There’s a whole bunch of other reasons a writer might use some kind of metaphorical language in describing something aside from just helping the reader visualize the thing.

Your own example in the op specifically brings to mind an old house that isn’t just past its prime but now probably ought to be knocked down or completely rebuilt from the foundation up. It also makes the reader consider either the elderly through their utility or objects as if they had some ideal essence or soul. Depending on the surrounding writing, one of these may serve to reenforce the tone of the work. Combining the imagery of the elderly and winter has a buttressing effect where the reader thinks now of the personified season, old man winter, as well. Finally, using winter and the elderly when describing an object conjures the cycle of death and rebirth.

So you ended up doing so much more than describing an old house. And when writers use a bunch of crazy descriptions and metaphor that’s what they’re trying to do too. There are lots of bad writers who do it laboriously or with awful prose, but there’s more to it than just making sure you have the right image of a dilapidated house in your head.