How Long?

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) conducted a study that provides general guidelines of how many years of service you can reasonably expect from home components. Of course, one needs to keep in mind that various factors like use, maintenance, and climate can have a major effect on the longevity of a product.

Polling experts in a wide range of fields, NAHB learned that many components are expected to last the lifetime of the house. Toilets, wood floors, all types of insulation, and doors are among those with a long life expectancy. But others are expected to last a much shorter duration. Wood decks, for instance, should last about 20 years, but only under ideal conditions. For kitchen faucets, the length of time is only 15 years. And furnaces should last 15 to 20 years.

Of the major appliances in a home, gas ranges have the longest life expectancy at 15 years. Dryers and refrigerators last about 13 years. Compactors have one of the shortest lifespans at only 6 years. Countertops vary in their lifespan. Natural stone countertops should last a lifetime, but cultured marble countertops will only last about 20 years.

To see the complete list of home components included in the study, with everything from closet doors to paints to home technology, visit http://www.nahb.org/fileUpload_details.aspx?contentID=72475