Whether you have just bought a beach house that needs work, are furnishing a rental, or simply want a can of paint and the right screws on a Saturday morning, the Coronado area has you covered. The local ferreterias (hardware stores) handle everyday repairs, a big-box home center covers larger projects, and a couple of garden centers round out anything to do with the yard. This guide maps out where to buy what.
Every store below is a real listing in the Hardware & Building Supplies directory and the broader Home Services directory.
The big-box option
For anything approaching a real project — renovation materials, larger tools, plumbing and electrical, appliances, bulk building supplies — the anchor is Do It Center Coronado, in the C.C. Terrazas de Coronado on the Via Interamericana. Do It Center is a well-known Panamanian home-improvement chain, and having a branch right in Coronado means you can source most of a project locally instead of driving into the city. It is the natural first stop when the job is bigger than a quick fix.
Local ferreterias for everyday needs
For the countless small jobs of home ownership — a length of pipe, a new lock, fasteners, sealant, a replacement part — the neighborhood ferreteria is faster and closer, and the staff often know exactly what you need even when your Spanish is still coming along. Coronado has several clustered along Avenida Roberto Eisenmann:
- Ferreteria Playa Coronado — on Roberto Eisenmann, in front of Mailboxes Etc., a convenient central option.
- Ferreteria JJ Center Coronado — also on Roberto Eisenmann, another reliable stop for tools and building supplies.
- Ferreteria La Paz de Chame — over in Chame, handy if you are based on the western side of the coast.
Between these, most day-to-day hardware needs are a short drive away. A practical tip: the smaller ferreterias sometimes stock different specialty items, so if one does not have your part, the next one down the avenue often will.
Garden centers and plants
Yards and gardens grow fast in the tropical climate, and keeping one takes supplies. Vivero Coronado, on Roberto Eisenmann next to the police station, is the local nursery for plants, soil and garden goods. Toward Chame, Agrocentro Las Lajas, in the Las Lajas shopping complex, covers agricultural and garden supplies for anyone with a bigger plot or a more ambitious landscaping plan. Both are listed under Landscaping & Gardening in the directory.
Furniture and finishing touches
Once the structural work is done, there is the matter of filling the rooms. For furniture, Ashley Furniture Costa Verde at Market Plaza in Costa Verde (toward La Chorrera on the way to the city) is the recognizable name in the area for sofas, beds and larger pieces. It is browsable in the Furniture & Home Decor directory.
What to expect when you shop for a project
A few realities are worth knowing before you start. Selection is good for standard materials but thinner for specialized or imported fixtures, so if a project depends on a particular finish or fitting, confirm availability before you commit to a design — or plan a supply run into Panama City, where the big home centers carry more. Measurements and fittings often follow different standards than in North America, so bring the old part or exact measurements with you.
Many residents also lean on local tradespeople for larger jobs, and labor is affordable by North American standards. If you are weighing a fixer-upper versus a move-in-ready place, our guide on buying vs renting property in the Coronado area is worth reading, and our cost of living in Coronado breakdown gives a sense of what home upkeep runs.
Getting work done: tradespeople and materials
Beyond buying supplies yourself, most homeowners on the coast end up working with local tradespeople — masons, electricians, plumbers, painters and general handymen — for anything beyond a simple repair. Labor is affordable compared with North America, and word-of-mouth is the currency: the fastest way to find someone reliable is to ask neighbors, or the staff at your regular ferreteria, who often know which tradespeople work in the area. It is normal to buy the materials yourself at Do It Center or a local ferreteria and pay the tradesperson for labor separately, which also gives you control over quality and cost.
Two climate realities shape home maintenance here. The tropical humidity and salt air are hard on metal, electronics and untreated wood, so rust-resistant fittings and good paint are worth the extra money. And the rainy season tests every roof and drain, so it is smart to handle exterior work — sealing, gutters, drainage — before the wet months arrive rather than during them.
Getting settled
Stocking a home is one of the first real tasks of moving to the coast, and knowing these stores turns a frustrating scavenger hunt into a quick errand. For the bigger picture of setting up life here, see our Moving to Coronado guide. And once the house is sorted, our guides to supermarkets and grocery shopping and the best restaurants in Coronado cover the rest of daily life.
Browse all hardware and building-supply stores in the Coronado directory for your next project.
