Prepping Your House for Winter: What to Fix Before it Snows
Winter and the cool temperatures that come with it are quickly approaching. And it may be beneficial to start prepping for it sooner rather than later. Not only will you have to make sure that you have a sturdy shovel for clearing pathways, but you’ll also have to make sure that your house itself is properly prepared for the freezing temperatures that are approaching.But what exactly should you be examining and repairing to successfully prep for the winter months? Here are some ideas of things that you should fix before the snow comes. These ideas should apply to most households, so you should review each of them and ensure that you check them out in your home.
Repair the Furnace
The furnace in your house is the main thing that will keep your house maintaining comfortable temperatures during the wintertime. Whether the heating system in your house is brand new or you’ve had the same one for years, it’s important that you check its condition prior to every winter season. Usually, heating systems can last for years and some even decades, but there are proper maintenance techniques that you should conduct each year.For instance, you’ll want to change the filters in your heating system. This will help to make sure that the heated air coming out of the furnace is healthy and safe to breathe in. If your system is older than most, then this is vital as the older furnaces collect dust and debris more easily. To ensure the best safety, you should hire a professional contractor that’s trained in conducting regular maintenance checks on your heating system.They can more easily and effectively detect errors and can even repair the furnace if needed. Make sure that you hire an experienced repair company that has a high reputation in detecting and repairing heating systems, like the Furnace Repair in Ottawa.
Seal Outdoor Wood
Since the wood outdoors will be covered in snow throughout much of the winter, you’ll want to make sure that any exposed wood in your yard is covered and protected from the snow. Having raw wood exposed to the snow for long periods can cause the wood to develop water damage that you’ll have to repair by replacing the wood altogether.You may not have to put protectant on wood that’s been treated, but you may want to either apply extra protective material or an extra layer of paint on raw wood surfaces especially. If you apply a protectant to a certain part of a wood surface, you’ll want to make sure that you properly seal the entirety of the wood surface on a particular object. It can be extremely costly and difficult to have damaged or deteriorated wood replaced while also making it look nice, so it’s better to invest your time and resources now to successfully protect and seal necessary surfaces.
Clean and Repair Gutters
Lastly, it’s important that you ensure your gutters are cleaned and working properly. After the leaves fall from the trees during autumn months, your roof and gutters are then filled with leaves, twigs, and other debris. When your gutters are full of debris, they don’t function as properly as they should, which can lead to damage and expensive repairs down the road.Especially during the winter months, your house’s gutters are placed under large amounts of pressure since the snow forms icicles that weigh down the gutters attached to your home. Having full gutters causes overflow and then creates a potential risk for the exterior part of your home being damaged. If you’re not experienced at cleaning your gutters, you can hire a roofing company or some other service that has people trained in the process.
Conclusion
There are plenty of things that you should consider before winter starts. Depending on where you live, some areas experience worse weather than others. That being said, you should keep in mind how bad the weather during the winter gets in your particular area. Each of these ideas can help to improve your house’s comfortability during the freezing months, so you’ll want to get started on prepping your house for winter as soon as possible.