A house must stand the test of time. Otherwise, why invest so much money and effort into building one? From the foundation to the roof and everything in between, you want to extend your home’s longevity for as long as possible. The key to achieving this is knowing the expected age of the critical components and properly caring for each. Here are some vital things to consider that will add years to your residence.
What’s the Life Expectancy of a Home?
Owner-occupied residences have an estimated average 40-year life span. Well-built concrete structures typically last much longer, but you must account for the added wear and tear from household occupants’ daily activities.
Remember that your home is not a single unit but an aggregation of many interconnected components. Certain key factors can impact the house’s integrity and drastically shorten its expected time frame.
A residential property’s longevity has much to do with the quality of its parts. At first glance, you have the foundation, frame and roofing, all of which have different life spans. Indoor components and appliances also have varying life expectancies, so it’s not always a straightforward calculation.
7 Effective Ways to Extend Your Home’s Longevity
Barring frequent natural catastrophes, you can improve your home’s average life span by 10%-20% through proactive upkeep. These are the top seven priorities for a longer-lasting abode.
1. Opt for High-Quality Repair and Replacement Materials
It’s no secret that quality materials and products last longer. When your house’s components need repair or replacement, always go for the best you can afford. You want these things to last decades, so it’s only practical to select products that can live up to expectations.
Pay special attention to the use rate of these components. For instance, you want top-notch flooring for your home’s high-traffic areas, like the living room and kitchen. Choosing a durable floor material like solid hardwood and ceramic tiles — which have life spans exceeding 20 years — is just common sense.
2. Insist on Professional Workmanship
Skilled labor, whether for a new room addition or a simple repair job, is one of the most critical factors assuring your home’s longevity. The best materials in the world won’t matter if the workmanship is lacking. A poorly constructed house will age more quickly.
Specialized work costs more, but fewer repairs and replacements will save you money in the long run. Additionally, most manufacturers require service professionals to install their products before they can honor warranty claims.
3. Take Care of Your Roof
As the first defense against year-round harsh elements, the quality of your roof is a determining factor in your house’s longevity. A damaged roofing system threatens its structural integrity. For example, missing shingles or cracked caulking can allow water infiltration inside the walls and down to the foundation. Faulty, clogged gutters can cause basement flooding and warped siding, which shorten your home’s life span.
You want to ensure your roofing system is built for the environment it’s in and can handle whatever nature throws at it. This requires professional inspections at least once a year and prompt repairs or replacements as needed. If you must install a new roof, consider materials with long life spans, such as slate and metal.
4. Keep up With Preventive Maintenance
Taking preventive measures to regularly maintain your home’s structural components is the key to prolonging the service life of your property. Even systems with long life expectancy require regular upkeep. For instance, garage doors can last 30 years, but only through careful usage, biannual inspections and seasonal weatherstripping.
Preventive maintenance is also essential to improving your home’s value. This is a critical consideration if you’re looking to put your house on the market in the future.
5. Never Ignore Water Damage
Water-related issues are incredibly difficult to remediate. This type of damage is particularly dangerous because it can be hard to detect until it’s too late. Left unchecked, a minor leak will worsen until complete replacement of the affected area becomes the only solution.
Pay close attention to rooms most susceptible to water damage — attic, basement and bathroom. Your basement is particularly vulnerable to flooding since it’s below ground. Once this occurs, the structural integrity of the foundation will be compromised. Take special care of your home’s plumbing system and schedule professional inspections after major storms in your area to ward off problems.
6. Practice Fire Safety
Fire damage is one of the biggest threats to your home’s longevity. Even more worrying is the fact that the destruction spreads rapidly, reducing a once-solid structure to rubble within minutes.
The key is to reduce as many potential fire hazards in your home as possible and have control measures ready where such issues are most likely to occur. For instance, cooking causes around 44% of home fires in the U.S., underscoring the need to be extra careful in the kitchen. Understanding electrical safety principles is important, as overloaded circuits and overheated appliances can easily cause a fire.
7. Invest in Professional Pest Control
Bugs and rodents aren’t just nuisances. These pests can also cause significant damage and shorten your home’s life span. For instance, termites and carpenter ants hide within the walls, causing a surprising amount of damage you might not notice until it’s too late. Rodents can take up residence in your house’s nooks and crannies, eating away at the structure, plumbing and wiring, which leads to expensive repairs.
Protecting your home against these infestations is essential to increasing its longevity. Regular inspections and professional pest control will also save you a lot of headaches and embarrassment, especially when you have guests over.
Increase Your Home’s Longevity
Your home will likely be your most significant investment, so you want it to last as long as possible. The last thing you want is to deal with issues that could easily have been prevented and cause unnecessary damage. It takes work, but precautionary measures will help you get the most from your property and extend its life span so future generations can also benefit from it.