What repaint cycle should a coastal community budget for?
Every 5 to 7 years for buildings near the water, with annual washing budgeted between cycles. Inland communities get 8 to 10. On direct beachfront it can be 3 to 5, and the seaward elevations of a building will always fail before the street side.
Boards that skip the washing years end up repainting a full cycle early. It is the most expensive way there is to save money, and it usually happens because washing looks discretionary in a budget and repainting does not.
How is community work priced?
Per building, with volume rates, and phased so the schedule fits a reserve plan rather than a single line item. That structure matters more than the rate: a board needs to know what year five costs and what year ten costs, not just what this quote costs.
Where a community is approaching year five, we will assess before peeling starts. Caught early, targeted work on the exposed elevations sometimes buys two more years — and that recommendation costs a board nothing to hear.
What does an assessment give the board?
Something a board can actually vote on:
- Condition by elevation, not by building — the Gulf-facing side is a different asset
- Where the failures are cosmetic and where the stucco needs repair first
- A phased schedule with costs per phase, formatted for the reserve study
- Photographs, so directors who have not walked the property can see what they are voting on
Working around residents
Community work is a communication job as much as a painting job. Buildings are done one at a time, notices go up before the crew arrives rather than after, and residents always keep a route to their door.
Scheduling is October to April wherever the reserve allows, because that is when paint actually cures properly here — and in a rental-heavy community it is also the window that does not collide with peak season.