I'm happy that they are considered property improvements, but it still sounds more gray than "vast difference" to me.
Using a new roof as an example, I can argue that it meets both your definition of property improvement and your definition of repair.
It is a property improvement because it is definitely a material part of the house, and it will definitely appraise at a higher value with a brand new roof than with an old, falling apart roof.
It is also a repair using your definition since the old, falling apart roof was once a new roof, and replacing it is simply returning the property to the same usable condition it was in before the roof became old and started falling apart.
Is the difference that the "event" in your repair definition is intended to be a sudden incident like a storm, fire, etc., as opposed to slow deterioration over time?
