Special offer

HOUSES ARE PEOPLE, TOO

By
Home Inspector with LPM Home Inspections, Inc.

There's more than a passing resemblance between you and your home.  No, I don't mean like people and their dogs looking alike.  I mean in their physical and internal structures.  Think about it - people and homes both get hot, cold, wet and dry.  They both get older, expand, contract and move around in the wind.  Both need regular maintenance and repairs.  Let's look at some of the similarities in more detail.

 ROOF 

Your head and hair are designed to keep you warm and dry, to protect you from impacts and shade you from the sun.  Your homes roof and shingles do exactly the same thing for your house.  The essential difference is in the amount of time your roof is exposed to Mother Nature's elements.  What kind of condition would you be in if you were outside 24X7 getting rained and snowed on or pelted with hail? 

 FOUNDATION 

Your feet are what hold up the rest of your body.  They support your skeleton, give you stature and keep you balanced and upright.  They give support to your arms, legs, head and everything in between.  The foundation of your house supports the wood in the walls all the way up to the roof.   It ties everything, like floors, windows and door together.  Like you, without a foundation the entire structure falls in a heap. 

 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM  

Did you know that your nervous system is powered by electricity?  It controls your eyes, ears, arms, legs and heart as well as a bunch of other stuff inside us.  Without it we simply couldn't function like we're supposed to.  Electricity powers your house.  It turns all those switches and circuits you depend on off and on.  If the switches aren't powered something isn't going to work.  Consider this - an overloaded circuit trips and shuts off power to a component in the house.  In our bodies, an overloaded circuit can trip a circuit breaker and cause anything from fainting to a heart attack.         

 PLUMBING 

Water in a house flows through the house from one place to another through pipes.  Water is important to our health and well being, a vital necessity for drinking, bathing and cooking and, of course water pistols and balloons.  Obstructed or broken pipes impede or stop the flow of water.  Our blood supply does essentially the same thing (physically, at least).  It carries the oxygen and nutrients we need to survive (except for the water pistols and balloons).  In a house, an obstructed or broken pipe is an inconvenience unless it completely cuts off all the water (or stops up the sanitary sewer line - a really bad problem).  At any rate, you call a plumber to fix the pipe and life goes on.  In our bodies, though, things are a bit more serious and can lead to serious problems or even death.  In that case, the "plumber" may be a cardiologist we call to unclog the pipes.       

 SIDING 

Siding on a house is equal to your skin. They're both designed to hold things together and protect what's inside from the elements.  They both wrap around the outside and are subjected to weather of all kinds.  Both are subject to cuts, holes and breaks that can cause internal or appearance problems.  Like us, the cuts, holes and breaks need to be repaired.  Also like us, the skin can lose its protective covering (paint) and seals (caulk).    

 The upshot to this comparison is that like you, your house needs a regular physical (inspection) to assess  its condition.  If it's sick, broken or clogged it will need the services of a doctor (plumber, electrician, carpenter) to bring it back into tip top shape.  At the change of each season take a look at each of the major components and fix or replace what needs to be fixed or replaced.  It's way better and cheaper to do a few things at a time, as they arise, than to go through a whole body overhaul all at one time.   

 

Comments (1)

Vickie McCartney
Maverick Realty - Owensboro, KY
Broker, Real Estate Agent Owensboro KY

Hi John~  I like your comparisons!  Very clever for sure!

Nov 07, 2010 01:22 PM