Prepping Your Home For Cold Weather Pays Off


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Prepping Your Home For Cold Weather Pays Off

(HIT) - By properly preparing your home for the upcoming colder months, not only are you ensuring your family stays warm and safe during storms, blizzards and extreme temperatures, but you’re saving on energy-related costs as well. Winterizing your home before the cold weather arrives can potentially save you up to 18 percent on utility costs. Aside from saving money, extreme weather poses a threat to not only your own safety, but also threatens your home’s structure, potentially costing thousands upon thousands in repairs.

With colder weather on the horizon, Pillar To Post, North America’s leading home inspection franchise, recommends all homeowners take steps to secure their homes by clearing rain gutters, repairing roof leaks, insulating pipes to prevent freezing, and cutting away tree branches located too close to the home. Preparing for the winter’s wrath well ahead of time means investing in the resources you’ll need to deal with the weather. Here are five tips to follow to make sure you’ve covered all the bases in preparing your home for the colder weather.



	Photo courtesy of Pillar To Post home inspection

Save on energy costs by securing doors and windows: If you add up all the gaps and cracks in the average home, the space can equal as much as a three-foot open window. Imagine that window being left open all winter long, and that’s the amount of heat and energy lost. Save on utility bills and keep your home warmer by starting with the doors in your home. If you can feel cool air coming through the bottom of the door, you’ll need to replace the weather stripping and the door sweeps. Weather stripping and air sealing can save you about $350 in energy costs or one-third of your average annual heating and cooling costs. Caulking drafty windows and applying weather stripping to doors are both inexpensive strategies that will keep heat in the home. Pillar To Post recommends replacing old single-pane windows with thicker, more modern versions, and also installing storm windows, which add an extra layer of protection from the elements. You can also extend the life of your fuel supply by insulating walls and attics.



Photo courtesy of Pillar To Post home inspection

Have your chimney and flue inspected: Pillar To Post recommends that all homeowners have their chimney or flue inspected annually to minimize the threat of chimney fires. The inspection should be completed before you use your fireplace each season. Chimney fires are usually caused by a bird’s nest or other built-up debris stuck in the chimney. In addition to an annual inspection, Pillar To Post recommends homeowners follow these tips for reducing the threat of a chimney fire: 1. Add a chimney cap to the top of your chimney. A cap can keep out damaging moisture, which wears away masonry and other metal components within a chimney. 2. Ensure that your chimney has an appropriate liner. Chimney liners are required in new construction to separate system emissions from the structure of your home. 3. Have chimney flashing (the seal between the chimney and the roof) inspected and maintained. Flashing prevents rain water and snow melt from entering a house and causing costly damage to walls and ceilings.

Secure outdoor areas of the home: Ice, moisture and high winds can strip off outside elements easily. Before the cold hits, check shutters, siding, and other exterior materials to make sure they’re secure. Make sure your gutters and downspouts are clean and flowing free before the first freezing temperature arrives. A clogged downspout or gutter can cause water to come into contact with the foundation walls of your home and creep under your roofing. Also inspect your home’s foundations for cracks that could potentially allow water to seep into the home. Seal any cracks to prevent moisture intrusion, and also seal decks and fences to prevent the wood from rotting.

Since the roof takes the brunt of the cold weather, make sure yours is secure by repairing any leakers, even minor ones, and replacing any loose shingles. Consider installing roof heating cables to prevent ice dams from forming on roofs and in gutters. Roof heating cables emit a low level of electric-powered heat and will prevent ice from blocking gutters and downspouts. These cables also help melt snow to prevent it from accumulating on your roof, which can cause damage, and in some cases cave-ins.

Pillar To Post recommends winterizing your pipes by wrapping them in insulation to prevent freezing and bursting. They can be insulated with materials found around the home like newspapers and plastic, which will help save on costs. It is especially important to insulate pipes that are exposed to the elements or located in unheated areas like crawl spaces. Pillar To Post also recommends that homeowners learn where their water shut-off valves are located so they can be turned off in case of a pipe leak.

Cut away tree branches that could potentially fall onto your home. Branches that hang over your roof or driveway present a risk. Make sure your trees are neatly trimmed, and cut away any dead or dying branches and limbs. Check with your local municipality about any regulations regarding tree trimming.

Install a programmable thermostat: Programmable thermostats can cut your energy bills by $100 or more each year. For every degree your thermostat is adjusted (One degree lower in the winter months and one degree higher in the summer months) you can save up to one percent on your energy bills—both heating and cooling.



	Photo courtesy of Pillar To Post home inspection

Fix in-home leaks and consider low-flow devices: It has been shown that leaking faucets and toilets account for 14 percent of all indoor water use, which can add up to 20 gallons of water per person per day. Check all faucets for leaks and get them repaired ASAP. Another way to conserve water is to look into low-flush toilets and showerheads. Low-flush toilets use less than 1.6 gallons of water per flush. Check with your local water department for rebates that can run up to $150 for upgrades to low-flush toilets. Likewise, low-flow showerheads use up to 36 percent less water than

If you don’t have the time to inspect your home for problem areas yourself, certified home inspectors can be hired to quickly check all areas of your home, and will give you a report of your home’s condition. Pillar To Post home inspection reports details up to 1,600 key components of a home’s condition, making sure you’re not left in the dark about anything, and that you can take a preventative approach to problems before they start.

For more information about home inspections, visit http://www.pillartopost.com or call (800) 294-5591. Founded in 1994, Pillar To Post is North America’s leading home inspection company with more than 400 franchise locations in 44 states and eight Canadian provinces.

Courtesy: Home Improvement News and Information Center

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