Your home is your defense against the elements. It protects you from precipitation and temperature. But it can\u2019t be a good defense if you don\u2019t help it\u2019s defense system, among them, the paint. Here\u2019s a complete checklist to prepare your home for winter.<\/p>\n
Central heating and air conditioning systems can last from 12-20 years depending on the maintenance they get. Before the weather goes cold, change out the filters. If you have a care contract in place, have your provider give it a once over.<\/p>\n
Exterior wood takes a beating from the cold and wet weather to come. Protect it by giving it some love now. Check over exterior wood for signs of mold, mildew, rot or other deterioration. If you find any, it might be a good time to have a professional come and repair or replace the pieces.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s much more likely that you will find the caulk in your frames and trim has deteriorated. Add new paintable or clear caulk to seal out the moisture and cold. Wooden decks should be stained or sealed every few years. One way to tell if it\u2019s time is to pour water on the wood. If it beads up, you are safe for another season.<\/p>\n
Drainage is crucial to allow melting snow an opportunity to flow away from your home. Pooling can cause growth of mold and mildew, and damage your paint. Clear away downspouts, move soil that might have filled in, and make sure water has clear paths to get away from the house.<\/p>\n
It might be early in the season for this task. Once the leaves have fallen, clear out the gutters. When they are full of tree debris, they overflow sending water running down the exterior of your home. More scary, the water can cause deterioration to the foundation and run into your basement.<\/p>\n
If you pay attention to the statistics, a chimney can be a fire hazard if not properly cared for. So before you build the first cozy fire of the season, get a chimney cleaning company to clear it out and give it a clean bill of health.<\/p>\n
Statistically speaking, most fires happen in winter. Between open fireplaces, furnaces running full tilt and warming electrical heaters and blankets, it\u2019s bound to happen. Keep your family safe by practicing proper usage and testing your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.<\/p>\n
You will have to take care of the water outside of your home. Your pool has specific instructions on how to properly seal it up for the winter. The sprinkler system will need to be turned off and the lines drained as well. If you skip this, you could be looking at blown out lines from water freezing in them. Drain all of the lines that have spigots outside. This way, if the water freezes, there is room to expand without breaking anything.<\/p>\n
Trim back trees while they are still healthy and robust from summer. Make sure tree branches are trimmed away from your home. This takes away the option for pests and water to use the branches as a bridge into your home.<\/p>\n
Get your patio furniture ready for hibernation by letting it air dry out for a solid day. This will keep moisture from being trapped inside the cover with it to make a mildew mess for spring. Once it\u2019s dry, cover it tightly for the winter.<\/p>\n
Now is a great time to pull out the snowblower and make sure it\u2019s prepped for use. If you don\u2019t have salt and shovels handy for the first big snow storm.<\/p>\n
Our estimators are happy to provide you a free estimate on your home\u2019s exterior repairs and paint. Contact us now<\/a> to set one up.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Your home is your defense against the elements. It protects you from precipitation and temperature. But it can\u2019t be a good defense if you don\u2019t help it\u2019s defense system, among them, the paint. Here\u2019s a complete checklist to prepare your home for winter. Check your home\u2019s heating and air conditioning system Central heating and airRead the full article <\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":41,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","format":"standard","categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1665","community","type-community","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/certapro.com\/columbia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/community\/1665","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/certapro.com\/columbia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/community"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/certapro.com\/columbia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/community"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/certapro.com\/columbia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/41"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/certapro.com\/columbia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1665"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/certapro.com\/columbia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/community\/1665\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/certapro.com\/columbia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1665"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/certapro.com\/columbia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1665"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/certapro.com\/columbia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1665"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}