What Home Maintenance Updates Should You Tackle Every 10 Years?
As a homeowner, there are lots of home improvement and preventative maintenance projects that you can tackle to keep your home in optimal condition. After a decade, you may notice that even with regular home maintenance, your house is starting to show some signs of wear and tear. We’ve put together our top recommendations for projects that you should tackle to improve your home at the 10-year mark.
Update Your Flooring
The flooring in your home takes a beating daily, especially if you add kids and pets into the mix. A great home maintenance project to tackle every 10 years is to update your flooring, particularly your carpet. Over time, your carpet will lock in stains and smells, and wear patterns will develop in the high traffic areas. You might also want to tackle having your hardwood floors refinished and tiles regrouted at the 10-year mark.
Paint Inside & Out
Another home improvement project that should be taken care of at the 10-year mark is to paint both inside and out. Inside you will want to give everything a fresh coat including ceilings and trim. Outside, a fresh coat of paint on your garage, front door, shutters and wood siding will improve your homes’ curb appeal ten-fold. At this point, you might also want to consider re-staining, painting or sealing your wooden structures such as a deck or fencing. This will help to prolong the lifespan of your outdoor elements. In terms of project execution, painting indoors can be a DIY project, however, we recommend hiring a professional for outdoor items that require working at heights.
If you do decide to tackle some of the more tricky outdoor home improvement projects yourself, or are working on challenging spaces indoors, remember to keep your safety top of mind and take the necessary precautions.
Consider Replacing Appliances
Home maintenance isn’t just about taking care of things that are broken, it’s about preventative maintenance too. Most major appliances carry a lifespan of about 8-10 years. At this time, you should consider replacing items like your dishwasher, kitchen appliances and washer or dryer. Plus, each year appliances become more and more energy efficient, so your new appliances will pay for themselves in the long run through lowering your utility costs.
Re-caulk Where Necessary
Re-caulking items like your bathtub, shower and sinks are a great preventative maintenance action. You do not want to wait until you have a leak before tackling this home improvement project. Updating the caulking in high moisture areas is a prime way to prevent water damage and prolong the life of your bathroom. You might also wish to consider re-caulking windows and doors to help shield your home from external elements.
Have Your Water Heater Inspected
Whether you are renting your water heater or own it, the 10-year timeframe is a great time to have your water heater inspected. At this point, many will have reached the end of their lifespan but as a bigger spend, it’s optimal to start with a simple inspection to decide whether a replacement is warranted or not.
Tackling this 10-year checklist and keeping up with regular preventative home maintenance will keep your home in top shape for years to come!