San Mateo County, California

What this place does to a house

• Termite pressure here is real. Mulch piled against siding is the #1 way homeowners invite them in — keep it 6 inches below any wood.
• Freezes are rare here — which is exactly why they do damage. Nobody's plumbing is ready for the one week it matters.
• This is a humid climate: crawlspaces and attics grow problems quietly. A 10-minute look twice a year beats a $6,000 mold remediation.
• Your AC works harder than your heat here. Its maintenance schedule matters more than the furnace's — we've planned accordingly.

The numbers we plan around

Frost

First frost usually lands around December 12, and the last one lets go around February 25 — figure ~11 freezing days in between.

The air

Humid most of the year — moisture is the quiet enemy here.

The load

The AC works harder than the heat here, and its maintenance schedule matters more.

Termites

Moderate pressure across this part of the country — a regional band, not a guess at your street.

Radon

EPA Zone 2 — the middle band. A one-time test settles it.

Wildfire

High wildfire risk — defensible space is a maintenance item here, not landscaping.

What jobs cost here

Labor here runs about 25% above the national average — every price band on this site adjusts for it.

• Flush your water heater$150–$280 herenational: $120–$225
• Chimney sweep and inspection$190–$440 herenational: $150–$350
• Fall heating-season checkup$115–$240 herenational: $90–$190

The year here, at a glance

Planned for a typical local house — a 1980s–'90s build on a crawlspace with a heat pump, tank water heater, and shingle roof, on city water and sewer. Different house?The app rebuilds the year around yours.

1. January12 tasks
2. February11 tasks
3. March11 tasks
4. April12 tasks
5. May11 tasks
6. June11 tasks
7. July8 tasks
8. August6 tasks
9. September7 tasks
10. October9 tasks
11. November7 tasks
12. December4 tasks

Somewhere else? Browse the county pages orpunch your ZIP on the homepage — every county in the country is in the data.