House construction in Cozumel

Design, licence and construction with a single contractor, for clients who live outside Mexico.

On Cozumel the design does not set the schedule — the ferry does. Every bag of cement, every aluminium profile and every kitchen unit crosses from Playa del Carmen, and that single condition reorders the budget, the storage and the sequence of works.

Logistics is the line item that never appears in a catalogue

Sea freight, port handling and the run to site are added to every material. So here you buy in large batches and store on site: two extra crossings because a part was forgotten cost more than over-ordering in the first place. We plan purchasing in phases and keep storage on the island, so a missing item does not stop the crew for a week.

Island, marine park and island limestone

Cozumel is its own municipality, and the coast sits inside a marine park: on the seaward side SEMARNAT and ZOFEMAT enter with everything that implies. Inland the ground is island limestone, firm and predictable, with a deeper water table than on the shore. The hotel zone carries its own density rules on top.

Marine specification, without exception

An island is surrounded by sea by definition: there is no "inland" here in the sense the mainland corridor means it. Hardware, window systems, anchors and pool equipment go in 316 stainless, concrete cover rises above the minimum and maintenance is scheduled every six months. More expensive to build and considerably cheaper to keep.

Realistic budget and programme in Cozumel

On the island, turnkey new build runs from MXN 14,000 to 29,000 per m² (roughly USD 760 – 1,580/m²). The gap against the mainland is eight to twelve per cent, and almost all of it is sea freight, handling and storage rather than more expensive labour.

A typical programme is eleven to fifteen months for 200–350 m², because purchasing is consolidated into large batches and every delivery depends on the ferry. That is why we close the finishes selection before the structure starts: a late change here does not cost a week, it costs a full order-and-crossing cycle.

What we deliver: design, licence and construction in one contract

We work turnkey. Lot survey and soil study, concept and executive design, licence filing with the responsible engineer, construction with our own crews, services, finishes, pool and landscaping, and handover with as-built drawings and equipment manuals. One contract, one point of contact and a programme that is not split across five suppliers blaming one another.

The budget comes out as line items with quantities and unit rates, not as a single lump figure. That way you can see where the money sits and what happens if a finish changes mid-build.

How it works when the client does not live in Mexico

Most of our clients are abroad while the house is being built. The system is designed for that: a weekly report with dated photographs, a fortnightly video call from site, a live budget where every change is signed off before it is executed, and payments against verified progress rather than against the calendar. We work in Spanish, English, German, French, Russian and Chinese.

If the property sits in the restricted zone, a bank trust (fideicomiso) is the usual holding vehicle; we coordinate with the notary and the bank so that the construction file and the ownership file advance in parallel.

The ground in Cozumel: what it imposes on the project

• Municipality: Cozumel
• Environmental regime: SEMARNAT + ZOFEMAT, marine park
• Ground: island limestone
• Water table: high on the coast
• Salt exposure: severe

Every material arrives by ferry — logistics, not design, sets the schedule and the overrun.

• Federal SEMARNAT filing: the environmental resolution is the project’s critical path. Budget 4–8 months before the first excavation.
• ZOFEMAT frontage: the federal strip is not yours even if you buy the lot — it is concessioned separately and paid for annually.
• High water table: the foundation sits higher and the pool needs anchoring against uplift.
• Severe salt exposure: 316 stainless throughout the hardware, concrete cover above the code minimum and six-monthly maintenance. 304 pits within two years at this distance from the sea.
• Every material crosses by ferry: logistics owns the schedule. Consolidated purchasing and on-site storage stop being optional.

Compare with the other 41 zones in the zone checker.

Frequently asked questions

How much more expensive is building on the island?

The difference is not labour, it is freight and storage: every material crosses by ferry. We budget it as an explicit line item rather than diluting it into unit rates, so you can see how much is logistics and how much is construction.

Can I use the same finishes as on the mainland?

For structure and masonry, yes. For hardware, window systems, anchors and pool equipment, no: on Cozumel the whole perimeter is marine exposure, so it is 316 stainless with concrete cover above the minimum.

Do you work on a fixed budget or on a cost-plus basis?

A line-item budget with unit rates and a contracted amount. Any change is priced and signed before it is executed, and payments go against verified progress on site rather than against calendar dates.

What warranty do you give on the finished house?

One year on services and finishes and five years on structure and waterproofing, delivered with as-built drawings, technical datasheets and manuals for the installed equipment.

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