If buying a house in Costa Rica, get roof inspected — and maintain it

The lack of rain recently has reminded me to accelerate my summer projects of exterior maintenance issues. Costa Rica is located between 9 and 12 degrees from the equator, and exterior building products deteriorate from exposure to intense ultraviolet radiation and the subsequent water infiltration that occurs in cracks and where contraction and expansion of the exterior building materials surfaces has occurred.

I’ve been building and inspecting housing in Costa Rica for 23 years and from this constant exposure to construction materials and different installation methods, I can tell you that 95 percent of the dwellings I’ve inspected have roofing and flashing problems.

This article was originally published in the Tico Times. You can read it in its entirety at: http://www.ticotimes.net/realestate/2016/02/if-buying-a-house-in-costa-rica-get-roof-inspected-and-maintain-it/

The writer, Tom Rosenberger has lived and worked in Costa Rica for 23 years and from his travels throughout the country inspecting property and construction he has acquired a wealth of knowledge about living and doing business in Costa Rica.  Tom has other blogs you may like: https://costaricalivingblog.wordpress.com,  https://costaricabusinessblog.wordpress.com/ andhttps://costaricatom.wordpress.com/. You can send Tom an email at; tom@CostaRicaHomeBuilder.com