The engineers of Carson Dunlop & associates Ltd. have conducted over 50,000 home inspections and haven't found a perfect house yet. Since perfection is not an option, what should you expect?
If you strip away the cosmetics, a house is made up of the structure, roof, exterior envelope and the "systems" of the house. The "systems" are things like heating, plumbing, electrical and cooling. 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".
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 and you average 1% per year. It's incredible but this rule is not far off even for very expensive and very inexpensive houses.
A homebuyer should arrive at the home inspection with realistic expectations. If you are buying a 12-15 year old home, let's face it, you may need a new roof covering. If you are buying a 60 year old home, you may have to update some plumbing. Don't let this scare you away from a perfectly good home.
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 expectations in every category.
Roof | |
Conventional asphalt shingles | 12 - 15 years |
Top quality asphalt shingles | 20 - 30 years |
Low slope shingles | 10 - 15 years |
Slate | 40 - 200 years |
Tar and gravel roof (built up roof) | 12 - 20 years |
Single ply roof membrane | 15 - 20 years |
Roll roofing | 5 - 10 years |
Exterior | |
Gutters and downspouts | 20 - 30 years |
Copper gutter and downspouts | 50 - 100 years |
Aluminum siding | 50+ years |
Wood siding | Maintenance Dependant |
Stucco | Maintenance Dependant |
Exterior paint | 4 - 6 years |
Deck | 10 - 20 years |
Asphalt driveway surface | 10 - 20 years |
Driveway sealer | 1 - 3 years |
Concrete driveway | 30 - 40 years |
Garage door opener | 8 - 12 years |
Structure | |
Termite treatment | 10 - 20 years |
Heat | |
Conventional furnace | 20 - 25 years |
Mid-efficiency furnace | 20 - 25 years |
High-efficiency furnace | Unknown, likely > 20 years |
Cast iron boiler | 35 - 50 years |
Steel boiler | 20 - 30 years |
Copper tube boiler | 10 - 20 years |
Humidifier | 5 - 10 years |
Electronic air filter | 10 - 20 years |
Cooling | |
Air conditioning condenser | 10 - 15 years |
Plumbing | |
Galvanized steel supply pipe | 40 - 50 years |
Copper pipe | Indefinite |
Toilet | 30 - 40 years |
Sink | 12 - 20 years |
Faucet | 10 - 15 years |
Whirlpool bath | 15 - 25 years |
Shower pan | Unpredictable |
Submersible pump for well | 10 - 15 years |
Suction or jet pump | 10 - 15 years |
Water softener | 5 - 15 years |
Sump pump | 2 - 7 years |
Water heater | 8 - 12 years |
Tile bathtub enclosure | 10 - 50 years |
Interior | |
Paint | 5 - 10 years |
Windows | Maintenance Dependant |