5 Steps to a Winter-Ready Home

winter home maintenance tips, home maintenance tips,

How to Winter-Ready Your Home. These 5 steps will help ensure you home is ready fro the big chill this winter.

We'll start at the top:

1 Check the Roof.

Remove leaves and dirt from the surface with a broom or blower. Then clear leaves and debris from gutters and downspouts.

Use a hose to shoot water down gutters and spouts to make sure they aren't clogged.

Next, check the seal along areas where the roof adjoins other parts of your home (such as walls, pipes and the chimney) for cracks or missing shingles. Here, you're looking to make sure there is a good seal and the caulking hasn't dried out. If it has, take it out and clean it with a stiff wire brush and recaulk.

Then replace missing shingles or shakes, renail the ridge and seal around the pipes.

If you discover problems you can't handle yourself, place a service call now - before the problems becomes a leaky, expensive emergency.

2. Check the Chimney and Fireplace.

Newer fireplaces are better at producing heat and reducing airflow to prolong a fire's life than their older, open counterparts.

However, newer ones also generate cooler smoke, which rises more slowly through the flue. This gives flammable gases time to turn to liquid creosote or soot that can build up in the chimney.

And whatever the age of the fireplace, this buildup can cause a chimney fire, which can be sucked into the house by a change in airflow.

A good rule of thumb is to schedule a professional cleaning every 40 or 50 fires, or after burning four cords of wood. The cost of cleaning depends on the chimney's size and condition.

If you don't know how much wood you've burned or you're concerned about the condition of your chimney, have it inspected.

Most chimney cleaning companies recommend an inspection at least every three to four years, more often for older homes.

3. Forage For Firewood.

Choices range from hardwoods - the hottest-, cleanest-, and longest-burning woods - such as oak, almond and walnut, to softwoods such as pine and fir.

The latter burn more quickly and ignite more easily, but emit more soot-creating oils and resins.

The best place to store firewood is outside at least several feet from the home so it does not pose a fire hazard. Stack it at least an inch off the ground to keep it from getting wet and to discourage bugs from making the woodpile a winter home. Cover loosely with a tarp.

It's better to keep it outside where the air circulation is good rather than in the garage. There are hundreds of species of bugs - and termites - that live in the wood that you probably don't want in your garage.

4. Inspect the Heating System.

On a cold winter's night, the heater is the last thing you want to have break down.

Not only is such a malfunction uncomfortable and expensive, it can even be dangerous. A malfunctioning heater may emit carbon monoxide.

Older furnaces should be serviced annually to check and adjust the belts, lubricate the motor and adjust the air-fuel mixture.

Newer furnaces generally don't need as much maintenance, but the screens and filters should be changed monthly.

You can change the filter yourself, but you'll need a service person to come out and check for any gas leaks, and to check all the safety controls on the furnace. It's a good idea to do a winter startup check to make sure you don't have any problems.

5. Test Your Weather-Stripping.

In many older homes, and even some newer ones, warm air escapes through numerous little cracks, holes and gaps.

The cold winter winds can force air through the openings into the house, and you have to raise the thermostat setting to keep warm. This forces the furnace to work harder and use more fuel - and up goes your energy and heating bill.

These heat-stealing gaps can result from poor construction, settling and aging of the house, and dramatic changes in humidity and temperatures.

They are especially prone to develop where two different surfaces meet, such as the wall and foundation or chimney-wall joint.

The best time to test your windows and doors for airtightness is a cold, windy winter day. Use your hand to feel for cold air, or make a simple draft detector by clipping a piece of tissue paper or light plastic to a coat hanger.

Hold the coat hanger in front of the suspected gap around doors or windows and see whether the paper or plastic moves.

If so, seal the opening with caulk or weather-stripping.

Caulking is relatively inexpensive and easy to apply. The best time to caulk is during dry weather when the temperature is above 45 degrees Fahrenheit.

Low humidity is important because moisture expands wood to temporarily seal cracks. And caulk adheres better in warmer temperatures.

Also check for air leaks around the openings where plumbing or electrical wiring goes through walls, floors and ceilings.

Check for drafts from electrical outlets, around ceiling fixtures and at openings in the attic.

Seal cracks or holes with caulking.

Be sure to close the damper when the fireplace is not in use.

Sealing off drafts can save up to 10 percent in annual energy costs.