Upgrades That Your Home Needs Every 10 Years
You’ve shopped around or had home builders in Calgary design your dream house. The work of developers, construction crews, and Calgary condo builders is done, but you are responsible for maintenance and upgrades from now on. Owning a home is a long-term investment. You need to invest in maintaining, improving, and updating your house, which sometimes requires replacing broken or outdated appliances, taking on projects that freshen things up, and sustaining your home’s integrity and safety.
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Important Home Improvements
Over time, wear and tear affect many parts of your home. Maintenance is important for curb appeal and boosting your home’s appraisal value, but, as you’ll see, there are many other benefits of investing in your home over time. Here are some of the most beneficial improvements you can make:
- Replace Your Carpet: Daily use takes a toll on any carpet. Although most carpets can be expected to last about a decade, walking on them with shoes can increase wear. Dirty feet, pets, and stains can shorten the life of a rug. You may notice odors that are hard to get out. When dust and other allergens get trapped in the fibers, they can be hard to remove but may find their way into the air, causing respiratory and other health problems.
Replacing an old, worn carpet can make your home more livable, while a new one might be a selling point when you or an agent show homes in Airdrie or other local communities.
- Repaint Your Interior and Exterior: Walls, both inside and outside, are exposed to elements that deteriorate their surfaces over time. Sunlight and weather can do a number on exterior paint, while hand prints, inadvertent bumps and scrapes, pets, and contact with furniture can affect the finish. Paint also tends to fade over time. Heavy use inside and extreme conditions outside can result in the need to repaint your home.
Your home will look fresh and new with a touchup every 10 years or so. Some paints may need to be redone sooner, but a new color can revitalize your house and your spirit.
- Re-Glaze the Windows: A contractor may recommend replacing all your old windows. Re-glazing them instead is one way to save. It can make your windows weathertight and is an effective way to seal up broken panes and cracks. Often you just need some putty and simple tools for re-glazing a window, such as a putty knife, painters tool, paintbrush, and heat gun.
If any glass is broken, protect yourself with gloves and safety glasses, and cover the pane with a rag before loosening any shards with a hammer, so they don’t get free.
- Re-Caulk the Bathtub/Shower and Sink: This is another project you can do on your own. You may not notice how your bathroom or kitchen looks every day. Home buyers notice immediately. A fresh caulking makes the room look fresh and also raises your home’s value, whether it’s one of many houses for sale in Calgary NW or NE or a house anywhere else.
If it’s been more than 10 years, check the edges of your showers, tubs, and sinks to see if they could use some sealing and freshening up.
- Replace Smoke Alarms: This is a major safety issue. Replacement of your smoke alarms every 10 years is a recommended. The detector is a mechanical device and, therefore, prone to wear out over time. It also loses sensitivity over time, especially if dust builds up inside, which will reduce its accuracy. Smoke detectors, after all, save lives; three out of five home fire-related deaths happen where smoke alarms are absent or not working,3
Frequent chirping means the unit is getting false readings or is not as reliable as it should be, so consider replacing it if there’s an issue or the device is 10+ years old.
Appliances to Replace Every Decade
Most home appliances are notoriously costly. When you think about ease of use, dealing with repairs, and energy efficiency, it can pay off in the long run to replace old water tanks, dishwashers, and washing machines. Newer appliances get a lot of fanfare for efficiency, but it’s also more convenient when you have something that is reliable. You can truly enjoy what new condo builders in Calgary have created for your family.
Appliances you should consider replacing after 10 years include:
- Hot Water Tank: A water heater’s lifespan is about a decade. Check the manufacturing date, whether it’s on the tank or near the serial number, and keep it handy. Water heaters don’t usually show signs of age. Failure often comes suddenly and may or may not be accompanied by a serious leak, but always results in the absence of hot water.
You can avoid expensive water damage, mold, and potential structural issues from floods by investing in a new unit.
- Dishwasher: Dishwashers have a similar life expectancy to water heaters. Over time, you may notice the dishes and glasses are still marred after a cleaning cycle, or food particles are still on your plates. The surfaces of your kitchenware may become stained as well. Dishwasher controllers may stop working or function intermittently.
Replacing the appliance eliminates excess energy usage, saves on bills, and gets you clean dishes and glasses again with every cycle.
- Garbage Disposal: After about 10 years, garbage disposal blades become dull, so food won’t be reduced and pushed through your drain as efficiently. Broken blades can completely destroy the unit when you least expect anything to happen. Home builders in Calgary designed houses to be resilient, but such damage will lead to problems you can avoid.
A new disposal can prevent drain or pipe blockages that may cause backups, leaks, and burst pipes you’ll need to pay for to fix.
- Washer and Dryer: A washer/dryer or washing machine in use for over eight years is considered old. Replace yours if it’s in use for over 10 years. Older units are at risk for leaks. At the very least, your clothes may stop getting clean or dry. If the appliance makes noise, shakes, or water isn’t filling the inner drum, replace your washer and dryer before it fails.
A new washer/dryer won’t only prevent problems and get your clothes clean. It also consumes less energy, which is better for the environment.
- Ceiling Fans: Midrange models can be expected to last a decade. Less frequently used ones may last longer. Signs of wear include non-functional lights, noise, wobbling, incorrect speeds, or a fan that doesn’t reverse.
The best solution is to replace an old unit with a modern ceiling fan.
Buying a new home provides a place to call your own, for kids to grow up, and to enjoy what the community has to offer. Ownership comes with many responsibilities. One of these is to maintain your home and replace appliances as needed. Re-carpeting, repainting, re-caulking of bathroom installations, and replacement of smoke alarms, hot water tanks, dishwashers, washer/dryers, and ceiling fans should be done every 10 years.
Genesis Builders Group: Creating the Homes of the Future
Genesis has built homes in Sage Meadows, the, Saddlestone, Ashbury, and Airdrie. We’re experts in land development and home construction, having fine-tuned a home building process that is efficient and overseen by strict quality control standards. Plus, our homes are in quiet communities close to local amenities such as shopping and entertainment, and near transit infrastructures affording convenient access to downtown Calgary.
To learn more, contact us online or speak to a representative at 403-265-8079.
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