Both schools, houses need to be tweaked as they age

A comprehensive plan is needed. A list of alternatives regarding what should be done to the current building has been prepared. Problems include aging infrastructure. A decision must be made about long-term viability.

While the words are from a description of the task of a committee of Naperville Unit District 203 residents regarding the condition of Naperville Central High School, they are similar to the considerations Naperville residents even farther south are talking about.

Sure, Neuqua Valley High School is 10 years new. But even around the newer south side, a few things are starting to fall apart.

We've had elementary school roof replacements this summer, and let's not even talk about cravings for improvements such as air conditioning.

But what really has people talking south of 75th Street is maintenance closer to home. Though the south end is comparatively "new," enough of us have been here long enough -- a decade and a half, two decades and more -- that more and more of our houses are turning the corner from new to not-so-new. As in needing stuff replaced. What seems like constantly.

Roof replacements, window replacements, garage door replacements -- drive down any street and you'll see them happening every day. Nearly every conversation I've had in the past six months includes a complaint or concern about something in the person's house that must be fixed or replaced. Now.

We're not talking about spruce-ups with new carpet or a coat of paint (though that is happening, too.)

Toilets, shower doors, dishwashers, washing machines, front doors, water heaters. Just yesterday, it seems, they were all brand new. Suddenly, it's 15 years and many expired warranties later.

Like the discussions about Central, homeowners wonder how long their current house will meet their needs. Will they move when the kids graduate from high school? Will they stay and remodel as they age themselves?

The line between needs and wants can blur. Homeowners consider reconfigurations as the kids move out, turning old bedrooms into new offices or workout rooms.

Like Central's hope for new turf on the athletic fields, homeowners consider how to re-do their swing set areas, or replace the creaking deck with a brick patio. Then there are the tempting, sometimes necessary, updates to kitchens and electronics.

But mostly, residents are just shaking their heads over how soon all this has happened, wondering how much of this needs to be done.

The needs, of course, are much less fun to pay for than the wants. But they do make for plenty of commiserating conversation and even one-upsmanship. "You think your cracking concrete is bad? You should see my rotting window sills!"

Tours are being conducted at Central to show residents what the school actually looks like.

At home, tours are kept to a minimum -- just the homeowners, usually with frowns on their faces, and maybe a contractor or two. Problem is, they -- unlike the schools -- have no one to ask for help in paying for the work.

The contributors to the cost, and those who have a say in the decision, are much, much smaller. Thankfully, so are the repairs.

Still, we can relate. Few people go into home improvement projects just for the heck of it. Most often, there's a problem, big or small, and one thing logically -- or tantalizingly -- leads to another.

Eventually, you have to figure out what you want, what you need and what you can manage to pay for. Hopefully at some point, those all line up in some manner.

That's life. Before we know it, we'll be talking about how old Metea Valley High School is. At least we hope so.