Evanston and the entire Chicago area took a real beating this winter, your home included. With the final polar vortex behind us, it’s time to assess how much damage your home sustained over this year’s snow frozen months.
Start with your driveway. Buried beneath all of those snow plow visits and bags of salt poured over your drive and walk ways this winter, the concrete, stone and asphalt underneath is probably not looking at its best. Grab some asphalt patch from Home Depot, and fill any potholes that you might find. Left open, these tiny craters can expand and cause even more damage.
Choose a warm day when the snow has melted to reseal your driveway. Rent or purchase a pressure washer and take aim to your front porch and concrete, or limestone patios for a good cleaning.
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Roof Inspection. Take a lap around your house and look out for any gutters pulling away from your roof. Keep an eye out for curled shingles, a warning sign that your attic is in need of more ventilation.
Interior Water Damage. Ice dams are likely the responsible cause for any interior water damaged caused to your home this winter. For a quick fix, patch the damaged drywall area and paint over it. To take on the larger problem at hand, you might have to dip into your pockets.
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Starting with the roof, if you don’t already have an ice and water shield under your shingles, this spring would be an ideal time to install it. Once the ice and water shield is in place, move down to your attic. Increase attic ventilation between the ridge and soffit of your roof by adding more vents. Install ridge vents in the roof and help eliminate ice damming next winter.
Address the damaged drywall after the roof is fully repaired and additional ventilation is installed. Cut out the bad drywall, replace wet insulation, patch or replace the damaged area with drywall or drywall plaster, and paint over the new drywall to match.
Home Owner Tip: Installing a roof and water shield underneath the shingles is not exactly a DIY project. Forest Glen Construction works with local, well-qualified trades to help solve these problems for our customers. If you are interested in more information, please call 847-236-0895.
Image source: This Old House
