Winter home maintenance tips and handyman wisdom!
Real EstateWinter home maintenance tasks are not warm weather projects for me because I can’t seem to get into the right frame of mind to work when the temperature is in the 80s. fresh, so you can feel just a hint of the conditions you are preparing for.
We’re expecting the first frost of the year tonight, so I guess I should bring in the surviving delicate plants that somehow managed to survive a miserably hot summer. Everything else can wait until after tonight’s cold.
Clean the patio. Disconnect the garden hose and store it in the garage, garden shed or under the ground. Concrete birdbaths should be taken down and turned over so that water does not collect and freeze, eroding the surface of the basin. Anything else that could be damaged by freezing weather should be stored somewhere where it is protected.
Chairs and tables that will be left outside during winter weather must be covered. I wrap thick black plastic over my grills and patio furniture and secure it with pieces of kindling I took from my woodpile that I bought for the fireplace.
Check for air leaks around windows and doors. If any caulk has become brittle and is pulling away from the opening frames, it is best to remove it and replace it with new material.
The threshold strips under the doors in my house usually need to be adjusted or replaced. Cold air can really add to your utility bill if they’re not positioned correctly, not to mention mice slipping through even the smallest crack.
Any piping that is exposed to the elements must be insulated. Mine are lined with foam insulation that can be purchased at almost any hardware store. If you’ve discovered something else that needs to be protected from the cold, such as a bare spot where the wind has blown away the insulation near a blind or vent, buy the right type of cover.
Check the fireplace to make sure you won’t burn the house down when you build the first fire of winter. Most of us don’t have the necessary wire brushes and pole extensions to clean out a fireplace and chimney. I am not comfortable with my ability to remove all the creosote and soot left in the chimney and firebox from last year’s fires with makeshift tools. If a chimney sweep isn’t in your phone book, your hardware store should know of one.
Get your ladder out. Fallen leaves that have compacted can dislodge even the tightest hung gutters and make it a hassle to reattach in the spring. Even those with gutter covers somehow seem to get clogged with trash. Clean those gutters before winter.
While you have the ladder outside, raise it a few feet, climb on your roof to see if you have any loose tiles or cracks in the valleys; especially the siding around the bathroom and kitchen vents. These are places that always seem to give me trouble in the winter.
If you have trees near the house, make sure the branches are cut far enough away from the structure to avoid damaging it when cold winds blow. It doesn’t take a lot of wind to lift a shingle or drive nails out of a piece of vinyl siding.
There are many other things you can do to winterize your home on the inside. Just thinking about the job I have waiting outside makes me tired.