The autumn season is upon us, the leaves are turning and the air is getting chilly. Pretty soon it’ll be winter time. As a homeowner you should prepare your house to avoid any crisis and expensive repairs during the cold months.
Image Source: Pixabay
1. Get Your Home Evaluated Call your local Heating Service company to evaluate your home for such things as: is there any air leakage; how well is it insulated; how well the ductwork is functioning; and they can offer energy saving ideas. This will show you areas to fix, improve on, or save money.
2. Get Your Heater Checked Whichever heating source you have in your home, you should have it inspected, cleaned, and ready for the cold months. This will spot problems early on and avoid a long service wait and a cold house.
3. Check the Exterior of your Home Check for loose siding, missing shingles on your roof, cracked or missing caulking around windows and doors, and check the eaves troughs. Fixing these small problems will avoid bigger problems later. Loose siding and missing shingles will have air leakage as well as a chance for melting snow to leak inside which will cause considerable damage inside the house. Caulk and seal windows and doors to prevent air leakage which will drive your heating bill up as it’ll take more heat to keep the house warm. Checking the eave troughs to make sure they’re cleaned out, attached correctly, and able to divert water away from the house to avoid ice buildup.
4. Check your Fireplace If you have a fireplace in your home, whether it’s a woodburning or gas fireplace, you should have it checked and sweeped. This will ensure your fireplace is ready for the winter and that no dangerous soot buildup, animal nests, or leaks are present.
5. Drain any Exterior Faucets and Systems Now’s the time to unhook any outdoor hoses and drain the faucets and sprinkler systems. This will avoid frozen and burst pipes in the cold months. Most external faucet have a shutoff valve inside the house. Turn these off and then drain the water from the outside faucets and sprinkler systems. For houses that don’t have a shutoff valve you should insulate the pipes to prevent freezing.
Doing these simple steps will avoid costly repairs in the future and save your home from winter damages.
RSS Feed