When you are growing old in your home, you don’t realise your home is getting old too! It is always good to keep an eye on the damages that happen to your home due to years of use to the structure or the interior of the house. There are many ways your house could get damaged and the main culprits are water and termites. They cause more damage to the house than wear and tear. Your house may be old but you can always keep it well maintained and looking fresh. If there is no structural damage to the house, the rest of the factors on how your house looks after few years depend entirely on how you maintain the house.
One important thing to do is not to get slack on small repairs around the house. The small leaks and breaks will create a huge problem down the line if we ignore it for a while. It is like looking after a person’s health. If you maintain yourself well and take care of small problems before it becomes huge, you can live a longer and healthier life. This is the same with your house too. You should not postpone repairs of your house especially when the house is older. Attend to minor problems immediately so that it can be easily fixed.
If your house is somewhere with extreme weather or you get a lot of rain or snow, it is most likely that you will need to replace the roofing of the house after certain years. You have not replaced your roofing for 20 years? Have it checked with a professional and it is most likely that you will need to do it now before you start getting leakages. The same way the plumbing and electrical systems need to be regularly maintained in order to avoid major repairs or replacements. Heating and cooling system of the house also need to be periodically checked. Don’t take any chances with either of these repairs and get it done immediately once you see a problem. Replace the lights and bulbs of your home to the energy saving newer ones to save on electricity.
Once you see flakes of paint coming off the wall, it is an indication that the house needs to be repainted. It not only makes the house look fresh but also gives an opportunity to seal off any wetness seeping in.
Take special care of the flooring of your house. If you have wooden floors, you might need to do some simple cleaning and waxing to retain the freshness and to make it last longer. Similarly, you might need to polish your wooden cabinets and doors and windows to make it last longer. The hinges of the doors, cabinets and windows come off very often or get broken and the window or doors are left hanging which will make them damaged very fast.
If there are metal fixtures in your home, make sure they do not get rusted. Painting them every now and then should solve the problem. You might need to replace some of them which are very old and broken but such small repairs will benefit you in the future.
Another important aspect is sustainability. Try to look after your house in a way that doesn’t harm the environment. Aim to use clean energy sources to power your house and always remember to turn off your lights. That will save both your money and the environment. The future of our earth is dependent on sustainable energy infrastructure – and while you might not be able to do everything perfectly – you need to start somewhere.
If you are renovating your old house, make sure that they do not make any damage to the structure of the already old house. Basically, if you maintain your house regularly and don’t postpone minor bur urgent repairs, you can make your house looks fresh and new even after many years of living there!
