When selecting your landscaping projects to beautify your exterior, consider home improvements that deliver long life and good value to your property, without adding to the maintenance bills.
The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) recently did a study of the life expectancy of home components. The projections for exterior elements like decks, driveways, sprinkler systems and pools vary widely depending on age and maintenance history. Use this list when choosing landscaping projects to prevent surprise additions to your home maintenance budget and workload:
- Asphalt driveway: 15-20 years
- Polyvinyl fence: a lifetime
- Clay paving: a lifetime
- Underground PVC piping: 25 years
- Valves: 20 years
- Sprinklers: 20 years (though usually made obsolete by advances in technology)
- Controllers: 15 years (lifespan for areas not prone to lightning strikes)
- Decks: 20 years for wood (dry areas last 20-25 years, south 10-15 years and north 20-30 years); 25 years for deck planks.
- Swimming pool (general): a lifetime
- Concrete shell for pool: 25-plus years
- Interior finish for pool: 10-15 years for plaster, 25-35 years for pebble-tec, 15-25 years for tile
- Pool cleaning equipment: 7-10 years
- Pool decking: 15 years
- Waterline tile in pool: 10 years
Finally, consider how long you intend to live in your home. No matter how long a landscaping project may last, the return on investment is directly proportional to how long you intend to live there.
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