Local Conditions
What actually shortens joint life in San Clemente.
Two things shorten joint life this close to the water. The first is chloride, which arrives on the breeze whether or not anyone swims, and attacks the bond line rather than the sealant itself. The second is the marine layer. Mornings stay damp well past sunrise, so the joint spends hours wet, then bakes in the afternoon. That wet to dry swing, every single day, is harder on a sealant bead than a much hotter inland climate that stays dry. Across San Clemente the pattern is consistent enough that we can usually tell from one photo how long a joint has left. The decks around Talega, Sea Pointe Estates, Rivera and Southwest San Clemente are no different, and neither is the fix: the whole bead out, wall to wall, and a new one that can actually move.


