How To Prepare Your Home For The Upcoming Winter Season?
- Do you know what are some checklists you need to do to ensure that your home is winter-proof for the upcoming season?
- Are you aware that home experiences the harshest challenges in terms of weather forces during the winter season?
- Have you looked at issues like drainage, sewage, heating, chimneys, etc. as a part of your routine check-ups?
Houses, just like people, require a lot of care, attention, and pampering. If you look after your house well enough, it will look after you. This means that regular maintenance, finding damages before they get serious, updating small issues, can all contribute in a major way to ensure the longevity of the house.
Most homeowners think that beautifying houses from the inside is the only concern, they should act on. However, leading real estate companies and expert designers state that it is what is not seen, which can be a source of trouble for homeowners.
In this article, we are going to look at some ways and steps homeowners can take to protect their homes from the harshness of winter. As the season is upon us, you should pay attention to the article and ensure complete winter-proofing for your home.
List of 5 Attention Areas to Concentrate on before Winter Sets in
1. The Attic and the Basement-
According to experts, winter is a time for small animals to seek safe haven. Two areas of the house, which are frequently used by animals are the attic and the basement. You need to ensure that these animals do not get into these spaces as they are likely to cause a lot of damage.
Having bolted windows reinforced with meshed grills can make it difficult for birds and small rodents to get in. You also need to carry out regular weekly checks in the attic and basement areas to ensure that mold formation has not taken place because of the climatic conditions.
2. Heating Facilities-
While many people still continue to use good-old-fashioned chimneys and fill them up with wood and charcoal, experts suggest something new. Going the chimney route means that all your family members will be inhaling a lot of carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide.
You can try a relatively new and innovative technique of heating your home using infrared space heaters. They work on electricity, take up a small space, and have gauges to control the amount of heat required. They are portable as well and can be easily moved within the house.
3. Open Areas of the House-
Homeowners should pay attention to the concrete driveway, patio, and garden before winter sets in. It is important to identify the cracks and fill them up with strengthening material. This will prevent the cracks from spreading and taking over your entire driveway.
You also need to ensure that your sprinklers and faucets are completely drained before it starts snowing. If you do not drain all the water, it can result in internal icing, expansion, and splitting off pipelines. Preparing for the same in November is a great idea.
4. Drainage and Gutters in the House-
If you do not have access to cold water in the house, you should immediately make some preparations. Cleaning the drains and all the house gutters is a very important pre-requisite. You are not likely to find any contractors during the winter.
If you get problems during the winters in your drainage systems, you will likely have to do all the work yourself in knee-deep snow. This is not only impractical but also very unsafe. Ensure that all outlets from the kitchen sink to every bathroom are clean before winter sets in.
5. Pay attention to the Doors and Windows-
Doors and windows of the house experience the harshness of the winter at its worst. If you notice carefully, most windows are just one-inch plyboards. This is a major reason why most homeowners have to fix their doors and windows after a winter as they start rotting.
A quick-fix solution is to paint them and caulk them right before the season sets in. This will not only prevent the wood from rotting but also add a new design touch to the windows. Doing repair work or replacing doors and windows can be a significant extra cost for families.
Advantages of Preparing the Home for the Winters
In this section, we are going to list down some advantages, which homeowners can enjoy if they are pro-active in going through the winter checklist.
- A well-looked after home ensures that you do not incur heavy expenditure in repair and new things. Regular maintenance might be time-consuming and might lead you to incur some small costs. However, these are nothing as compared to complete overhauls.
- If a home is properly cared for and looked after, it automatically helps in improving the valuation of the house. This ensures that homeowners who are looking to sell their houses in the future can command a far better price for their well-looked-after
- A well-maintained house is also a very safe and secure house. If you look after your house well enough, especially during winters, the house will take care of your family members. Criminals look for suspect areas for breaking in and entering, during winters.
- If your home is looking beautiful post the check-ups, you can invite your friends and family members over for the holidays. You can be a gracious host and ensure that everyone is having a gala time in your house.
- If you are following the checklist, you can also ensure lesser energy consumption. Inefficient houses, which have unmaintained infrastructure are likely to consume more energy. Using infrared space heaters will also prevent releasing toxic air by a chimney.
The Final Word
It is important to spend some time identifying potential problem areas in your house before the winter sets in. You need to do this now because the snow and the sub-zero temperatures will make any work practically impossible later on. Can you think of some more tips to help homeowners winter-proof their homes before the upcoming season? Let us know in the comments section below.
Remember ‘Winter is Coming’…
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