As Houses Age

[gMike]

My house has reached the age where lots of original "equipment" has seen better days.  I suspect lots of folks go through this with houses.  So far I've replaced the water heater (2nd time), furnace /AC, Shower control, several faucets, hose bibs, and I'm sure there is more to come.  I suspect the washer and dryer are looking to retire shortly, as well.  Not a big deal but it sure seems to come in bunches.

[Robert Adams]

Yup and as you replace that older stuff the new stuff doesn't last as long and requires replacement even more often especially appliances hence buy the cheapest that does what you want cause the expensive one has the same junk parts under the hood....  
      
       AC  here is a given at 10 years you should be getting ready to replace it. Replace hose bibs with ball valves and never again. 

        Going to replace my parents water heater as the control board on top is flakey and almost the price of a new water heater and it's well over 10 years old.


    But yeah it seems to go in batches.

[Bob10]

I know your pain I bought 5 houses all built in 89.  So far 5 new roofs, 2 new HVAC systems, all have had WH replaced, all electrical outlets in 4 of them and a total of 3 new baths oh and one entire kitchen.  They keep me busy on occasion

[EdL]

It's called "builder grade".

HTH.

Ed

[Gary G™]

The people who design so-called 'green' appliances don't account for how much more frequently their junk fills the landfills.
I bet when measured in the total cycle, this 'green' stuff is much less environmentally friendly!

[Robert Adams]

The people who design so-called 'green' appliances don't account for how much more frequently their junk fills the landfills.
I bet when measured in the total cycle, this 'green' stuff is much less environmentally friendly!

            Exactly. Ever wonder why electronics fail faster now especially cell phones and others with surface mount components... It's because of the EU and their ROHS requirement. Once you take the lead out of solder you are left with a horrible product that doesn't solder well and it fractures instead of flexing. So we have way more stuff going in the landfill but it's ok cause there is a tiny bit less lead in it. 

          The tree huggers can't see the Forrest for the trees. It's all about what they can change quickly and they don't look at the big long term picture, look into the change in refrigerants... We ended up with products way worse for the enviorment than we used to have and with the same material issues as the solder ie leaky coils due to higher pressures so more leakage of an extremely bad greenhouse gas while the old stuff was nearly harmless as it could never make its way up in the atmosphere because it's heavier than air....

[Bob10]

I have to tell you I never have an appliance repaired once out of warranty as the cost of repair makes replacement a better option.  I just tossed out a stove my friend offered to fix for free he said it needed a new board.  I asked how much is a board he says $250, I say for a few hundred more I get a new stove that doesn't need to be cleaned before the next tenant moves in and the woman of the house is happy as hell knowing it is new

[Robert Adams]

I have to tell you I never have an appliance repaired once out of warranty as the cost of repair makes replacement a better option.  I just tossed out a stove my friend offered to fix for free he said it needed a new board.  I asked how much is a board he says $250, I say for a few hundred more I get a new stove that doesn't need to be cleaned before the next tenant moves in and the woman of the house is happy as hell knowing it is new

         Yup.  Our dish washer is only a couple years old and the pump died a year ago. Well same day amazon delivery and running again (and cheapest price too). Then a few months later the pump wouldn't shut off. Well the old pump was pulling too many amps and burned the contacts of the relay on the board. $5 shipped and 4 relays delivered. 2 minutes of desoldering and soldering and it's back up and running. 

           However the board would cost nearly as much as the dishwasher if I replaced instead of repaired it.

[daddo]

I still annually check many hvac systems I installed 20-24 years ago. Never had to clean the indoor units since they all have the 5" thick pleated filter. The newer systems won't last as long- sorry.

 Keeping appliances serviced and cleaned helps a lot.

As far as my old house- I think it "all" needs replacing- tired of working on it all the time!

[vernonator]

Ours hits 12yrs this May - walking around while doing yardwork this past weekend, it needs painted pretty badly in some spots. Heating element went on the dryer (that we bought when we moved in) and the washer of the set is long gone (Whirlpool Duet - never again). I also wonder when the WH is going to let go and am contemplating a pre-emptive strike on it and moving to an On-Demand unit.