How Do You Take Care of an Old House?: 5 Older Home Maintenance Tips
Older homes aren’t harder to maintain than newer homes. But when you purchase a home that’s 30, 40, or even 50 years old, there are some important home maintenance tasks that you should put on your to-do list. Proper home maintenance can help you keep your home in great condition, minimize the risk of big repair jobs in the future, and give you peace of mind season after season. So, how do you take care of an old house in Collin County? Here are our top five tips:
Tip #1: Check the Foundation for Movement
North Texas homes—especially homes with slab foundations—are vulnerable to foundation damage. The concrete slab will settle into the dirt over time, and the clay soil will expand and contract between the rainy and dry seasons.
In new homes, you might see more dramatic settling and foundation movement. This isn’t necessarily cause for concern, but it should be monitored over time. But if you purchase an older home and see signs of a shifting foundation, that could point toward bigger problems: erosion, uneven weight distribution, and future foundation damage.
Quick Home Maintenance Checklist for Monitoring Your Home’s Foundation
Add these to-dos to your quarterly and annual home maintenance checklists to monitor your foundation over time:
Walk around the perimeter of your home and check the visible concrete surface for cracks and splintering concrete. The corners may be a bit crumbly; that’s not unusual—but deep cracks (especially ones extending into the siding) are not.
Repeat this walkaround every season. If you see cracks or damage, take images or video of them. This will help you document if the cracks get worse.
Examine the brick exterior around foundation corners, doors, and windows. You’re looking for zig-zag or stairstep cracks between the bricks, which indicates uneven pressure on the foundation below.
Monitor your interior for cracks, too. Straight cracks along your drywall panels are common, especially in older homes. They indicate that the drywall tape is coming off. But diagonal cracks around doorframes and windows are another sign of foundation movement.
Existing damage doesn’t necessarily mean your foundation is taking on damage. Those cracks could be left over from previous repairs, and the former owner may have fixed the foundation while leaving the cosmetic issues untouched.
One of the best things you can do to protect the foundation of an older home is to know as early as possible if something is going wrong. So take the time to look for damage, and call in a structural engineer or foundation repair company if you see growing problems.
Tip #2: Add More Smoke Detectors and CO Detectors
The building codes for homes have changed significantly over time. For example, many homes built in the 1970s didn't have grounded outlets, whereas all modern homes have grounded sockets (and many have GFCI circuit breakers at key sockets).
So when you own an older home, it may not be completely up to modern-day codes. Your home inspector should have flagged recommended updates for you to consider. But almost every older home has a few out-of-date norms that got grandfathered in if they weren’t too big of a red flag.
One simple—and safety-focused!—home maintenance task you should add to your to-do list is ensuring your home has the right number of smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors. Ideally, you’ll have smoke detectors in:
Every bedroom
Hallways leading to sleeping areas
Main areas like the living room and kitchen
Homes should also have at least one carbon monoxide detector at each level of the home, as well as one near the garage entrance. You can add more to main living areas, especially if you have a gas-powered heater, laundry dryer, or stove (a common feature in North Texas homes).
Older homes tend to have direct-wired smoke detectors, but they won’t have enough. Attach your own to the ceiling and test them regularly. You can also find combined smoke and carbon monoxide detectors in most big box stores.
Pro Tip: Installing the right number of carbon monoxide and smoke detectors in your home can qualify you for home insurance discounts. Reach out to your agent to see what programs you can qualify for with a little bit of DIY.
Tip #3: Be on the Lookout for Chips in Painted Surfaces
If you purchased a home built before 1978, it may have lead paint. The CDC banned the use of lead-based paint for homes that year due to the health risks it presents. In fact, if you purchased your home recently, you might remember signing the “Addendum for Seller's Disclosure of Information on Lead-Based Paint and Lead-Based Paint Hazards as Required by Federal Law” as part of the paperwork.
Homes can be bought and sold if they have lead paint. The addendum requires the seller to notify buyers if they know lead-based paint is present, but home sellers aren’t obligated to inspect, remove, or remediate lead paint they don’t know about. But how do you take care of an old house that may have lead paint?
As the homeowner, there are some home maintenance steps you can take if you’re worried about it. You can:
Have your paint and home tested. If you discover lead paint, you can have your home renovated to completely remove it, or cover it with new paint if recommended. DIY home kits can help as a preliminary step, but professional tests are better.
Look out for paint chips and dust. Lead paint, if completely undisturbed, isn’t overtly toxic. But paint chips and dust can get into the air, where it becomes dangerous. Always hire professionals to inspect, remove, and remediate lead.
Tip #4: Check Your Water Line for Lead
Older homes—or even renovated homes in older neighborhoods—may have lead pipes. In 2023, the EPA announced that lead pipes are far more prevalent than the organization previously expected. Approximately 9.2 million homes around the country have at least some lead pipes, and Texas is near the top of the list.
Your home itself may not have lead pipes—those pipes could have been replaced by copper and PEX over the years. However, the service line to your home could be pure lead or soldered with lead. Here’s a simple test you can do to see if your service line has any lead. All you need is a magnet, a coin, and NPR’s easy guide.
Tip #5: Stay Ready for Cast Iron Pipe Cracks
Older homes often have drainage lines made from cast iron pipes. These pipes are designed to be long-lasting, and they’re very durable. But they can and will break down over time. They can develop cracks from shifting soil (just like your foundation), break down due to corrosion and chemical damage, or even become choked by invasive tree roots. Tree roots will grow into the pipes in search of moisture, leading to complete blockages and cracks. Some warning signs that your home’s cast iron pipes are damaged include:
Frequent clogs
Sewage smells coming from the drains
Visible tree roots when plumbers scope your drain lines
You can protect your water pipes by planting trees further away from them and staying vigilant for the first signs of damage. However, they may need to be replaced eventually, whether that’s years or decades in the future.
All homes need ongoing home maintenance. But asking “How do you take care of an old house?” is the first step to making sure your home stays well-maintained without anything slipping through the cracks. By frequently monitoring your foundation, being vigilant, and updating your house throughout the years, it can be a comfortable and inviting home.
Thinking about putting your older home on the market? Or do you want a knowledgeable guide as you explore older homes for sale in Plano and the north DFW area? Reach out today to schedule a consultation with Rusty Ahmadi. We can chat about what you’re looking for, how to navigate the current real estate market, and how to protect your real estate investments.
