Getting Your Home Ready For The Winter Season

Hi Everyone, and welcome to another tip of the week.  Today I'd like to take some time to talk about a few things that will help you get your home ready for the winter. 

I mentioned it before in one of my other segments that it's important to make sure that your gutters and downspouts are unclogged and functioning as they should.  If your comfortable, and if you feel safe to do so and you have the proper ladder, raise your ladder up the side of the home or pick a stable area and climb up and take a look inside your gutters.  You will be very surprised to find what could be in it.  If you live in an area where it's heavy in trees and debris that will clog up your gutters quickly.  While someone holds the ladder for you as you climb up, take the garden hose with you and wash out your gutters and downspouts and get as much debris and junk out of there as you can.  Doing this will ensure that you won't have to worry about ice damming and flooding your gutters and downspouts. 

What ice damming is when melting snow refreezes at the eaves and traps water from snow melting from the upper part of the roof.  Ice can build up and create a dam in your gutters and the ice and snow can creep up under the eaves and soffits of your roofline and really create some damage and issues that will need to be addressed and fixed later on when spring comes.  Adequate ventilation will fix the issue if your home requires more.

Another thing that needs to be done is to have a licensed and qualified heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) tech come out to evaluate your furnace and do a maintenance check on it and make sure that its in tip top shape.  The air filter in the furnace should be replaced as well.  When turning on your furnace for the first time, you will have a very unpleasant odor and that is from all the oxides and dust and such burning off of the burners in the furnace.  It should dissipate after a little while and after the system is turned on for the first time.  I always advise people not to be in the house when this is done.  Also it will help to open some windows when you do this so that the oder will escape the house and not remain inside.

Another area to look at is your driveway.  If you have an asphalt drive way take a look at the cracks, and any missing pieces that may have been taken out due to shoveling, or wear and tear over the months.  If you have an asphalt drive way I recommend filling in all the cracks with an asphalt caulk, or if its really necessary, re-seal the whole drive way.  This is a project that any home owner can do.  All the necessary supplies and materials can be bought at your local home center, and it could take a weekend to do it, and once your done just block off the area with cones.  A word to the wise just make sure that you wear a respirator and very old shoes because they will get messed up.  As with any and all projects, if your not comfortable with them, then by all means call a qualified licensed professional. 

Now is also a good time to check and evaluate the insulation in your attic space area.  Ideally we would like to see an R-30 in the attic area, which should be at least 12 inches thick.  The "R Value" is the resistance to heat, the higher the R-Value, the more insulation you'll have.  I'll be diving into various kinds of insulation and materials in another post.

If you feel comfortable replacing or adding insulation in your attic area just make sure your wearing protective clothing and dusk mask, and eye protection, we don't want to get any of those fibers on your skin or in your eyes.  The biggest tip when installing insulation is make sure that you don't pack it in tight, insulation needs air to breath, and function the right way.  Remember pink side down, and the flaps are stapled to the outside of the joists, or just lightly pack it in between the joists. but please remember, keep your feet on the joists, because if your feet slip and go through the middle you'll have a huge hole in the ceiling of another room down stairs, and it cost a pretty penny to fix.

I hope that these ideas have been helpful. 

If you have any questions about your home, condo, or apartment and you would like some help, or information or tips please write to me, I'd love to hear from ya, and keep the questions coming.

Have a great week everyone!