A survey conducted by OnePoll and commissioned by American Standard HVAC found that Americans would do other home repairs before painting. The study of 2000 U.S homeowners found that respondents were likely to postpone many activities while doing home repairs.
Activities Americans put off when doing home repairs
These activities include sealing the holes in their walls (40%), meaning gutters (40%), and repainting (46%). The respondents gave different reasons for putting off these tasks. Some put them off as they couldn’t decide on a specialist (43%), while others didn’t have enough funds (49%).
However, there were many repairs that participants felt they couldn’t ignore. These included settling, flooding, and other foundation problems caused by water damage (29%). Others also experienced issues with plumbing (30%).
The age of the home determined repairs
Researchers also found a link between the house’s age and the most expensive types of repairs. If houses were built from 1921 to 1970, respondents were more likely to report door and window repairs as the most costly activities (30%). However, those who owned homes made in the past 50 years reported plumbing issues (36%).
Some homeowners tried to cut back on their cost of repairs by fixing things themselves. They used their DIY skills for testing smoke-detectors alarms and sensors (36%), changing air filters (36%), cleaning dryer vents (36%), and changing light bulbs (43%).
Despite their efforts, there were some tasks that respondents couldn’t do by themselves. These were looking at the sump pump (20%) and testing the steam gauge (23%).
The researchers found that participants with newer homes would typically consider themselves more knowledgeable about particular systems. For instance, they were more likely to report being good at plumbing (61%) than those in older homes (46%). They also thought they were more knowledgeable about HVAC.
Despite the newer homeowners feeling more confident in their knowledge, about 67% of the respondents admitted they didn’t know anything about maintaining their plumbing or HVAC.
Although homeowners can perform many home repairs by themselves, it is vital to call an expert for routine evaluations. Furthermore, since home maintenance can be expensive, they need to make budgets.
