Winter is coming and with it comes quite a challenge in keeping your home dry and warm. There are a number of things that need attention while you’re at it. The thing is that you’ll need to deal with quite a few things, such as cleaning the gutters and keeping your home well insulated. The following tips will give you some examples of what you can do to keep your home maintained:
First of all, you need to check your home for possible leaking gutters. If the drainage has filled with debris and the downspouts are blocked, then you will need to pay close attention to them. Ensuring they are free and clear will greatly help keep the water away when the weather softens up. You can learn about home renovation and maintenance methods if you are low on budget, on this website: http://www.specialedoptions.com
The lower areas around your yard and near your foundations must be filled with good, compacted soil. The autumn rains or melting snow can cause some really bad damage to your home if you’re not careful. Water tends to pool there each time, either seeping through the walls or becoming a perfect location for breeding bugs.
Check the wood around your windows, railings, doors and decks. Make sure its not rotting and repair whatever seems to be damaged to ensure the insulation works well.
Check the shingles on your roof for any damage before winter arrives. If your home has an older roof, then you should pay extra attention to it. Sunlight can eventually wear down the hardness of the shingles, eventually making them crack up. This means you will eventually need to replace them since they’ll allow water to seep through them and into your home as well as allowing warmth to escape out into the world.
Check out the chimneys for damage and make sure they are cleaned and checked out by an experienced chimney sweep to keep them safe.
Check out the slabs of concrete for any possible cracks. This mostly applies to outside areas so make sure you fill in the cracks with some crack filler or alternately, silicone caulk. When the weather is nice enough to work more on them, you can wash the spots and seal the concrete completely.
Remove any firewood stored near your home. Make sure its stored away from the home and away from the ground so they won’t become waterlogged. You can find a good storage space for it around your yard if you can as long as its not right next to your walls.
Check out the faucets outside for any damage. Turn on the water and block the water flow with your finger if you can. If that happens, then you likely have a problem with some of the pipes. You should also check the hoses for dry rot.
Use a cooling or heating contractor to check out your air conditioning system for any damage. This will ensure your system works at top efficiency. Clean the coils on a regular basis and make sure you change your filters as well if you want to be warm during the cold winter months. You can learn about the cost-effective methods of taking care of your home, on this website: http://www.thehomepicz.com
