6 Steps For Winterizing Your Home

Winterizing your home is one of the most important things you can do as a homeowner.  Harsh winter weather conditions can lead to a variety of damages to your home that can add up to thousands of dollars in repairs. Lucky for you, winterizing your home is relatively inexpensive and can be completed in an afternoon. Let’s take a look at 6 crucial steps of winterizing your home.

• Roof. Your roof takes a beating over time, especially when the seasons change. Assuming you aren’t afraid of heights, head up to your roof and clear it of debris. While you’re up there, check for damaged shingles. Water can leak through damaged or missing shingles and freeze, which can cause significant damage to your roof.

• Gutters. Autumn has taken its toll on the trees in your neighborhood, and now your gutters are full of leaves, twigs, and other miscellaneous pieces of debris. Clear the gutters to prevent excess build up through the winter. Installing gutter screens can keep your gutters clear in the future.

• Windows. You would be surprised to know how much heat leaks through your windows during the winter. Plus, all of that lost heat adds up to a lot of wasted money. Foam weather stripping makes a substantial difference in winterizing your home, especially for homes with wood frame windows that may have warped over time. For additional sealing, plastic window wrapping adds an extra barrier to the outside elements.

• Doors. Just like your windows, a lot of heat escapes through your doors. Use the same foam weather stripping on your doors that lead outside and retain that valuable heat.

• Pipes. Most homeowner’s biggest winter fear is a bursting water pipe. A bursting water pipe can lead to a wide range of costly problems. One of the best steps you can take in winterizing your home is to insulate your pipes with fiberglass pipe wrap to help prevent freezing.

• Outdoor Faucets. You won’t need to be watering your lawn when there’s snow on the ground. Unhook the hoses, clear out the water, coil them up, and store them away for the winter. Locate the water shutoff valves for the outdoor water faucets and turn them off. Next, turn on the outdoor water faucets to drain the remaining water. Lastly, cover the faucets with an insulated faucet cover to prevent freezing.

Winterizing your home now can save you the headache of thousands of repair dollars in the future. Are you trying to buy or sell a home this winter? A home inspection is the most important step you can take to ensure that you are comfortable with the home you wish to purchase. At Inspect-It 1st, we believe in providing thorough, honest home inspections, so you understand everything about the property before you commit to the purchase. Get in touch with Inspect-It 1st today!