Tips for Preparing your Home for Fall and Winter

Checklist for Fall and Winter Preparation

 1. Tune up your heating system and create a plan for maintenance. For about $80 to $100, a technician will inspect your furnace or heat pump to be sure the system is clean and in good repair so that it can achieve its manufacturer-rated efficiency. The inspection also measures carbon-monoxide leakage. And you minimize the chance of being last in line for repairs on the coldest day of the year.  Create a plan to have a heating professional check your heating system every year.  Mark your calendar.  Woodburning stove connector pipes and chimneys should be inspected by a certified chimney sweep at least annually.
Replace your furnace filter.  Your furnace filters need to be replaced once a month to allow your heating and cooling systems to operate properly. To create a plan of action, set your cell phone to remind you once a month or mark your calendar.  Have a certified chimney sweep inspect and clean the flues and check your fireplace damper Soot and creosote, which build up inside the chimney, can ignite when a fire is lit in the fireplace.

2.  Prepare the lawn and Garden for Next Spring.  This is the perfect time of year to reseed the lawn entirely or in small needed patches.  Fall is a great time to divide plants, plant bulbs, plant trees and shrubs and otherwise get the garden ready for winter.  Also, it's the time to relocate shrubs.  If you maintain a garden, you can clean away dead plant material preparing for Spring. With some initial maintenance of your lawn and garden already taken care of, you will have more time to tackle other projects once the weather improves.  Run all gas-powered lawn equipment until the fuel tanks are empty.  By doing this, you are removing flammable liquid storage from your garage. At the same time, make sure you aren't storing dirty, oily rags in a pile. They can ignite spontaneously.  Prepare to winterize pools, fountains and ponds.

3. Consider Outdoor Areas for maintenance and entertaining in cooler weather.  With the arrival of fall and cold weather, it is essential to keep your wood deck protected through the dormant months. Decks, after all, are a valuable outdoor addition well worth protecting. Investing just a small amount of time before the worst of winter weather hits can make all the difference in how your deck will look and perform as the temperature fluctuates. Setting planters and pots directly on a deck's surface may cause staining. Consider removing planters from the deck or moving them around on a regular basis to decrease the effects.  If shoveling snow off your deck, run the shovel lengthwise on the deck boards. Shoveling cross-wise can scratch or cut in to the wood. Consider using a plastic shovel to decrease scratching and avoid salt or other ice melters; they may discolor or damage some deck finishes.

4. Clean the gutters. If your gutters are full of detritus, water can back up against the house and damage roofing, siding and wood trim, plus cause leaks and ice dams. Also look for missing or damaged components that need repair. 

5. Divert water. Add extensions to downspouts so water runs away from the structure of the house and basement.

6. Consider the roof. Scan for damaged, loose or missing shingles that may leak during winter's storms or from melting snow. If need be, hire a handyman to repair a few shingles or call a roofer for a more serious or larger repair.  Check and repair breaks in the flashing seals around vent stacks and chimneys, too.

7. Caulk around windows and doors.  Make sure the caulking around doors and windows is adequate to reduce heat loss. If the space is wider than the thickness of a nickel, new caulking or weatherstripping is necessary for optimal efficiency. Also, check for cracked or missing caulk around the base of your toilet, bath tub, and bathroom cabinets. Properly sealing gaps between your bathroom fixtures and flooring material can prevent damage. Check window glazing putty, and add weatherstripping as needed around doors, making sure you cannot see any daylight from inside your home.  While your checking, make sure that the caulking around your bathroom fixtures is adequate to prevent water from seeping into the sub-flooring.