Owning an older home is something to be proud of, but it can mean a bit more work sometimes. This is in terms of maintenance because many older homes have a long list of things that need to be looked after.
Here’s a handy list of such maintenance tasks to help you anticipate potential issues before they come up.
The Plumbing
First off, the plumbing in your home plays a major role by helping you and your family get fresh, clean water to use while taking away the used water to recycling plants and drains.
This makes it important to make sure that it’s in good working condition at all times.
If you have an older home, there’s a good chance that some pipes and parts may have reached the ends of their lifespans.
You need to replace these with modern ones that will give you years of service if well-maintained and help you save water that you may have been losing through leaks you didn’t know about. Leaking and rust are the two main signs that you need to repair or replace your water heater, so you will save a lot of time and money by having a plumber evaluate your systems.
The Doors and Windows
Modern windows are available in options with double-panes between which is a layer of inert gas. This helps keep the temperatures indoors stable despite fluctuations outdoors.
It also helps you use less energy to keep your home as warm or as cool as you would like to without expending your HVAC too much.
For this reason, you may want to change your doors and windows to modern ones with double panes.
Otherwise, check to see if there are any cracks between your door and window frames and seal them up with caulk.
This will enable you to stem the loss of the treated air indoors to the outside and also keep water out when it rains.
The Roof
Your home’s roof needs to be tended to regularly if you want to have it around for a long time.
You can do some of the maintenance yourself, which includes keeping it free of dirt, mold, mildew, and debris in general, and ensuring that the gutters are clean and clear so water can flow through them unobstructed when it rains.
For more detailed maintenance, have an expert inspect it to find out if there are any hidden issues with it and advise you on the steps to take.
Doing this will help you avoid issues that may arise as a result of neglect, such as the formation of ice dams and issues with asphalt shingles.
Do this whether you have the original roof your home came with or if you had a new one installed so you can get the most out of the roughly 62% ROI that a new asphalt shingle roof has.
The HVAC and Other Appliances
With the average household spending more than $2,000 each year on energy bills, you can lower your bills by lowering your consumption.
One way of doing this is ensuring that your appliances are all functioning optimally due to regular maintenance.
Your heating and air conditioning are responsible for 44% of these bills all by themselves, so this is one area where you can make a difference to the energy bills you pay.
Get new appliances if you’re still running older ones and ensure that they have a good energy star rating so that you can get the most out of your upgrade, and it will be possible to make even more savings by keeping them well-maintained.
The four maintenance tasks and upgrades above should help your older home function as well as a new one, if not better.
Spare the time to get them done regularly and you will keep your home healthy and in good condition for a long time to come.