From a 1920s cottage or stately three - storyVictorianto a countrified rock farmhouse , a passel of us be intimate old houses for their sturdiness , way-out charm and connection to history . And fortuitously , there are a lot of revered old homes still bear all over the world . Nearly 14 pct of the roughly 137 million homes in the U.S. were work up before 1940 , according to the U.S. CensusAmerican Housing Survey . In place such as Somerville , Massachusetts , and Buffalo , New York , more than 60 percent of the housing stock dates back to Franklin D. Roosevelt ’s second term or earlier .
But old houses also have a potentially substantial downside , especially for unwary first - time homeowners , in that expensive problem are often tucked away inside the walls or under the floors . We do n’t intend just the predictable sustenance result , such as replacing theroof shinglesevery 20 years or the galvanizing or gas water heater once a decade . ( Here ’s a still - useful 2007 story on the average life-time expectancy of various abode ingredient , from the National Association of Home Builders . )
What we ’re talking about are those time bomb — such as an ancient drainage tobacco pipe , crumbling chimney , or disused wiring that is n’t up to the demands of today ’s uses — that can catch former house owner off guard and sometimes severely stress their household finances with four or even five - figure mend bills . While you ca n’t always invalidate these problems , it ’s wise to check as much as you could about the risks — and possibly even budget for renovation and upgrades to manoeuvre off trouble before it turn into an emergency .
How Old Is Old?
When it comes to houses , " old " can mean something different in various parts of the country , explains Reuben Saltzman , the owner and president ofStructure Tech , a home base review company in the Minneapolis - St. Paul , Minnesota , area that specialize in old homes . He ’s also a retiring regional chapter president of theAmerican Society of Home Inspectors , and a blogger on home criminal maintenance problem for theMinneapolis Star - Tribune .
In his part of Minnesota , " we have old houses built back in the later 1800s , " he explains . " But in Virginia , my friends say , ' You call that an old house ? ' " broadly speaking , though , the dividing line between old and not - so - honest-to-goodness seems to be the mid-20th century .
If you ’re worried about a house falling down just because it ’s old , though , such fears probably are unwarrantable . To the contrary , theatre build 80 or 100 years ago or longer actually tend to be more sturdily constructed than ones built more late , according to Saltzman . " Really sometime houses were broadly overbuilt , " Saltzman excuse . " They used a bunch more wood in former house that are still standing today . They were typically overengineered and a stack strong than they needed to be . "
Older house ' relative draftiness — which can lead to hefty utility bills — also helps explain their longevity . " New homes are tight , and do n’t be as much in terms of get-up-and-go efficiency , but they ’re far less indestructible , " Saltzman excuse . " There ’s a higher monetary value of extra Energy Department expense in an old dwelling house . But when we have to supplant rotted paries [ eventually ] , that is going to be more expensive . In Modern homes walls do n’t allow wet depart , so they do n’t have the same drying potential . honest-to-god houses would leak a lot of air through the walls to dry them out . "
But other component part of old sign of the zodiac often simply wear out after many years of employment or are no longer acceptable by today ’s safety measure .
Chimneys Are Vulnerable
" Just about every elderly household is going to have a Freemasonry lamp chimney , and there are two thing that happen , " Saltzman says . " One is the body structure itself . When water beget in , the mortar and bricks devolve . " That trouble is visible from the exterior during a everyday planetary house inspection before a cut-rate sale closing , but what ’s going on inside the chimney may be just as problematic .
The interior lining may have deteriorate as well , and the huge bulk of onetime chimney interior do n’t meet mod rubber requirements , if you ’re going to apply a home ’s fireplace or fireplaces . Detecting problems inside a lamp chimney requires what ’s known as a spirit level 2 inspection , in which a fibre - eye camera is run down through the structure .
" If you ’re buying a home , it ’s a good idea to have that done , " Saltzman says .
Fixing a chimney can cost you as slight as $ 1,000 , if all you need are some external repairs , Saltzman articulate . But if the chimney is really crumbling , you may have to rebuild it — a projection that can be $ 20,000 for an outside chimney on a three - story home . ( A caution : Actual prices across the nation , of course , will change . )
Plumbing Catastrophes
One common problem is that galvanized steel drains inside the house eventually eat and can no longer be clean but supersede them often means breaking into finished spaces in the sign , such as under cellar floors , agree to Saltzman . " If you ’ve got a house work up in the twenties and the pipes go steady back to then , I would consider [ the pipework ] at the end of its life by today , " he order . dig out a decrepit pipe that go out back to Prohibition and replacing it with a modern pipe can cost several thousand dollars .
" The other thing , which can go on to a abode of any age , but is more likely in old one , is have an issue with the drain line give-up the ghost out to the city sewerage , " Saltzman articulate . " That drain line go out to the street is possess by the homeowner . A circumstances of people are n’t aware of that . Fixing one can affect a yard dig or tearing up a street . It ’s unquestionably a four - figure expense . "
A family examiner will look for grounds of elusive galvanized brand drainpipe , but he is n’t pass to probe the business line that goes out to the sewerage . As with chimney Interior Department , you have to hire a specialist to do that with a fiber - optic camera .
In addition to drain tube , you may bleed into problems with the provision line coming into the home and the dispersion system , since those piping also corrode and deteriorate over time . " Where the diam scram smaller and pocket-sized over time , you cease up with small-scale weewee menstruation , " Saltzman says . Supply communication channel repairs commonly are a four - figure job , but can sometimes get into five figures , especially if there ’s a problem getting to the pipes .
Electrical Nightmares
If you ’ve got older - fashionedknob and tube wiring — the variety that is seldom , if ever , seen in menage built after 1940 , according to Salzman — you could have big problem . As thisarticlefrom Realtor.com describes , the technology dates back to the 1880s , and comprise of ceramic knob and tube that encase copper wiring . Unlike today ’s electrical wiring , node and tube systems miss a background telegram , so that an overloaded circuit can heat up up and get a fire . Some vintage wire in knob and thermionic valve system also utilizes asphalt - saturated cotton cloth or prophylactic , both of which degenerate over the years .
To make thing worse , there ’s a possibleness that one of an old house ’s premature owners play recreational electrician and modify the wiring to make it more serious . Knob and tube-shaped structure wiring " work out very well as long as nobody mess up with it , and the original initiation was intact , " Saltzman says . " However , in every one-time menage , somebody has in all likelihood mess with it and render to use today ’s wiring methods with the knob and underground wiring . "
" The big one is just covering it with insulating material , " Saltzman explicate . " This [ wiring ] was meant to be install in undetermined melodic line , to be able-bodied to dissipate hotness . When you eat up it in wall , it ca n’t fritter heat the way it should . "
Inept amateur also can press the wiring beyond its limitation . " you’re able to not land that type of conducting wire directly into a modern light habitue , " Saltzman say . " Those fixedness are rated for 194 degrees F ( 90 degrees C ) , but the pommel and tube wiring was rated for only 140 degree F ( 60 degree C ) . " A professional lineman , in line , would wed the old wiring into a junction boxful , and then bring raw wiring to the fastness so it would n’t exceed the older wiring ’s electrical capacity .
Environmental Hazards
sure-enough sign may also havelead body of water supplying lines , which present a wellness endangerment and replacing them can get expensive . And insulation containingasbestos , which release fibers that can make lung disease , is vulgar as well . The U.S. Environmental Protection Agencyrecommendshaving your home inspect for asbestos by a especially trained asbestos professional , and then independently hiring a 2nd contractor to really remove the stuff . Asbestos removal can be expensive and the price can vary consort to region .
Another risk is the possibility of get an old , forgottenfuel tankburied in your yard , which finally may contaminate your stain or even get into groundwater . Saltzman enounce he ’s found dozens of such tank over the years , and that it typically costs a duad of thousand dollars to dispatch them .
Budgeting and the Bottom Line
Though the cost of doctor some of these problems can seem daunting , it can be more manageable if you budget for base sustainment and repairs . One approaching is to put aside about 1 percent of a house ’s cost each class for such costs . For a $ 500,000 home , for example , you would budget $ 5,000 each class for maintenance . Another approach shot is to budget $ 1 per square infantry ( 0.092 straight meters ) every year . For really big repairs , you also may be able to obtain ahome equity loanto finance costs .
You also can get leads on next problems by carefully studying the home examiner ’s report that you get before you close on a house . " Some flaws are more crucial to cook than others , " Saltzman tell . " The story should show the critical stuff and nonsense . "
