Here’s How to Winterize Your Home

When you live in a climate of extremes, your house must withstand intense heat as well as freezing temperatures. That puts a lot of pressure on your home’s exterior. At this time of year, you need to prepare it for the upcoming winter season. A top-down approach from roof to basement is a good way to cover everything that needs inspection or maintenance.

Prepare Your Roof

If you’re going the DIY route, you must wear a safety harness. Otherwise, hire a professional roofer and address any repair recommendations immediately. 

1. Clear the Gutters: Remove all those weeds and leaves that have accumulated throughout the warmer months and consider adding gutter screens. If you’re a skilled DIY enthusiast and you’re comfortable on a ladder, you can do it yourself. Remember that you must wear a safety harness.

2. Inspect the Shingles: Look for shingles that are bent, torn, or peeling up allowing water to enter. Check the flashing around your chimney or other roof installations for wear. 

3. Add Roof Heating Cables: These can significantly reduce ice and snow buildup.

4. Check Your Attic Insulation: make sure it provides adequate coverage and is in good condition. Proper insulation will help prevent damage caused by ice dams. 

5. Decorate for Christmas: As long as you’re up there, now is a good time to install Christmas lights if you want to decorate your house.

Batten Down the Hatches

Now it’s time to check and repair the weather stripping around your home’s doors to prevent cold air and moisture from seeping in. This is a very important part of winter prep since improperly sealed openings can account for up to 40% of a home’s heating and cooling loss. Here’s some easy-to-install solutions:

• Thresholds & Door Sweeps: These materials create a seal over the entryway floor. Thresholds (a raised door-bottom seal) often have built-in weather stripping in the form of tubular rubber. A door sweep has a metal base with a flexible sweep made out of plastic, sponge or felt. Both are easy to install.

• V-Strips: Folded in the middle, V-Strips are simply pressed into place along the frame to seal the gap. Look for self-adhesive backing. 

• Adhesive-Backed Tape: Very easy to install, adhesive tape can be cut to length and stuck on the seal of your doors. It comes in different widths and thicknesses but will require periodic replacing. 

• Felt-Based Stripping: This can be used in areas that don’t get wet. Sometimes reinforced with metal, felt-based stripping is sold in rolls for cutting and stapling into place. A great seasonal solution. 

• Compression Weather Stripping: These tubes of rubber or vinyl adhere to the door frame and interlock to create a tight seal.

Seal Up Your Windows

Sealing windows from drafts is next on the agenda. It’s a cost-effective way to prevent cold air from getting through gaps and will help prevent your furnace from working overtime. Here’s how to do it: 

1. Screen Removal: If you have outside removable window screens, take them off and store for the winter. 

2. Cleaning: Give your windows a thorough cleaning inside and out including the sills. Use soap, water and a squeegee, and let them dry completely. 

3. Remove Old Caulking: Old window caulking may be cracked and crumbling. Carefully chip it off so that you can apply new caulking. 

4. Apply New Caulking: Silicone caulking is a good choice if the surface is dry during application. Once applied, it will stay flexible and strong through icy cold and hot, humid weather. 

5. Seal Up Large Gaps: If it’s necessary to fill larger gaps around windows, an insulation foam spray will create a weather-tight seal. 

6. Window Film: Consider adding a sheet of film to the outside of your windows for extra insulation. Special window insulation kits are available that contain everything you’ll need.

Get Your Fireplace Ready

If your home has a wood-burning fireplace it’s a good idea to inspect it for damage and have a chimney sweep remove the excess soot. This will ensure that you won’t be exposed to dangerous fire or carbon monoxide. Scrub away any dirt and stains from your fireplace surround with a vinegar/water solution or all-purpose cleaner. This works on your glass fireplace doors too. If your surround is made of marble or stone you can use dishwashing liquid and water.

Check Your Furnace

Checking your furnace in the fall will help prevent a breakdown in the depths of winter. In addition to professional inspection, here’s some DIY tips: 

• Be sure to cut off the power before starting your inspection 

• Check that all pipes are secure and ensure there are no leaks 

• Check that your furnace wiring is tight and secure 

• If you have a permanent filter, now is the time to clean it 

• If you have a removable filter, now is the time to replace it 

• Consider adding a furnace humidifier to make the dry winter air in your home more breathable

Smarten Up Your Thermostat

You might also consider updating your thermostat to a smart thermostat. You can set a schedule to coincide with times when you’re at home or away, saving you money on your heating bill.

Check Your Pipes & Plumbing

Freezing water can rupture the pipes and cause damage to your home. Here’s some easy tips to help winterize your plumbing:

• Insulate areas where cold air gets in such as crawl space vents and places where piping runs against an outside wall 

• Wrap the pipes with foam insulation tubing or stuff insulation around the pipes 

• During extreme cold weather you can run a portable heater near vulnerable areas 

• If you’re going away from home in the winter, set the temperature to at least 13°C 

• Consider installing a smart water detector to alert you to any leaks 

• Add a sump pump in case a pipe does burst, and ensure the discharge pipe is well insulated

Preparing your home for winter takes a bit of time and effort, but it’s extremely cost-effective. Neglecting to prep can result in cold, drafty rooms, higher heating costs, or flooding. In this case, an ounce of prevention really is worth a pound of cure.