Aging homes

[Mendalla]

It seems to me that as we age, so do our homes. I've owned my present residence for nineteen years as of next month. So far this year, I've had to shore up the step to the deck and the deck boxes. We are now thinking of replacing the deck. We've replaced several windows in recent years and the door from the kitchen to the deck and the kitchen floor had to be replaced a few years ago (water was leaking under the door's transom and the floorboards near the door were rotting out. There's other little things that keep coming up, too.

So, do houses age along with us? Any stories or advice about caring for an aging home?

 

[BetteTheRed]

Furnaces, roofs, eavestroughs, basement dampness, replacing decks/wood features, maintaining gardens/lawns (I mowed down dandelion flowers, grape hyacinths and star of bethlem today, mainly revealing creeping something yellow and bugleweed. I'm not sure there's much grass left.)

 

[BetteTheRed]

Oh, and always the chance of coming across a stray piece of asbestos.

 

[BetteTheRed]

Fences. I have a couple of potential weaknesses in my fence/gate systems at present. Need a fence guy...

And then there's trees. That maple's looking real bad, but the little oak sapling I planted last fall looks pretty good.

 

[Ritafee]

Today we moved my 96 year old father in law out of his home that he had built in 1948 and has lived in since 1949 - 70 years - we have our work cut out for us to get it ready for sale!

 

[DaisyJane]

Five years ago we bought a cottage built in the 60s. We are the second owners. Let's just say we also have our work cut out for us.

 

[Mendalla]

Five years ago we bought a cottage built in the 60s. We are the second owners. Let's just say we also have our work cut out for us.

The main building on my family's cottage lot dates to, IIRC, the late thirties or early forties. It's been renovated many times, but the core goes back to when Grandad first bought the property.