The frosts have crept in and the nights draw in faster: winter is very fast approaching, as is Christmas, which means you have to get your house ready for the season. There’s every chance you’ve got your house winter ready by busting out the slow cooker and the soup recipes, adding burnt orange and purple to your decor and scattering candles everywhere. The thing is, while all that is beautiful inside the home (and your stomach), nothing about it is going to save you money, keep you warm and make sure your rose bushes don’t die under the chill.
Please note: this is a contributed post.
When you prepare yourself for the winter, you break out the heavier coat, the thermals and the hats and scarves, right? You get yourself as toasty as possible against the cold so you don’t end up freezing. Well, it’s the same as your house. Protecting your home in the winter is important because of the cost to heat it – and to maintain a certain comfort level. You’ve spent a lot of money on your home, whether on the mortgage or the rent, and when you’re unprepared for the cold season, you’re going to end up with more money to spend out – money you may not have.
Your entire house needs to be looked at when the cold weather hits, so while you’re making lists of all the things that you should be stocking up on, you need to check out this list of things to improve on before the depths of the winter really do hug your home. So, batten down the hatches and get your toolbox ready: it’s time to embrace the chilly season while fighting against the damage that it could do to your home and garden.
Insulate Your Outdoor Pipes
Outside your home, pipes run along the exterior walls to feed your house with water and take the old water away. Pipes don’t just run outside the home, they also feed under the house for the main drainage systems and when these pipes are exposed to cold weather, they have the potential to freeze. This means that it could be a hazard for your home, because frozen pipes that go unchecked have a tendency to burst. The good news about it is that these pipes can be protected from the cold weather with simple insulation that can be picked up from the hardware store.
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Check The Trees
Dead tree branches aren’t something new in the winter months, but dead tree branches that are covered in heavy, wet snow or ice can snap easily. This not only endangers people below, but it could cause a lot of damage that will get costly for you later on. Before the cold really sets in and the snow arrives, check your property and see whether any branches or tree limbs are hanging over your driveway, house and garage – even the power lines outside. Call in a tree surgeon or arborist to evaluate the tree early and you can ensure that you have made your trees safe.
Double Check Your Indoor Pipes, Too!
While you’re thinking about the exterior pipes and getting them well insulated, don’t forget your interior pipes. The plumping and water pipes under the sink and in the bathroom are usually not as exposed to the elements as those outside and under the house, but they still require you to insulate them properly. Almost 40% of all burst pipes occur in the basement of a house, and while this is inside and not out, it doesn’t mean that you’re protected from flooding. It’s always better to have your bases covered.
Insulate The Loft Space
Whether you have a converted attic or not, you need to consider spending the money to properly insulate the attic. You won’t know how much insulation you will need until you spend some time in the space monitoring the temperature. Keeping your home’s heat in the house and not drifting through the attic space is going to save you money, too, and it’s worth getting an energy audit of your home to figure out where in the house you’re losing the most money. Once you know this for sure, you can take the appropriate action to make your attic as insulated as possible.
Get the Chimney Serviced
Fireplaces, chimneys and the furnace are the biggest causes of a fire in the home. If you have them serviced and inspected every year, you can ensure that they are kept up so that they’re safe for your home. The bricks on the inside of your chimney need to be checked for leakage and you need to also make sure you have the cap shut over the cold months. Not only will it prevent the ice and snow spreading into the house and making your chimney deteriorate, it will keep animals seeking the heat away from the house in the cold. Any wood-burning fireplaces used more than six times a year should be cleaned and inspected. If you don’t use the fireplace at all, you should move your inspection to every three years.
Clean Out The Gutters
Clogged gutters around the house are going to make for a miserable winter for you. The rains come in, and when they don’t, snow is in its place. The build up of ice, frost and snow will pack the gutters. When this mess all starts to melt it can create a water overflow that’ll end up re-freezing as the temperatures drop further. This can be incredibly dangerous (with the formation of giant icicles) so, you need to address this problem quickly. Clearing out the gutters – or hiring a company to do it for you – will make sure that the snow that’s melting runs into the drains.
Add Storm Windows
With wintry weather comes the formation of strong winter winds. Your windows need attention too to help you get your house ready for the cold season. Take off all the window screens that you currently have outside and install glass storm windows that will create an insulating layer of air between your windows against the chill. Not only are storm windows a great idea to stop the chill coming in, they’re providing you with a good layer of protection against freezing rain and blizzard conditions.
Drain & Inspect The Sprinklers
While you’re paying attention to the inside of the house and getting it well insulated, make sure that you’re paying attention to your outdoor water sources. Sprinkler winterization is important unless you want to pay out to replace them all in the springtime. Drain all the garden hoses and sprinklers – or bring in the professionals to do it for you – and you’ll completely remove the chances of them bursting.
Prepare Your Roof Shingles
A roof that has shingle and tile damage is a roof that will make for a very cold winter for you, with very expensive heating bills. If you think your roof has damage, you need to have a professional come and inspect it as early as possible. Did you know that a cubic foot of snow or ice can weigh in at a whopping 20 pounds? That’s a lot of pressure for the shingles on your roof and when you allow water to leak into the roof of your home, you end up with a flooded area upstairs and damage that could cost into the thousands to fix.
Layer Up The Indoor Flooring
Layers are important, and insulation can only take you so far. Breaking out the heavy winter curtains, rugs and blankets are important for maximizing the heat in your home. Hardwood floors aren’t the warmest, but adding layers with throw rugs and area rugs will help keep things warm and mean that you spend less money on your heating bills. While you’re insulating the attic, think about how you’re going to keep the bedrooms and living areas as warm as possible.
Winterizing your home is not for the faint hearted and not the easiest job, either. You need to think about how you can make the inside and the outside of the home as shielded as possible from the damage that the cold can bring. If you have prepared early enough, you’re going to enjoy a winter of warmth and have a protected garden ready for the springtime. It’s a long and cold winter that lies ahead, but you can get to March without much issue – batten down the hatches, ladies and gents, Jack Frost is on the way!
Do you have any homeowner tips or tricks you’d like to share with The Creative Cottage? Leave a comment on this post or shoot me an email: info@thecreativecottage.net if you’d like to talk about possible guest blogging opportunities.
Take care,
Lynn Smythe
Founder and Chief Blogger
The Creative Cottage
Sloth Athletica
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