Why should you have a durable home?

Have you ever had an old junker car that you were always afraid of it breaking down?

I bought my first car when I was 17 for $250. It was a 1981 Toyota Corolla Sedan with a 1.8 litre engine and standard transmission. It was already almost 20 years old when I bought it and as soon as I started driving it the starter went (which made learning to drive a standard even more fun as every time I stalled it it was harder to start). I almost always had to fix something to keep it going (which I enjoyed). Finally, after I had driven it for several years it had had enough and developed an electrical short that I couldn’t find and I had to retire it.

When we own an older car we know that many of the components are getting close to wearing out and repairs may be required frequently.   

New cars can appeal to us as they look nice and require very few repairs. The only work we usually have to do is basic maintenance.

We have the same desires for our homes.

We want our home to look nice… not run down. It is always our desire for our homes to just work right and not require any repairs or maintenance. We want to be able to just move in and enjoy our home… not spend all of our spare time maintaining and repairing it.

Newer homes often require little to no repair and generally look better… unless you are going for the look of a classic, older home that can’t quite be duplicated in a newer home.

Old homes can look great too and require very few repairs but this takes work and staying ahead of the game. It takes repairing and maintaining items before they wear out beyond repair. This requires an understanding of the materials of your home.

There are many components in a home that will wear out and require replacement eventually. Maintaining them will extend their lives but their days are still numbered. Failing to replace old materials and components when they can no longer function properly may result in other issues. For example: old windows, roof, or deteriorating cladding may fail resulting in water leaks and damage to both the structure and contents of your home.

Most people know that their home will require work to maintain.They may not realize however exactly how much maintenance is required or know enough about maintaining their home to stay ahead of the maintenance curve… to stay in the zone of maintaining and not sliding into the zone of repair and replacement due to improper maintenance.

Whether your home is new or old there will eventually be some maintenance required. It is important to plan for it and manage it properly.

Maintaining your home is great but what does durability have to do with it?

What is a Durable Home?

Durability is the ability to withstand wear or damage.

Having a more durable home means that the materials, and systems in your home are designed to require less maintenance and last longer before replacement.

Less maintenance means less time, money, and stress .

Durable Home Construction

Another part of durability is to ensure that your home is constructed to perform properly.

Your home can be made of the best materials but if it isn’t constructed and detailed properly having the best materials doesn’t make it much better than an old shack.

Your home must be structurally safe and manage the flow of water, air, vapour, and heat between the indoors and outdoors.

To put it simply, a major role of the exterior shell (walls, roof, foundation/floors) is to keep the indoors and outdoors separate.

A failure of your home to properly manage water and air flow can lead to major problems including water damage and mould.