All of Half Moon Bay lies inside California's Coastal Zone, and day to day its houses answer to the weather: foggy mornings, damp ocean air and about 26 inches of rain packed into November through April. The common work is sealing drafty doors and windows, clearing gutters before the rains, and repairing fences, decks and old wood near Main Street.
Pillar Point Harbor and the coast near Half Moon Bay, from the air. Photo: Doc Searls, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
ZIP codes
94019
When the homes were built
1855-present
Main streets
Main Street, Highway 1, Highway 92, Pilarcitos Avenue
Landmarks
Main Street Bridge over Pilarcitos Creek, Zaballa House, James Johnston House
Damp fog and winter rain find every gap in a Half Moon Bay house, and on houses closest to the ocean, weatherstripping and caulk give out sooner. Replacing door sweeps and perimeter seals, re-caulking window and trim joints with a quality exterior sealant, and fixing thresholds that let water in keeps the rainy season from showing up as stained sills and swollen trim. Early fall, before the November rains set in, is the time to do it, because sealant needs dry surfaces to stick. More about weatherstripping, caulking and sealing
Gutters before the November rains
Half Moon Bay gets most of its rain between November and April, so gutters that filled over a dry summer and fall get tested all at once by the first storms. Clearing gutters and downspouts in October, re-hanging sagging runs and checking that downspouts empty away from the foundation means that first big rain drains off the roof instead of over the edge and down the siding. A house under big trees may need a second pass in mid-winter, once the storms have shaken more debris loose.
Fences, gates and decks in salt air
Near the coast, fences and decks tend to fail at the fasteners and the bottoms of posts before the boards give out. Replacing rusted screws and hinges with stainless or hot-dip galvanized hardware, swapping rotted boards and rails, and re-hanging gates that drag are handyman jobs. Because the entire city sits in the Coastal Zone, where development generally needs a coastal development permit unless it is exempt, a new deck, a taller fence or a structure in a new spot should start with the city's Planning Department. More about fence, deck and gate repair
Old wood doors and windows near Main Street
Houses around downtown include some of the city's oldest, with wood doors and windows that have been painted many times. In damp coastal air, doors swell and stick, and window sash and sills rot along their bottom edges. Easing and re-hanging doors, patching or replacing rotted sill and rail sections with matching wood, re-glazing loose panes and freeing painted-shut sash keeps the originals working. On a house this old, repairing the original is usually the better choice for its character. More about door and window repair
How the houses here are built
Houses around historic Main Street, a few going back to the 1800s; late-1970s subdivisions such as Casa del Mar on the west side and Grandview Terrace east of Highway 1; and about 600 homes in Ocean Colony, near the Ritz-Carlton and the Half Moon Bay Golf Links.
Wood-framed houses whose doors, trim, fences and decks sit in damp ocean air most of the year. The city's oldest home, the wooden Greek Revival Zaballa House on Main Street, dates to about 1855, and the Gilcrest House on Main Street was built without a chimney after the 1906 earthquake.
Mornings are often foggy or overcast and frost is rare, at about two and a half days a year, while most of the 26 inches of annual rain falls between November and April.
Good to know before a job in Half Moon Bay
The whole city is in the Coastal Zone
The California Coastal Act's Coastal Zone covers all of Half Moon Bay, so development here generally requires a coastal development permit unless it is exempt, and many kinds of projects, from grading to design review, can trigger one. Permits are issued by the city but remain under the California Coastal Commission's jurisdiction. The city's Local Coastal Land Use Plan was comprehensively updated in 2020, and the Coastal Commission signed off on it in April 2021. For anything new, or larger than a repair of what is already there, talk to the Planning Department before booking the job.
Main Street's old buildings
The town was Spanishtown before it officially became Half Moon Bay in 1874, and Main Street still shows it. The steel-reinforced Main Street Bridge over Pilarcitos Creek dates to 1900 and was built with steel from San Francisco's discarded cable car tracks. Boitano's store at 527 Main, from 1873, is the oldest retail building in town, City Hall at 501 Main was built in 1922 as the Bank of Half Moon Bay, and Cunha's Market was faithfully rebuilt after a 2003 fire. Repairs on buildings this old go better with matching materials than modern substitutes.
How a request works
Describe the job
A sentence and a photo or two is enough. It takes about a minute.
A local handyman gets in touch
By call or text, to ask what the photos don't show and give you a price.
You decide
Agree a time and price with the handyman directly, or don't. Requesting costs nothing.
Questions from Half Moon Bay homeowners
Does every project in Half Moon Bay need a coastal development permit?
The city says all development within its limits requires a coastal development permit unless it is exempt, because the whole city is in the Coastal Zone. Which projects are exempt is set out in the city's local coastal development permit rules, so for anything beyond straightforward repair, check with the Planning Department first.
When should gutters be cleaned on a Half Moon Bay house?
October is the usual target, before the rainy season that runs from November through April. Houses under big trees often need a second cleaning in mid-winter. If water pours over the gutter edge during the first storm, the downspouts are probably blocked.
Can the old wood windows in a house near Main Street be repaired?
Usually. Rot in coastal houses tends to start at the bottom rail of the sash and the sill, which can be patched or replaced with matching wood. Painted-shut sash can be freed and loose glass re-glazed. A full replacement is rarely the only option, and repair keeps the house's original look.
Do handymen work in Ocean Colony and east of Highway 1?
Yes. Local handymen take requests from all over the city, from the historic streets near Main Street to Casa del Mar and Arleta Park on the west side, Grandview Terrace east of Highway 1, and Ocean Colony by the golf links. If a gate or association entrance needs to be arranged, mention it in your request.
Checked against these public sources in September 2026. Rules change: confirm anything permit-related with the city or town of Half Moon Bay before work starts.
