaste - near the water you're going to have lots of maintenance issues and your electricity will be very high for your NEEDED air conditioning.  We checked into the area and decided on the Central valley - we still have maintenance issues but any home, no matter where, has upkeep all the time.  As far as builder giving warranty don't waste your time.  Once they've finished (to their standards) you're on your own.  When our place was finished we could barely get in the front door,  We had to spend an addtional $25,000USD to take out a hill and make a walkway to the house - Good god - seriously?????  All the best - it took us an additional 2 years to get our so-called finished house actually somewhat livable.  As I've said before - don't build - just buy something that's already constructed.

It depends. I am actually building (almost done) and involved remotely to every detail of the house. Get regular pictures and videos, clarifications of features I want (or not), so I know exactly how it looks, if there are debris left (clean now), etc, etc. It all depends on who you are dealing with. It is in in Osa, one mile from the ocean, by the Corcovado park. They are now working on the interior finishing.

Henry, best to wait until construction and clean up has been competed before praising your 'team' for a job well done.

Wait until you have settled in tried out if the shower sends out hot water and drainage is OK...

Don't pay the final bill until you have checked everything...at least twice.

Justagirl, if you could be more specific as to what you are being charged for that would help but I understand if you cannot or wish not to.
Is this like a monthly charge from your Development? Or extra stuff?

I don't know. I built my own small house and I live in the mountains at over 2500 feet. I have no maintenance issues at all really.

The first year the septic tank stopped working because our yard where the drainage tubes were was too much clay soil so we added more drainage 10 meters away where it is less clay. It was a hassle but not real expensive. Maybe $300 to fix it.

One thing is if possible find a Tico near you who is a "handy man" who knows stuff like electricity, plumbing etc, treat him well,  and you'll save a lot of money. I was lucky because my neighbor introduced me to the guy who worked for him and the Tico handyman and I became good friends and he does everything for me that I need. I rarely have to hire anyone else.

One time I had a flood in my house but pretty sure it was my own fault. I changed a pipe out myself that was leaking and I think I tightened it too much. So one day I went for a walk and came back and found my house full of water (yes, every room had a 1/2" to an inch of water). Luckily it's a small house but I had no one to help me - my friend was working in another area that day. It was a nightmare. But PVC pipes do break at times, sometimes for no reason; so that's a maintenance thing.

Most faucets are Chinese made here so we've had to replace 3 outdoor faucets and 3 indoor ones. They're just junky here and they go bad. One we bought was a more expensive one but still Chinese and it went bad but was under warranty luckily.

That's been the most troublesome issue: faucets and PVC pipes. The shower pipe simply broke off at the wall and my buddy had to knock a hole in the wall, replace the pipe, plaster over the hole and I repainted it.

Oh, and once a lightning bolt hit my porch and exploded a cement block. Was scary as hell but no big damage. And you know what they say: lightning never strikes twice in the same place so I don't expect that to happen again. (I know; it CAN...)

But structurally, nothing. No roof issues, no floor issues, no wall issues, none of that stuff! So I really can't see what would require a lot of maintenance! (Knock on wood!)

My friend chops the weeds, takes care of the plants and trees with my help, and other stuff is stuff I elect to do like add more plants or trees, add a dryer, re-paint the outside of the house (after 5 years)... I added more gravel to my driveway after 3 years too.

I have nearly 9 acres of land that has to be cared for. If it was just my 1.8 acre house lot and house I'd need my handyman a lot fewer hours! Maybe 20 a month. So it seems to me no more than $100 a  month should be necessary for maintenance.

But I don't have a pool, gym or any of that stuff you might have at a Development/Gated Community. But all that should have been spelled out in the contract ahead of time. No? I know even in the States sometimes these "communities" really rip people off on maintenance and other fees! Glad I didn't buy into one.

Flooring for Homes...

I'm wondering what is the best type of flooring to use in CR. Luxury Plank Vinyl has become very popular in the states for its durability and 10-yr warranty. Until I learned about LPV, I thought ceramic flooring was the best option for CR.

T-22....At the beach,according to my guys who helped build my house,ceramic tile/polished cement causes the pizza oven effect.Even though I love my "Guapinol wood" floors,I do not recommend them because of the cost.Standing on this kind of wood sure feels good on bare feet,especially in the kitchen when you are standing for a long time.I do have to admit,when I see those homes with all that tile through and through,it reminds me of a broken hip.

Everyone uses ceramic . Some use hardwood. Do NOT use carpet!
Is ceramic best? No idea...but it's good from an anti-allergy perspective.
Hardwood may get eaten if it's not chemically treated and the right type of wood I think.

Most expat are getting away from ceramics and going with LVT floor systems and engineered wood floors
The older Ticos dig the whole house ceramic tile on floors, walls and patios

Our homes and apartments we install LVT which  is luxury vinyl slate system
Durable and easy to repair

Tile is slippery, cracks from settling and earthquakes and grout falls out or gets dirty

I'm thinking LVS (luxury vinyl slate) and LPV (luxury plank vinyl) are the same thing, just different names in different countries/ I hope so, I'm upgrading to LPV in my US home before putting in on the market. Love this stuff, want to go with it in my CR home.

JB12... What kind of flooring are you using in bathrooms?

Excellent advice, I would add to original poster that in Guanacaste your internet and electricity is gonna be a bit wonky, everyone has that issue because there's no in-ground cables yet.
The electrocuted monkeys is another issue, I wish they could come up with a way to keep the monkeys safe. It's horrible when you find one.

My cabins were built with treated pine- no termites or any infestation solid all wood buildings 2 had wood floors one had ceramic tile which has held up well as they are almost 15 years old now

I don't live in your neighborhood, but I did build quality almost 6 years ago and yes, maintaining your home seems to be a constant here.  Between the humidity and the heat, things just don't last as long here, not to mention that unless you have all your building supplies brought in, the quality  you can get here, just isn't up to American standards.  Nor is the variety of supplies you can get.  Still, you can live a lovely life here and if you learn to be able to do some of the work yourself, it doesn't hurt.  If not, keep a good handy man around.

I loved those floors too in the states, but when I built, couldn't find any decent vinyl at all.

The issue is not the local standard I think in Costa Rica you have to build like in the middle East (Greek Italian Israeli ) building with American wood is not good in Costa Rica.