Summer is over, the holidays are on their way
and the stores are full of light strings, wrapping paper and cards that play
carols when you open them. This means but one thing: Winter is coming. For
those of us who live in climates where weather means lots of cold, sleet, snow
and ice, the time to get your home ready for those inevitable conditions is
now.
If you’re a new homeowner who’s not sure where
to start, or if you’ve just forgotten what you did last year right around now,
here’s a list of a few simple things you can do right now to get your house
ready for winter.
Inspect
Your Windows:
Perhaps the biggest thing you can do to
winterize your home is to update your windows. Older windows let heat through
much more easily, so if installing entirely new or updated windows isn’t in the
budget, take some time to feel around the edges of the windows and see if you
can find any drafts or airflow.
A few rolls of weather-stripping around your
windows, a simple bead of caulk around the joints and even a set of storm
windows or plastic film insulation over the entire window can save a lot of
energy over the course of a winter.
Insulate
Your Pipes:
When you hear the low roar of your water
heater kicking on, you don’t want that energy to radiate out of those pipes and
into your basement, do you? Unlikely. Wrapping your hot water pipes in foam
insulation will keep more of that heat where it belongs: in the water heading
to your sink, shower or bathtub. At the same time, insulation on the other
water pipes is a good idea too - this will reduce the risk of those pipes
freezing as the temperatures drop.
Take
Care of Your Gutters and Outdoor Plumbing (and Check Your Roof)
After you unhook your garden hose and drain it
out fully, coil it up and bring it inside so that the temperatures don’t cause
the rubber to dry and crack. Clearing out your gutters isn’t just a messy chore
- it’s a good way to keep water flowing off your roof and into where you want
it to. Ensuring water leaves the roof also keeps ice dams from building up,
which could lead to extensive roof trouble down the road.
Install
(Or Just Finally Learn To Use) a Programmable Thermostat:
As we all spend a lot more time at home,
you’ll feel a lot better about keeping the heat at 72 degrees all day if you
don’t have to think about turning it down at night. Even a simple nighttime
setting to drop your home’s temperature by 8-10 degrees every evening adds up
to a lot of heat savings over the winter months.
If you’ve got a fireplace at home, turn the
thermostat down even earlier, throw another log or two on the fire and you’re
good to go. (After you’ve had your chimney cleaned, of course).
There’s no shortage of other things you can do
to your home in order to ensure you’re ready for sub-freezing temperatures, but
these steps are simple things that don’t require fancy tools or a ton of time
to get done.
If you’re looking to undertake a larger
project than these simple winterizing tips, the team at Final Touch Construction and Remodeling
should be your first call when it comes to figuring out your next steps.
Whether it’s a basement buildout to add insulation and walls, to a bathroom
rehab that’ll a heated floor, Final Touch has 25 years of experience working
with hundreds of homes and businesses in the Cleveland area.
