Which defects you overlook for the longest time?
Whether you live in a new house or an old house, almost every house has defects. This is logical, because a house is in use. But what defects can you encounter and what can you do about them??
Defects in your home
Almost every house has its defects, or is going to have them over the years. Partly this is due to its use, that is why certain parts wear out, but also a house that is not used and empty needs maintenance. A house suffers not only from its occupants’ use, but also from external circumstances.
Some things you see immediately
There are some defects that you notice as soon as they appear. A sticking front door, a lamp that just won’t turn on, a leaky kitchen faucet or a boiler that won’t heat up anymore. It’s not surprising that these things will catch your eye quickly.
These are things you use or see every day. If they don’t function, or don’t function well anymore, you will be inconvenienced by this. And hindrance is also the main motivation to intervene, to fix the defect.
It can take time to notice
Whereas a leaking kitchen faucet, especially if you have an open kitchen, will often be fixed within a few days, it can sometimes take weeks or months before you notice that the faucet in the backyard is leaking. You use these, especially outside the summer months, much less often, so you are less likely to notice it. You are also less likely to be bothered by the dripping, and if you notice it at all, you will be less motivated to solve the problem (or have it solved).
We overlook a lot
For defects, then, work primarily on the things we see and use every day, or are inconvenienced by when they don’t work properly. However, we also have plenty of things in and around our home that we hardly notice, or that don’t bother us easily.
Really look at your house
Take the roof. How often do you look at this? Probably not too often.
After all, you have to make an active effort, it is not a part of your home that you get to see every day. It is therefore not surprising that defects in the roof are often noticed far too late, namely at the moment when we are inconvenienced by them in the form of leakage.
At work
Can this be prevented?? Yes. You can make a list, especially of these kinds of “forgotten” parts of your house, taking a close look at one part every month, for example. You can also choose to use extra durable materials in places like these, so that you are less likely to have defects.
On the roof, for example, EPDM is a good choice. This roofing material lasts up to 50 years without showing any defects, much longer than most other types. You stick this foil to the roof using EPDM glue, so there is no burner involved.
Then you hardly have to look after it for decades. It’s still advisable to do a check-up every now and then, but the chances of encountering a defect are greatly reduced.
Take a good look at your house
So it’s very important that you check your house once in a while to see if there are any defects that you don’t know about.
