So you live in your family house that your grandfather brought in the 1970s. To the outside eye, your house has that old, traditional and rustic look, but only you would know how painful it is to maintain it. Yes, that’s true, while we all look poetically at old buildings, living in them is almost close to a nightmare. According to many professional interior designers in Pakistan, unless you tear down the entire structure and rebuild the house, you will always have trouble maintaining its integrity. If you are one of those unfortunate people who spend thousands of rupees on a paint job and find it chipping after few days- because of the damaged walls- here are some tips by which you can maintain your feeble home:
Keep the water out
Old buildings are more susceptible to rot and mold. No matter how good the layer of paint is, the weak walls will crumble under moisture, damaging the paint and allowing fungus to grow. So, what’s the solution for this? Simply, keep the water out. Whether you get a fresh coat of paint or not, replacing the drains frequently is the most important thing that you should do. Other than that, constantly check for faulty and leaking pipes and replace them. Place an extra shed on your roof for added protection, but keep the water out at any cost.
Avoid carpets
Unless you are sure that you can maintain them, Amer Adnan a good interior decorator in Lahore and other prolific interior designers suggest that you must avoid using carpets in an old house. Because the walls and the floors are susceptible to moisture damage, the humidity inside the house will be absorbed by carpets increasing the temperature of the house. The carpet would also get dirty more often and if you have mold and fungus on the walls, it might get transferred to the carpets. Other than that, people who have carpets in old houses often complain about lice and beetle growing on them. So it is better to stay away from carpets.
Remove growing vines from the façade
Climbing plants and creepers indeed look very beautiful on a façade. However, if your house is ancient; those beautiful, curly twines will slowly damage your house. Therefore, if you find the shed falling one day mysteriously, don’t be surprised. Vines retain moisture damaging the internal structure of the house. Therefore, if your old house has creepers on its façade, better remove it. However, if you are insistent on having them, remove them, renovate the walls and then let them grow back.
Constantly disinfect your house
As said above, old buildings are susceptible to the growth of fungi and bugs, so it is important that you keep on disinfecting your house. It is a simple process, so you need not worry about the expenses. All you need is an antifungal or anti lice chemical and spray it all over the walls and floors once or twice in a month. This will keep the dangerous parasites away.
The above mentioned simple tips will help you manage your old house effectively. So stop brooding and follow them now!