The heart of all planning
Every component of a building has a lifespan. Knowing it feeds the maintenance logbook, the contingency-fund study and any asset maintenance plan.
Typical lifespans (for guidance)
- Roof (elastomeric membrane, TPO, EPDM): 20-30 years
- Asphalt shingles: 20-25 years
- Windows: 25-35 years
- Brick cladding: 50 years and up
- Balconies and guardrails (concrete/steel): 25-40 years
- Plumbing (piping): 40-70 years
- Boiler / heating: 15-25 years
- Heat pump: 12-18 years
These ranges are indicative. Actual lifespan depends on original quality, maintenance and building conditions — which is why inspection matters.
Casaforta's condition-first approach
We don't rely on averages: we read your building — a condition-first discipline. That field grounding makes our plans more accurate than simple tables.
How lifespan tables become decisions
An indicative table is a starting point, never a verdict. The real question is where your component sits on its own curve — and that is read on site: installation year when known, observed condition, exposure, maintenance history. That reading produces a remaining-life estimate that feeds the 25-Year Capital Plan™ and the Building Health Score™. The result is discipline in both directions: you neither replace a roof that has five good years left, nor discover a water heater at the end of its life on the day it lets go.
Why condition matters more in Québec
Québec buildings age under real stress: freeze-thaw cycles that work masonry joints and parapets, ice and meltwater that test flat roofs and drainage, long heating seasons that wear mechanical systems. Two identical components installed the same year can sit years apart in real remaining life, depending on exposure and upkeep. That is why Casaforta's approach is condition-first: the table gives the horizon, the inspection gives the truth — and the plan is built on the truth. The same reading protects your budget: capital goes to the components that need it now, and is deferred with open eyes where condition allows it — with the reasoning documented in both cases.