Old house maintenance checklist
Updated August 2026
An old house is kept alive from the outside in, so the priorities are the mortar, the windows, and the water: repoint crumbling mortar joints before water gets behind the brick, maintain the original wood windows (reglaze and repaint) rather than rip them out, and keep every drop of rain graded and guttered away from the foundation. Two safety items ride alongside the beauty work, knob-and-tube wiring and lead paint, both common in homes built before 1950 and both worth a professional eye. Cared for properly, original wood windows last 100+ years, far longer than the vinyl sold to replace them. The rest of the year follows the usual home maintenance checklist.
| Task | Interval | Effort |
|---|---|---|
| Inspect mortar joints; repoint any crumbling sections | Yearly | $10–25/sq ft pro |
| Confirm soil, gutters, and downspouts move water away | Yearly | 30 min · DIY |
| Look for peeling paint, especially pre-1978 lead layers | Yearly | 30 min · DIY |
| Task | Interval | Effort |
|---|---|---|
| Reglaze and repaint wood window sash as needed | As needed | $150–500 per window |
| Repaint exterior wood before the film fails | Every 3–5 years | $3,000–8,000 pro |
| Task | Interval | Effort |
|---|---|---|
| Knob-and-tube or old wiring in walls and attic | One-time | $150–300 inspection |
| Original plaster, chimney, and roof condition | Every few years | Varies |
| Task | Interval | Effort |
|---|---|---|
| Do not seal breathable brick with modern film sealers | Ongoing | Awareness |
| Do not repoint soft brick with hard Portland mortar | Ongoing | Use lime mortar |
What neglect costs
Old-house neglect is expensive precisely because the materials are hard to match. Let mortar joints fail and water gets behind the brick, freezes, and spalls the faces off, so repointing that would have cost $10–25 a square foot becomes brick replacement. Rip out original wood windows that a $150–500 restoration would have saved for another century, and you trade them for vinyl that lasts 20–30 years. Knob-and-tube wiring buried under insulation or spliced badly is a genuine fire risk, and unaddressed lead paint is both a health hazard and a disclosure problem at resale.
Leave these to a pro
Match the trade to the material. Repointing historic masonry calls for a mason who uses soft lime mortar, not hard modern Portland, which cracks the old brick, so expect $10–25 per square foot. An electrician should evaluate knob-and-tube ($150–300 to inspect, more to replace), and any pre-1978 paint disturbance should follow lead-safe practices by a certified contractor. Window restoration by a specialist runs $150–500 a sash but preserves both the look and a 100-year component. When in doubt on an old house, hire someone who has worked on them before.
This whole checklist ships as reminders in OnOtto: every task above, on the right schedule for your home, snooze-proof.
Load this checklist as remindersFrequently asked questions
Should I replace or restore old wood windows?
Restore them in almost every case. Original wood windows built from old-growth lumber can last well past 100 years, and reglazing, repairing the sash cords, and adding a storm window gets their efficiency close to replacements at a fraction of the waste. A restoration runs $150–500 per window; replacement vinyl costs similar or more and typically lasts only 20–30 years before it too is landfill. In a historic district, replacement may not even be permitted without approval.
What is knob-and-tube wiring and is it dangerous?
Knob-and-tube is an early wiring method, common before 1950, that runs single conductors through ceramic knobs and tubes with no ground. Intact and untouched it can be safe, but the failure modes are real: it was never meant to be buried under modern insulation, which traps heat, and decades of amateur splices and overloading make it a fire risk. Have an electrician assess it ($150–300); many insurers now surcharge or refuse to cover homes that still rely on it.
Why can't I use regular mortar or sealer on an old brick house?
Old brick is soft and porous and needs to breathe. Hard modern Portland-cement mortar is stronger than the brick, so instead of the joint sacrificing itself, moisture and stress break the brick faces off, a process called spalling. Historic masonry should be repointed with a softer lime-based mortar that matches the original. Film-forming waterproof sealers make it worse by trapping moisture inside the wall. The old-house rule is to let the wall dry outward, not seal it shut.
How do I handle lead paint in an old house?
Assume any paint from before 1978 may contain lead and do not sand or scrape it dry. Intact, well-maintained paint is generally low risk; the danger is dust from deteriorating or disturbed surfaces, especially around windows and doors. Keep it painted over and in good repair, and hire an EPA lead-safe certified contractor for any real removal or renovation. A test kit or a professional assessment ($300–500) tells you where the lead actually is before you start work.