We all know that winter can bring some nasty weather with it. From snow to ice, this freezing weather can be damaging to your home, especially if you haven’t properly prepared your home. Reduce your risk of experiencing a major problem with your home this winter season by performing the following tips to prep your home for winter weather.
Trim Your Trees
When wintertime snow pours down on tree branches, it can create a lot of weight. Even the healthiest tree branches can buckle underneath the pressure of heavy snow. A great preparation tip is to assess the branches that are near your home to see if any of them would pose a potential risk. Any branches that are overhanging your house or where you park your vehicle should be cut back.
Inspect Your Roof
Your roof is a large portion of your home that separates your family from the cold winter weather. Before the snow hits, it’s a good idea to climb onto your roof and take a look at it. You first want to look for any shingles that are missing, curling, or out of place. They should be fixed immediately as any out-of-place shingles can create a moisture problem with your home.
The second thing that you will want to inspect on your roof is the area around the vents and chimneys. There should be flashing material that runs from the pipe or the chimney to your shingles. This helps to divert water from running down these pipes and chimneys into your home. If you notice any flashing that is damaged, take the time to get it replaced.
Clean Your Gutters
After a long fall season, it’s likely that there are leaves and other debris stuck in your gutters. You should climb the ladder and clean out your gutters completely so that water can flow freely from your roof and down into your gutters. Make sure that you also inspect your downspout to ensure that water running from the gutters to the downspout makes it away from your home.
Get a Professional Furnace Tune-Up
As you enter into the fall season, it’s a good idea to get your furnace tune-up scheduled. The earlier, the better because your heating system professional can alert you of any foreseeable problems with your system before you’re going to need it. It’s much easier to repair your system when you don’t need to use it and when you can plan to pay for the repairs out of your budget.
Check Batteries in Detectors
New safety features of any home should be smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors. Both of these systems require adequate batteries to operate effectively. Before the winter weather hits and you’ll need to rely on your heating system, it’s a good idea to put fresh batteries in all of the detectors throughout your home. In addition, verify that you have at least one detector for every floor of your home. It’s also advisable to have detectors outside of the main bedrooms of your home.
Check Your Piping for Adequate Insulation
It only takes one time for temperatures to dip below freezing for your pipes to freeze up. As the water in the piping turns to ice, it expands and causes a burst in the pipe. Once the water melts, more water can squeeze out of the piping and create extensive damage to your home.
Before freezing temperatures hit, it’s time to check out all the piping that runs throughout your home. You’ll want to pay attention to piping that runs near doors, windows, and areas of your home that are not heated. You can use different types of insulation for your pipe, including sleeves and insulation tape.
Test Out Your Sump Pump
If your home is prone to flooding, it’s likely that you have a sump pump installed. If you do, you’ll want to give it a good run-through before winter hits. Take a few gallons of water and slowly pour it down into the pit to make sure that your sump pump turns on and removes the water effectively.
Prep Your Entryways
Excess moisture is one of the biggest problems homeowners have to deal with when it comes to their floors. In the wintertime, snow from your boots can wreak havoc on the entryways into your home. To protect against damage, it’s a good idea to get mats for both outside your door and inside of it. Additionally, consider purchasing boot trays that hold the excess moisture in.
Evaluate Your Windows and Doors
Drafting can create a real problem in the wintertime with the cold weather and your heating system. It’s best to take some time and evaluate the state of your windows and doors. You will want to specifically be looking for any cracks in the caulking or weather stripping and any air leaks that you can feel. Go ahead and replace the caulking and weatherstripping if you notice that there are any problems. The goal is to ensure that there’s no leakage of air around your windows and doors.
Inspect Your Insulation
The insulation that is positioned in the exterior walls and roofing of your home is a necessary barrier to help keep the cold air out of your home. Before wintertime hits, it’s a good idea to go up to your attic and inspect the insulation in it. Make sure that it is thick enough for the recommended R-value in your region of the country. You may find that adding extra insulation to your roof can help to minimize the amount of cold air that makes it into your home.
Reverse Your Ceiling Fans
As the hot summer weather comes to an end, it’s time to reverse the setting on your ceiling fans. Instead of having them spinning in a counterclockwise direction, now it’s time to switch them to a clockwise direction.
This helps to pull air up towards the ceiling and out towards the walls. Once the warm air hits the walls, it’ll be forced back down to the floor. This can help to consistently reuse the heat from your heating system to keep your family nice and warm without having to turn up the thermostat temperature.
Get Your Snow Gear Out
You don’t want to wait until the first snowstorm hits to try and find all of your snow gear. Rather, you want to go through your garage and house to find all your gear. This includes things like your snow shovels, snowblower, and salt. You want to make sure that you’re stocked up on an adequate amount of salt and sand so that you don’t risk not being able to find any if the store runs out in the wintertime. By keeping the snow from piling up next to your home, you can protect its foundation.
Quality Heating Services
Bardi Heating, Cooling & Plumbing is here for all your heating system needs in the Norcross, GA, area. We can assist with your AC repair, installation, and maintenance services, as well as your plumbing repair, drain cleaning, pipe replacement, water heater, water treatment, leak detection, air purification, duct cleaning, and insulation needs. Simply call us today to get the help that you need!
