Prepare your home for winter

Get Ready for Winter Weather

The leaves are starting to change colour, as autumn continues to bring both cooler temperatures and the simple joy of bonfires. However, while this is a great time to enjoy the temperate weather, it’s also the time to take care of some important annual tasks, it’s time to prepare your home for winter. After autumn, things will shift to cold and wet, and often sooner than you’d hope. You want to make sure that your home is ready to weather the storms.

Indoors & Out

To start with, you want to make sure that your boiler is still in great working order, and that it will be as efficient as possible. If you are like most people it probably hasn’t been on since the end of the spring, so now is a good time to test it – before you really need it. Make sure to replace filters, and have it tuned up if you have not already done so this year.

Next you need to look over the foundation and exterior of your home for any cracks that may have formed. Usually these happen around the pipes that go into walls, or near electrical outlets. Fill in the holes with caulk, seal, or weather-strip as appropriate, to prevent losing heat via leaks. In addition, you want to check over your crawlspace if you have one, to make sure that small animals cannot use it as shelter during the winter months. You also need to seal the windows and doors with caulking or weather-strips, since this is where most heat is lost.

Rain, Snow & Ice

The next thing you need to do is simple, but is often forgotten and can be a very expensive mistake. Before the weather gets too harsh, make sure that you shut off all outdoor water access.

As it freezes, water expands, so any water that is left in the piping can cause copper pipes to burst. If this happens you’ll need to call in a plumbing company, and you’ll be likely to be looking at a large bill, since the entire plumbing line will need replacing. You can avoid this by insulating any plumbing pipes around the home that are exposed, and turning off water access to outdoor taps.

Finally, before winter hits, make sure that your roof is in great shape and ready for storms and falling debris, by replacing any tiles that are in bad shape. Also make sure that you add some insulation to the attic, and clean off any debris that has gathered in the gutters so that heavy rain and melting snow and ice have somewhere to drain.