Q; We just had our home inspected and the inspector told the buyer the shingles need to be replaced, we replaced them 15 years ago and were told they were 20 year shingles. What is the real lifespan for most things in a home, what do you believe anymore!
A: I can understand our reader's frustration, shingles, furnaces, windows, doors and many other installations in homes have a far wider "advertised life span" than the real world life span. I get a number of questions like this on a regular basis.
Shingles are probably the worst for advertised life span and the actual weathering factor. The list of reasons for premature failure is long and the shingle manufacturers keep a long list of reasons why your "warranty" is now invalid. Even if you were able to prove substandard shingles they clearly state their warranty is pro-rated, like tires on your car. If you have them for 15 years and the warranty is 20 years, the most you would get would be a 25% refund and this is on the shingles only, no labour credit here. In defense of the shingle makers however exposure, lack of ventilation, improper application, more than one layer and pitch of the roof are all unknown factors. In fact 20 year shingles are generally accepted to last about 14-16 years so our reader's shingles are in that range. When you are trying to age conventional asphalt shingles, take the advertised age and deduct 20-25% off and you will be close. Properly installed metal roof coverings can easily last over 50 years and some heritage homes still have their original metal roof. Wood shingles are a real guess; installation and ventilation are the prime issues. I have seen 25 year old wood shingles that are ready for replacement, other homes with wood shingles nearly 40 years old and still serviceable. The newer fibre- glass shingles have not been around long enough to judge just yet.
Furnaces are also known for significant differences in advertised life span vs. real life. Years ago a good oil furnace would last well over 30 years; today with the manufacturing methods you can expect this to be under 30 years now. The other factor is home insurance, older oil furnaces are on the hit list for most insurance companies today. There is more than one model of gas furnace that advertises an expected life span of 25 years; in fact some of them will do well to reach 15 years. The newer high efficiency models on the market today are improving, some of the earlier models were known for exchanger problems. A quick check on the internet for "furnace recalls" will bring up pages of recalled furnaces.
Low Pressure boilers are expensive to install but they often reach well past 35 years if maintained. Air conditioners that are much past 15 years old are on borrowed time and air source heat pumps are known to go a little longer, however I rarely see one over 20 years old.
Windows are getting better in their real life span. The newer vinyl and composition windows should last well over 30 years, probably longer. The thermopane seals are another concern. Basic units have a life span of 15-20 years at best. The top manufacturer's glass inserts are known to last over 30 years. Wood windows tend to fail due to lack of ventilation in a home which allows condensation to build up. The largest factor is lack of maintenance, allowing moisture into the area around the windows. Metal Insulated entrance doors and sliding glass doors that are maintained are similar to windows; the weak spot is the glass insert or thermopane as they are called.
Plumbing fixtures, taps and shower controls are really "you get what you pay for". One maker; Moen has a nice system where they have replacement cartridges for most of their taps and they are usually homeowner accessible for replacement. Again, 20 year is a common ceiling in the life span of average priced taps and shower controls. Most plumbing fixtures are use related, the more they are operated, the quicker they fail. This also applies to most wear affected areas like flooring, cabinets, walls and interior doors.
One installation that is often ignored until it quits is your hot water heater and here home location and type of water has a huge effect. In the city a gas water heater should last up to 15 years, I have seen the odd one over 20 years. There is one exception and that is a home heated by an air handler supplied by a hot water tank. In this type of system the tank rarely gets over 10 years and 7- 8 is common. Every time I see one of these I tell the client to rent the hot water tank. In the country you are really dictated by the quality of water and how well treated it is. Some years ago we had an oil hot water tank and even with a softener, UV light and two filters it was finished at 8 years. I have heard similar stories for electric hot water tanks in the country.
