As a homeowner, it can be frustrating to spend so much time and money to keep your house in good condition. Repairs and maintenance are often the biggest expenses people have. If you want to reduce these costs, you should move towards making your house a low-maintenance one.
Modern technology and materials allow you to make your dwelling more durable so that you don’t have to worry about repairs unless for major issues. Here are some changes that you can make with little to no problems.
Change Your Roof
If your home is old, your roof is likely suffering from leaks and cracks. This is likely causing you issues so it would be a good idea to solve everything in one move. Replace your roof with a metal one and you can solve a lot of your roofing problems. Many roofing materials are durable but sheet metal beats all of them. Combined with a proper coating, a metal roof can be a great economical choice.
The high durability of metal roofs allows them to last for nearly a hundred years. You will only need to hire professional metal roof repair experts if something devastating destroyed part of the roof. The only other comparable materials are slate and stone. But compared to metal, those are expensive and heavy on the house’s structure. Metal roofs are good enough to get the job done.
Choose Hardwood Flooring
If you end up vacuuming your house a lot, you may want to change from carpeted floors to wooden ones. The main reason that you want hardwood flooring is that you don’t have to use much effort to clean it. A simple wipe and it should be good to go.
Carpets are much more difficult to work with. You can expect them to be a source of a lot of your dust worries as they absorb all the dust in the air. Allergens and dust mites also find a home in them. If you have a pet, their fur will catch on the carpeting. Finally, if you spill a liquid, it will easily stain it. This would require some serious repairs. So while carpeting might be comfortable on the feet, hardwood floors beat them on the maintenance needs.
Install A Central Vacuum
Dust will still be a problem, no matter what floor you use. Instead of pulling out the vacuum cleaner every time, you can make it easier for yourself by installing a central vacuum. This piece of equipment sounds complex but it simply centralizes vacuum operations. You have the vacuum’s suction in your basement while there are pipes laid around your entire hose. When you need to do a cleaning, you simply connect a vacuum hose to one of the nearby ports and start cleaning. The main advantage of this is that it is more than your ordinary vacuum which allows you to handle the more stubborn debris. It also does not require frequent cleaning and emptying. It also has minimal costs.
Upgrade Your Windows
Windows are may seem easy to maintain with its glass components but the window frames are your main problem. Wooden frames are very prone to rot and are very vulnerable to changes in weather. Not all glass is the same either. Some models provide better energy-efficiency. The best choice right now is fiberglass window frames. These frames can last 50 years and will never warp or rot. This is mainly because of the fiberglass. The material also helps with improving energy efficiency since it will never allow a draft in. It also can look like wood with some smart painting choices. It is a bit expensive but it pays for itself in the long run.
Replace Your Fences
The traditional fencing around many homes is the white picket fence. But wood can crack or splinter. Additionally, it will require regular treatment to prevent any wood rot from happening. If you want to install fencing and ignore it most of the time, you can choose to get vinyl fencing. Made of PVC material, you can purchase fencing that looks very much like white picket fences but is much more durable. Vinyl can last a hundred years with minimal damage to it. Your main concern would be staining from algae and mildew but you can clean that off.
A low-maintenance house means that you will be calling the repairman less often. But you still need to be careful. Low maintenance does not mean there’s no need for maintenance at all. Do regular inspections to see whether your home’s various parts are still in good condition. Proper treatment should also ensure that your home does not need that much maintenance.
