The houses of Tequesta
Tequesta is mostly single-family homes, with condo complexes mixed in. Southgate shows the older stock well: many homes there went up in the 1960s, some wood frame and some block. Tequesta Country Club and Tequesta Pines have their own established streets, and riverfront lots tend to be larger, often with pools and docks.
Older homes bring older problems. Original interior doors drift out of square, bathroom tile dates from another era, and painted wood trim carries decades of coats. In homes built before 1978 we check painted surfaces for lead before we sand, scrape or cut, and a positive test sends the job to an EPA lead-safe certified firm.
Wood frame houses behave differently from block ones. An exterior wall may take a stud mount instead of a masonry anchor, and wood close to the ground soaks up summer rain. Popcorn ceilings in homes built before 1980 get an asbestos test first; a positive result goes to a licensed asbestos abatement company.
Associations and condo buildings in the village
Tequesta has fewer big gated clubs than some neighbors, but there are still associations and condo buildings with their own rules. Complexes such as Tequesta Gardens and Georgetowne Place each run under an association, and associations like these commonly want a certificate of insurance before a vendor starts, with noisy work limited to set hours.
In a condo, the line between your unit and the common elements matters. We can fix what is inside your unit, like a door, a toilet flapper or a grout line. Exterior stucco, shared railings and anything else the association maintains should go through the manager first.
What Tequesta homeowners call us for
Many of our Tequesta jobs are about making an older house easier and safer to live in. Several small items usually fit in the same visit.
For plumbing we stay with minor fixture repairs. Moving a supply line, adding a fixture or touching the water heater is work for a licensed plumber, and we will tell you so up front.
- Grab bars into studs or blocking, starting at $149 for the first bar and $99 for each one after, plus $40 per bar on tile walls
- Interior doors that rub, sag or won't latch, often fixed inside the $149 visit
- Running toilets and dripping faucets, $149 plus parts for like-for-like repairs
- Tub or shower recaulking, starting at $159 with the old caulk removed and mildew treated
- Weatherstripping and a door sweep, starting at $149 for the first door with materials included
The Tequesta year
The village has a full-time core and a seasonal crowd. If you head north in April, our departure prep visit ($149) runs through the shutdown checklist, and biweekly home watch, at $189 a month, puts someone in the house twice a month with photos. Arrival prep, also $149, has things ready before you fly back in the fall.
Summer is the hard stretch for older houses. Daily rain from about late May through October swells wood doors and feeds mildew in grout and caulk. With the river and the Intracoastal this close, it pays to get the owner's panels up early in hurricane season (June 1 to November 30). Prep visits start at $299 for up to 10 openings.
Where we work in Tequesta
Our tech covers the whole village, from the riverfront streets to the US-1 corridor. Communities we serve include:
- Tequesta Country Club
- Tequesta Pines
- Southgate
- Heritage Oaks
- Coconut Cove
- Bayview Terrace
- Tequesta Gardens
- Georgetowne Place
Questions from Tequesta homeowners
Can you put grab bars in an older Tequesta bathroom with tile walls?
Yes. We find studs or blocking behind the tile, drill with a tile bit and seal around each mount. Tile walls add $40 per bar to the $149 first-bar price. If nothing solid sits behind the spot you picked, we say so before drilling and suggest one that works.
My house was built in the 1960s. Does that change the job?
It can. Because the house predates 1978, we check for lead before we sand or cut painted trim, doors or drywall, and a positive result goes to an EPA lead-safe certified firm. Popcorn ceilings get an asbestos test before anyone touches them.
Can you look after the house while I am up north?
Yes. Biweekly home watch is $189 a month and weekly is $289 a month, each with a photo report. After a storm we check the house and send pictures, which costs $99 for home watch clients.
Do you take jobs inside Tequesta condos?
Yes, inside the unit. Send the association's vendor rules and we will send our certificate of insurance before the visit. Work on common elements, like exterior walls or shared railings, goes through the association.
What does a small repair cost in Tequesta?
Small fixes fall inside the $149 visit, which includes the first hour on site. Extra time is $85 an hour, billed in 30-minute steps, so grouping two or three small jobs into one visit gets you the most for the minimum.