In Search of the Perfect House

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In Search of The Perfect House

NORMAL MAINTENANCE
If you strip away the cosmetics, a house is made up of the structure, roof, building envelope and the systems of the house. The systems are things like heating, cooling, plumbing, and electrical. All components and systems eventually wear out. Fortunately, they don't all wear out at the same time. Different components have different life cycles. Houses tend to settle into what you might call a normal maintenance pattern.

THE 1% RULE
When you consider the life cycle of every component of a house, a reasonable annual estimate of the cost of normal maintenance is 1% of the value of the house. One year you may replace the furnace; a few years down the road you may re-surface the roof. Throw in the odd unexpected repair in between and you average 1% per year. It's incredible but this rule is not far off even for very expensive and very inexpensive houses.

HOW LONG DOES IT LAST?
Here is a short list of typical life cycles of the most common components of the home. Please keep in mind that there will be exceptions in every category.

ROOF conventional asphalt shingles top quality asphalt shingles low slope shingles slate tar & gravel roof (built up roof) single ply roof membrane roll roofing	...................................................................................................................... ..................................................................................................................... ..................................................................................................................... ..................................................................................................................... ..................................................................................................................... ..................................................................................................................... .....................................................................................................................	12 - 15 years 25 - 30 years 10 - 15 years 40 - 200 years 15 - 20 years 15 - 20 years 5 - 10 years

EXTERIOR gutters & downspouts copper gutters and downspouts aluminum siding wood siding stucco exterior paint deck asphalt driveway surface driveway sealer driveway garage door opener	..................................................................................................................... ..................................................................................................................... ..................................................................................................................... ..................................................................................................................... ..................................................................................................................... ..................................................................................................................... ..................................................................................................................... ..................................................................................................................... ..................................................................................................................... ..................................................................................................................... .....................................................................................................................	20 - 30 years 50 - 100 years 50 plus years maintenance dependent maintenance dependent 4 - 6 years 10 - 20 years 10 - 20 years 1 - 3 years concrete 30 - 40 years 8 - 12 years

STRUCTURE termite treatment	.....................................................................................................................	10 - 20 years

HEATING forced-air furnace cast iron boiler steel boiler copper tube boiler humidifier electronic air filter	..................................................................................................................... ..................................................................................................................... ..................................................................................................................... ..................................................................................................................... ..................................................................................................................... .....................................................................................................................	18 - 25 years 35 - 50 years 20 - 30 years 10 - 20 years 5 - 10 years 10 - 20 years

COOLING air conditioning condenser	.....................................................................................................................	10 - 15 years

PLUMBING galvanized steel supply pipe copper pipe toilet sink faucet whirlpool bath shower pan submersible pump for well suction or jet pump water softener sump pump heater tile bathtub enclosure	..................................................................................................................... ..................................................................................................................... ..................................................................................................................... ..................................................................................................................... ..................................................................................................................... ..................................................................................................................... ..................................................................................................................... ..................................................................................................................... ..................................................................................................................... ..................................................................................................................... ..................................................................................................................... ..................................................................................................................... .....................................................................................................................	40 - 50 years indefinite 30 - 40 years 12 - 20 years 10 - 15 years 15 - 25 years unpredictable 10 - 15 years 10 - 15 years 5 - 15 years 2 - 7 years water 8 - 12 years 10 - 50 years

INTERIOR paint windows	..................................................................................................................... .....................................................................................................................	5 - 10 years maintenance dependent

Contents of this email is courtesy of Carson Dunlop & Associates. Copyright 2011 Carson Dunlop & Associates Ltd. All rights reserved.

Posted by Todd Fryer on May 29, 2011

Tags: Construction and Expansion

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