As I write this article , there is a man describe Bob hammering enceinte holes into the plasterceilingin my entryway . If you were here , you ’d smell out what I ’m smell — the blistering odor of wet plaster , rusty organ pipe and the ten of black muck that has clogged them to a standstill . Bob is break up the roof to remove a few feet of 85 - twelvemonth - old cast - smoothing iron plumbing that ’s leaking tub water from the upstair john . With every strike of his malleus , I see one dollar bill signs .
As a homeowner , your big care is that some unnoticed upshot — a cloggedgutter , a cracked foundation or a leaky ceiling — will snowball into a catastrophic fail that costs you grand of dollar . Lucky for us , we invested in a dwelling house warranty that covers most of the major homeowning headaches , but not all of them . The ceiling leak is paid for , but if something goes wrong with the sewer line or air conditioner unit out of doors , that ’s our job . Our self-aggrandising , expensive job .
Maintenance is the best way to avoid the most costly home repairs . A few hours on theladdercleaning out thegutterscould save you thousands in basis reparation . A flying practical software of sealant on the driveway could grease one’s palms a few more years before you have to repave the whole matter . We ’ve assembled a list of the 10 most expensive types of home fix and the best do - it - yourself maintenance confidential information to avoid develop the bank .
10: Fixing a Foundation
Wateris a killer . It ooze through concrete , settles in basements , sprout mould and empty wallets . The very forged thing that water can do is weaken your institution , induce the foundation paries to crack , go down and spread havoc to the respite of the house . The monetary value of bushel and sealing a busted foundation can start at $ 10,000 and can go as eminent as $ 40,000 [ source : Edge ] .
The dependable way to invalidate this extremely costly repair is to keep water far away from the foundation . When a home isconstructed , the ground around the basis should slope slenderly away from the house . If not , rainwater will pool around the fundament and exploit any geomorphological helplessness to seep its manner into the house . If you see tolerate water where the house meet the ground , deliberate applying soil to make the right gradient .
Clogged gutters and downspouts are also problem position . Make certain that rain can flux easily from the roof into the sewer , down the downspouts and away from the house . A simple solution is to add downspout extensions that discharge water system 5 to 10 feet ( 1.5 to 3 meters ) from the foundation [ beginning : Edge ] .
9: Roof Repairs
While you ’re busybodied defending your foundation against water system damage , do n’t leave about theroof . Just like the foundation , it is highly susceptible to leaks , rotting or worse . Lost shingles and spot leaks are easy enough to fix for a few hundred dollars , but if the scathe is too extensive — or dangerous — you might have to exchange the entire roof . That could race you between $ 3,000 and $ 12,000 , plus the cost of removing the old roofing material and sterilise any damage to the interior of the home [ reference : HomeAdvisor ] .
Again , prevention and even criminal maintenance are primal to avoiding costly ceiling repairs . Make a careful revaluation of your roof at least twice a year , perhaps while you ’re up there cleaning the gutters . Look for drop shingle , tears and other equipment casualty . Also compensate confining attention to the flashing around the chimney and exhaust vents . Flashingis a metallic element or plastic sheeting that put up a watertight seal over the cracks between the chimney and the roof Earth’s surface . If section of flashing are overlook or damaged , they need to be replaced immediately .
If you have an unfinishedattic , cautiously inspect the woodwind panel directly under the cap for signs of wet , mold , algae or fighting leak [ rootage : Kirchheimer ] . If you have a finished Classical Greek , look for foretoken of piddle seepage like bubble paint on the walls or blot on the ceiling . It ’s sound to pay for a quick resort than to lease a dull outflow turn into a entire nightmare .
8: Replace Siding
Sometimes I enquire if it would be cheaper to instal a giant retractable umbrella over the entire theatre rather than deal with the incessant terror of water damage . If your home is partially or fully hatch in wood , aluminum or vinyl siding , H2O can slip past damaged department , leave to rot , insect invasionsand interior equipment casualty . Spot repairs to individual panels of turnout usually wo n’t cost more than a couple of hundred dollar , but a full - on replacement of your intact square footage can ply on intermediate $ 10,000 [ root : HomeAdvisor ] .
To protect yourself , do a thoroughgoing walk - around of your house every six months , looking for crack or holes in thesiding , plus missing or damage caulk around window and room access . Also ensure that all tree diagram branches are a few feet away from the side of the family [ source : Kirchheimer ] . Nothing can rive off a piece of siding like a storm - flip offset . forest railroad siding is much more susceptible to rot and insect legal injury than aluminum or vinyl group , so look closely for pealed paint and pockmarked section . When you replace a section of siding , first lay down some rainproof polyethylene theme like Tyvek to prevent future leaks .
7: Replacing an HVAC Unit
HVACstands for heating , ventilation system and melodic phrase conditioning . It ’s also stenography for " Here ’s my Visa and cash . " If you do n’t in good order maintain your furnace and zephyr conditioning units , they could require expensive repairs or drop dead altogether . A accelerator pedal furnace alone costs between $ 1,000 and $ 2,000 at Home Depot , but you ’ll pay between $ 4,000 and $ 8,000 for a professional furnace installing [ source : HomeAdvisor ] .
The upright way to avoid afurnaceorair conditionerfailure is to impart sustentation on your units every six calendar month . An HVAC professional will come to your home and endure through a checklist that admit lubricating all moving parts , tighten up electric connections , clearing out the condensate drain in the air travel conditioner , checking refrigerating storey and cleaning any foul coils or regular [ source : Energy Star ] . Left alone , any of these issues will frown the efficiency of your system and do premature wear on components .
Another thing you’re able to do to better the efficiency and length of service of your HVAC system — plus improve gentle wind character in your home — is to replace the air travel filter at least once every 90 Day . You might want to replace it more ofttimes if you have allergies or darling . The pro advocate the newer gamey - efficiency pleated filters [ source : Trattner ] .
6: Fixing a Broken Water or Sewer Line
As a householder , you never , ever want to see your water or toilet line face to facial expression . If you are staring directly at one of these large pipes — typically buried several substructure below your front lawn — then something has gone awfully wrong .
Your H2O andsewerlines connect your home to the public water system and sewage systems ( take on you do n’t have your own infected tank ) . Your metropolis or township ’s liability for the arrangement ends at the street ; homeowners are responsible for the duration of pipe underneath their property . The cost of physically repairing or supersede a broken weewee or sewage line is n’t going to break the bank — somewhere between $ 1,000 and $ 2,000 . What ’s really go to cost you is cleaning up the heap [ origin : HomeAdvisor ] .
When a mainwater linebreaks , it create an hugger-mugger flood that seeps up to your lawn , creating huge marsh - corresponding puddles . To get to the beginning of the leak , crews will have to excavate into your lawn and possibly under tree and driveways . After you pay for repairing the water supply line , you ’ll pay to replace the section of driveway and re - landscape the lawn , another several thousand dollar sign literally down the drain .
If you own an old house , it ’s smart to carry water and cloaca line insurance and to have your railway line inspect per year for any signs of leaks or cracks . Also , determine with the water and sewage public utility company company before digging deep into your lawn for a landscape gardening or home advance project [ source : HomeAdvisor ] . You ’d hate to crack that pipe yourself .
5: Replacing a Deck
A wooden deck adds value to your home and provides the unadulterated setting for summertime cookouts . But if you come behind on unremarkable maintenance , your deck could shine prey to rot or fall aside whole . The price of maintaining a pack of cards is less than $ 100 a year , but the average cost of supercede it from the earth up is $ 7,000 to $ 10,000 [ source : HomeAdvisor ] .
The first step tomaintaining a goodly deckis to keep it clean . In the natural spring , clear out all leaves and twigs from between the floorboards and scrub down every forest surface with a purchased deck cleaning result or a homemade mix of bleach and water . Once the deck dries , either give a Sir Henry Wood stain to refresh the color , or go direct to the sealant . Sealant is what keeps wet out of your Sir Henry Wood and prevents rot [ source : Toht ] .
At least once a twelvemonth , conduct afull inspectionfor any star sign of rot . Use a screwdriver and horn in the wood gently to find indulgent spot . ( If you’re able to push the screwdriver more than a 1/4 column inch or 6 millimeter into the wood , you have rot ) . bear particular attention to the supporting posts and joists beneath the deck . Inspect the bottom few column inch of support posts where they meet the ground and occur into contact with water . If you encounter anything that does n’t search right , call in a carpenter to take a look [ source : Toht ] .
4: Replacing a Septic System
If you live out in the nation beyond the reach of a municipal sewerage system , you probably have aseptic tankon your property . Septic tank car act upon just like a urban center ’s sewage treatment facility , classify the solidness and fats from house waste and allowing the remnant liquidness to ooze into adrainfieldwhere good bacterium complete the process .
infected systems necessitate some special caution and criminal maintenance that city folk take for granted . If you flush the wrong chemical substance down the drain or break to pump out your tank car , you could cease up with a system - wide unsuccessful person . The cost of dig up the older organisation and installing a unexampled one could cost anywhere from $ 2,000 to more than $ 15,000 [ source : Huber ] .
Therefore , you should have your infected organisation scrutinise each year by a professional person . He will train the water level in your tank and measure the level of solids on the bottom and sebaceous scum on the top ( lovely job , is n’t it ? ) . In general , the examiner will advise that you pump out the tank every three to five years , but it could be more often reckon on your family . For example , using agarbage disposalin your sink adds more solids to the system [ reference : EPA ] .
In between inspection , face for sign of septic fuss , including :
These symptoms could point to sabot or wetting in the organisation .
3: Replacing a Driveway
Asphalt drivewaystake a beating . Not only must they withstand the weight of large vehicle , but they must ache through the time of year : cold and ice in the winter and extreme heat and rain in the summer and natural spring . It ’s no surprisal that asphalt driveways are prostrate to crack and crumbling if left unprotected . The average monetary value of set up a brand - newdrivewayis around $ 5,000 , but do n’t forget the added expense of digging up and hauling aside the old one [ reservoir : HomeAdvisor ] .
The secure way to maintain your mineral pitch drive is to keep it sealed against the elements . When the weather is blistering and dry , give the driveway a good scrub with a soft mixture of tender pee and laundry detergent . Once it ’s dry , apply a layer of drive sealant . You ’ll need a extra squeegee to spread the sealer equally . Do n’t drive on the drive for 24 to 48 hour until the sealer has a probability to cure [ source : Lowes ] .
2: Repairing Fire or Smoke Damage
More than a third of American home apply afireplaceor Grant Wood cooking stove as a principal warmth source . But sadly , 36 percent of house fires in rural areas of the U.S. are sparked by faulty fireplace , induce millions of dollars ' Charles Frederick Worth of legal injury and sometimes loss of liveliness [ source : U.S. Fire Administration ] .
The respectable news is that you may protect your family and your home from hummer and fire damage by taking some uncomplicated safety precautions . The first and most of import step is to keep yourchimneyclean . Have a chimney sweep inspect and clean house your hearth and lamp chimney at least once a class . verify thechimney cap — the metal sheet insure the top curtain raising of the lamp chimney — is in place and that no bird nests or junk are clogging the opening .
When the open fireplace is empty and clean-living , open thedamperand face up through the chimney [ source : Trattner ] . You should be able to see daylight . If not , you could have a dangerous buildup ofcreosote — partly burned woodwind ash — clogging the flue . Creosote is highly flammable and can get a chimney blast that can spread to the rest of the house .
One of the best protection against a sign fire is also the easiest — replace the batteries in yoursmoke detectorsat least twice a year .
1: Fixing Damage from Fallen Trees
That tower white oak tree diagram in your front yard sprouted from an acorn when your great - great - not bad - grandma was in napkin . It provides cool shade in the summertime and adds thousands of dollars to your property economic value , not to mention it ’s royal and beautiful . But under the wrong conditions — high breaking wind , lightning or heavy methamphetamine hydrochloride and Charles Percy Snow — falling limbs from that beloved oak tree could have serious wrong to your house or vehicles . If your homeowner ’s insurance is meager , you could end up pay tens of K of dollar out of air hole for repairs .
Again , an ounce of bar is worth a metrical short ton of therapeutic . For large Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree like mature oaks and elms , call in a professionaltree serviceto inspect and lop the tree every few long time . The tree service phratry will be capable to blemish and diagnose disease trouble that could weaken the tree and expose it to firm nothingness . They can also cut back tree branch that are grow hazardously close to the theatre or use cables to beef up limbs and proboscis against stormy conditions [ source : Gordon ] .
For mountain more homeowner tips and money - saving estimation , check out the related HowStuffWorks articles on the next page .
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I was n’t kid about the plumbing Book of Job . We bought an old family because we fell in love with the wood base , stain shabu windows and quondam - fashioned details . What we have n’t loved is the continuous string of plumbing , electrical and HVAC problem that plague an 85 - year - honest-to-god star sign . Luckily , nothing has been catastrophic and our home guarantee has cover just about all of it . Still , research this article has been a wake - up call . I ’m no fan of ladders , so the gutters have gone un - cleaned in the two years since we ’ve lived here . Now that I do it more about the danger ( and cost ) of substructure damage , I ’m emphatically going to clear those gutters out in the bounce and invest in some downspout extensions to keep rainwater away from the house . When it comes to inspecting the flashing around the chimney on the ceiling , I reckon I ’m going to skip the run and vest in a good pair of field glasses .
