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Mom had a friend that told her she needs to replace the gas hot water heater every 10 to 12 years... told her it would be a waste and since I had put a pan under it that is piped to daylight and leakage that might occur would not do damage.
It's now 34 years old and looks great... nothing lasts forever but listening to her friend would have resulted in unnecessary expense by a factor of at least 2.
Our house was built in 1980 and has the same boiler. We have gas heat and have never had any trouble. A home inspection was done 3 years ago when we thought we might want to sell and had an offer. That did not reveal anything about need to replace it other than mentioning that it is old. A few months ago we had a boiler company look at it and give us an estimate for replacing it with a new one. the guy said it is in good shape and and said don't mess with it, which surprised us.
We are again thinking of moving to a condo and will def. be putting the house on the market in a couple of years. I feel that replacing it now will keep us worry free if we travel in the winter, and also having new boiler would enhance the value of the house when we try to sell it. My husband feels why spend about 6 to 10K when it is not nescessary.
any opinion?
I would also appreciate if there are any particular brands you can recommend, personal experience, price, quality etc.
Twenty years is nothing for a well built and maintained boiler. They aren't like washing machines or other appliances you just replace when "tired" of how the thing looks.
Long as it is working leave it alone. Especially if planning to sell in a few years. You'll never recoup the ROI and it won't change the selling price.
I would replace it, if I were you and it won't break your bank.
We just bought a house. They updated the electrical and ran all new wires, and put in new GOOD replacement windows, and choose a 40 year architectural roof. They installed a radon mitigation system. They did EVERYTHING RIGHT, BUT: did NOT replace the 11 year old nat gas forced air furnace which is looking worse for the wear. We were disappointed they did everything else so well, but ignored that prominent feature. Here in the NE, it is IMPORTANT in -10 degree F weather to have a working heating system,and we are NOT looking forward to replacing it so soon after buying the house!
When we sell ours it has a new furnace as of 5 years ago.
SO 1} if you sell,it will help your case, 2} if you leave home you will feel a bit more secure.
Mom had a friend that told her she needs to replace the gas hot water heater every 10 to 12 years... told her it would be a waste and since I had put a pan under it that is piped to daylight and leakage that might occur would not do damage.
It's now 34 years old and looks great... nothing lasts forever but listening to her friend would have resulted in unnecessary expense by a factor of at least 2.
My gas water heater, an AOSmith, was installed in 1979. Still works great. My oil fired, Carrier, hot air furnace was installed in 1986 and blasts out heat like it was new. If it ain't broke don't fix it.
On a side note I had an interesting experience this summer. I had a small damp spot on the floor by the water heater. This went on for a couple days until I started to really inspect the area around the heater. I had an extremely small water leak in a supply line to the kitchen sink. At first I thought it was a cobweb but when I stuck my finger in it's path it was the tiniest little spray of water I've ever seen. Had a plumber fix it. I'll try a lot of home repairs but I don't do water under pressure and electricity.
I'm also of the opinion if it ain't broke don't fix it. If it's in fine shape and working as it should, compared to looking and acting like it's on its last legs, then I'd take that boiler company's advice and leave it be.
When you are getting ready to sell you could purchase a Home Warranty as part of the marketing plan, or buy one if after a potential buyer expresses a concern about the boiler. This is a lot cheaper than putting out $6,000-$10,000 unnecessarily.
It's hard to say if a brand new boiler would enhance the value of your house enough to recoup the cost ... all depends on the price range, location, going market at the time.
But if you have concerns that in a couple of years the boiler might be deemed "ancient" and that would be a constant worry or if you'd fret while you were away for extended periods of time, then do it now.
I bought my first house from my brother. When he bought it the inspector told him to replace the boiler. When he sold it to me 6 years later the boiler was still working. When I sold it 14 years later it was still working fine.
Our house was built in 1980 and has the same boiler. We have gas heat and have never had any trouble. A home inspection was done 3 years ago when we thought we might want to sell and had an offer. That did not reveal anything about need to replace it other than mentioning that it is old. A few months ago we had a boiler company look at it and give us an estimate for replacing it with a new one. the guy said it is in good shape and and said don't mess with it, which surprised us.
We are again thinking of moving to a condo and will def. be putting the house on the market in a couple of years. I feel that replacing it now will keep us worry free if we travel in the winter, and also having new boiler would enhance the value of the house when we try to sell it. My husband feels why spend about 6 to 10K when it is not nescessary.
any opinion?
I would also appreciate if there are any particular brands you can recommend, personal experience, price, quality etc.
Your husband is correct. My cousin is still using the original gas boiler from a house built in '55. Sure, it's not efficient. But there's no reason for you to worry about traveling in winter with your current boiler.
Since you are concerned about being away, have someone check on your house while you're away.
About resale. Seems like things like this are sort of like roofs. My current roof is over its life expectancy and not a single problem. We've had honest roofers go up there and look at it. All good. Whew.
At the same time, I fully expect that whenever I go to sell many buyers will want a new roof or will want to take off from the list price for putting one on themselves. And then there'll be some talk about the type roof I might put on the type they'd put on since now they have a chance to get a home with a new roof. And...the cost.
Yes, there is always someone in my house to take care of the pets, leaks, etc. etc. whenever we are away.
Then there's the theory of once burned, twice shy. My friend just sold a listing to another friend where the boiler broke just before closing. (Makes it real.) But they made arrangements. The buyer was not dependent on the boiler anyway because he was going to put in a different system. He had to do it sooner now. There were the three estimates and it all worked out.
I have had people take off a sale price a lot more than the repair would cost. A buyer will say they will take off the full price a specific amount for this specific thing. That sometimes annoys me, especially when the buyer counters with an unrealistic high price for the repair/replacement. Sometimes, I have said I'll do it myself and you'll pay full price then?
If you wait till you sell, and your system is typical in your area so that no other choice would be likely, you could replace then or wait to see what a perspective buyer says. If you wait and the buyer wants a replacement, see what would be the ramifications of your replacing it vs the buyer replacing it after closing. Then see what you're comfortable with.
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