I counted 26 items in this chart where we find the estimates to be too low/conservative. We keep our things in good condition/do not live a ramshackle life.
Modern vinyl wrapped windows fail around 10-15 years, but it is apparently easy to pop out the glass and replace it.
I found this chart meaningless. Our home is 70 years old. Some items are original! Granted, things are not made like they used to be. However, some items we have replaced and in general, they still last much longer than indicated on the charts. Some âugly outâ (if you follow trends) before they wear out, but Iâm assuming that was not a factor used.
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I remember years (decades) ago reading that people buy a new couch on average every 7 years.
7 years? Sometimes it takes me that long to make a decision!!! 
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I remember as a teenager being horrified at the age of my parentsâ couch. It was almost 20 years old!! How embarrassing!!!
Fast forward 35+ years⊠2 of our couches are 20-21 years old. We replaced the 3rd one last year
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Our couches are by Stressless and are about 15 years old. They are still going strong. No desire to update or upgrade!
I read somewhere that people are moving every 7 years on average, so maybe thatâs where ânew furniture every 7 yearsâ is coming from?
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Our couches are 25 years old and look great. The ones in my family room Iâve had new slipcovers made but otherwise they have held up. They were not inexpensive when I bought them. In our kitchen the cooktop and oven are 25 years old, the dishwasher, microwave and refrigerator have been replaced.
Windows and roof are both 25 years. Our windows look great. The only one replaced was due to a freak bird hitting it.
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Windows should not be something that need to be replaced on a regular basis. There are ânewâ developments of large supposedly high end homes in my town where the builders cheaped out and the 20 year old windows are failing, rotting away. Thatâs ridiculous.
When we sell our house I hope buyers appreciate that we had the windows replaced with high quality fiberglass exterior windows, not cheap looking, feeling, and lasting vinyl. They were also installed as if it were a new build with proper flashing, not inserts that rely on the existing waterproofing of the opening. The former ones were 120+ year old originals and 60+ year old drafty inappropriate picture windows. Replacing them was not so ridiculous.
The leather sofas we just got rid of this year were close to 30 years old. They were high end when we got them, and they still had a fair amount of life in them when we got rid of them. We had other sofas that were cloth, and they didnât last against our cats. We keep our appliances until they âdie.â We had to replace our washer recently after maybe 15 years, and our dryer is still going. Fridge lasted maybe 15 or so years.
We definitely donât replace things according to the schedule suggested.
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I got rid of a 25 year old sofa and loveseat after my bathroom remodeler commented, âMy grandma has that same setâ.
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Our roof is 87 years old- slate. We have it inspected, have had a couple pieces replaced here and there. Not sure I appreciated this when we bought the home.
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We had to have our then 100 y.o. slate roof replaced. It was a leaking nightmare. We had several roofers come out to work on it, and just couldnât figure out the problem. We had a gigantic bowl in the attic under the problematic spot. (Note the roof had been repaired/asphalt paved over in several spots over the years before we got it.) Sometimes tropical storm/hurricane would pass over, and the bowl would be bone dry. Other times, a sprinkle would fill it up. Or vice versa!
One roofer told us slate has varying degrees of quality and they last 100 years. I figure ours wasnât the best and it was at 100 years.
We could only find 2 contractors who would even give us a price to remove it. There was no way we could afford to replace it with slate. We had to take out a loan to replace it with regular shingles. And this is why I wouldnât have bought the house if it was in the historic district. We are 0.5 mile outside!
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Donât forget septic fields. The average life is 30 years. Ask me how I know.
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We have a 98 yr old slate roof that is still beautiful and with new flashing and a new tile occasionally added, is doing well. Chimney repair guy coming next week and will have to get on the roof for the repair. He was a referral from the roofing company, but I am still nervous.
Our roof was old growth cedar shakes. It looked absolutely ugly but would have lasted a few more years beyond its 25 years. There was no way we would have replaced it with another cedar shakes roof! The shakes are not made as they used to be made. Metal roof it was. Says 40 years manufacturerâs warranty but how many manufacturers actually have lasted that long? The roof will likely outlast the maker. In our climate, I would never touch any roofing with only a 20 year lifespan. They would be lucky to last 10-15 at most. A 40 year roof would likely be fine for 20.
I suspect ours may be going on 50 years. Iâm hopeful someone replaced it, but weâve lived here 20 years, so I doubt it.
Heading toward 50 years on our field. We have replaced the distribution box that switches between the two fields. We actually replaced and moved the tank almost 20 years ago, as we needed to re-locate it a few feet for a remodel.
And sewer lines. Our original clay collapsed at the clean out last year. It made it 120 year. Thankfully the rest of the pipe is intact so weâll be able to line it in the spring.
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I just got the estimate for doing LVP in our basement instead of carpet.
The estimate was about $9,000 different, for about 1000 SF of tile/carpet! That was shocking to us.
We were under the impression from both our insurance adjusters and talking to people in tile shops near us that the different would be a couple thousand bucks. And they only assumed $3.50ish per SF tile, compared to almost $3.00 for carpet and pad. They want to charge $5.50 per foot for installation. Our local tile places said $2.00 and $2.50/SF.
Hopefully we can get closer⊠but this process is stressful!
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I think some installers will jack up their prices if they know you might be desperate to get that project done fast. Or if insurance locks you into using them⊠BooâŠ
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