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I just find it kind of baffling. The homes in our neighborhood are approaching 10 years old. Things are starting to need to be done maintance wise. I'm in a very nice neighborhood with $400,000 plus homes. I have one neighbor to the left that has repeatedly painted over wood rot around window sils about 4 times. That entire house is in desperate need of entire home painting and wood rot repair. That owner sold that house and bought a house for $700,000. My other neighbor just powerwashed for the 1st time in 10 years and that home is in desperate need of painting and wood rot repair too. All the homes on the street need painting (faded, streaking paint, and visible wood rot). We maintain our home. We painted at year 8, we powerwash every year, we stain our decks every 2 years, etc. Is it that people don't value home maintenance, or has the construction quality decreased to where homes start really looking aged after only 10 yrs?
Or maybe they don't have the money to paint the exterior. Although people tend not to openly admit such things in public, very few families have the $5k - $10k free and clear to invest.
Right now our house desperately needs to be painted but I have a son in college and that's where the extra cash is flowing. I keep the yard clean and mowed and remove significant debris when necessary, but otherwise the truly non-essentials will have to wait.
Too many people stretch to buy the most expensive home that they can. With wages stagnant for many since the recession, these homeowners' hopes in having more money in the future to maintain their homes has often not panned out.
That makes sense, kids are really expensive. I figured at this price point it would be a non issue. Where I grew up, you can buy a really nice home for $150,000. To me, $400,000 plus homes are very pricey but maybe finances are an issue at all price points.
My question would be why is there wood rot in 10 year old houses? Especially if the wood was originally painted. A decent paint job should last 10 years under most circumstances.
My question would be why is there wood rot in 10 year old houses? Especially if the wood was originally painted. A decent paint job should last 10 years under most circumstances.
10 years in this area? No. Usually 8 years. Most of our homes have white trim. Usually needs to be cleaned every year or two and if that isn't done, it may need to be painted in 6 years to 8 years.
I have lousy Masonite. I keep it cleaned and I have to re-paint every 8 years. That is great for Masonite.
I could probably get by with having fiber cement painted every 10 years but no my neighbors either!
With the hot sun and all the trees in the area, many people just don't have their homes cleaned. And if you hire a cheap power washer, you have to be super careful because if they hit the windows too hard, they will break the seals.
And if you think vinyl is the answer, check out those homes with green crud on them! I'm not sure why people don't use a power washer!!!
I think this is kind of an interesting topic. We too live in a similar neighborhood although the houses are only 1-2 years old. I am already thinking about when I need to stain my deck, when to paint etc. I am in my fifties and have grown up as a DIYer and lived all of my adult life "maintaining" one home or another. A family member who is in her early thirties is moving in to a house more expensive than mine at the end of the year....this beloved family member has no idea about how to maintain a house. The last house they lived in for five years was not maintained as it should have been and they paid for that when they sold it. I just think in today's society people "pay" for any maintenance that is done and if someone isn't there to tell them what/when to do it - they don't! I just think in today's busy working world people don't take the time to "think" ...oh I need to paint the house, or it is time to stain the deck - they don't have any idea how long paint or stain lasts or when it should be done so they don't do it. Do they notice? Sure....but do they take the time (and money) to rectify it - I am afraid they may not! My beloved family member is basically going to be put on the same or similar maintenance schedule as my house as I would hate to see them let an expensive house go downhill due to lack of attention.
We bought a resale in a 600k plus neighborhood and we have discovered over the past couple of years owning it that the former owners did very little to maintain it.
It has had only minor issues. It's built very well. But, we've had to play catch up on issues you'd think people would keep current.
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Same in my neighborhood. Even simple driveway pressure washing is apparently too much to ask. One guy - I kid you not - on the corner of my street entry (the only way in) literally had a yard of weeds until we all complained enough to get them to do something about it. He's been living there at least 15 years!
(But, I had a small tire trailer hidden behind my trash cans years ago and the HOA was on my back about it constantly...)
I think that when brand new homes are built, the paint is thinned and sprayed on. The builder is not gonna invest in very expensive paint or even 2 coats of paint in most cases. Brand new homes are gonna need a paint job in 6 to 8 yrs. if you don't get that paint job, you will have wood rot. It's cheaper to paint your home than to wait till you have extensive wood rot and have to replace all your trim work. I guess when we sell our home, the new owners will be very happy that we kept up with maintance. We are staying put for a while though.
Last edited by mjohnson185; 07-02-2015 at 08:21 AM..
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