Happy September everyone! What a month it’s been for us thus far; we just started a couple of new projects and wrapped up a few others, so it’s been a busy month!
We hope you all had a great summer and are ready to start prepping your home for the fall and winter here on the island!
As you know, with the seasons changing, it starts to get a bit windier, wetter, and colder, so this blog is all about how to prepare your home for fall and winter.
Here are our top tips to make your home fall/winter ready:
INSPECT SEALING AND WEATHER STRIPPING
With cooler weather can come drafts if your doors and windows are improperly sealed, which can drive up heating bills and result in many complaints from the family saying, “it’s so cold in here!”
Start looking into your doors and windows now so you can have peace of mind once the cold weather comes.
CLEAN OUT YOUR GUTTERS AND TURN OFF VALVES
As we all know way too well, it rains a TON here during the fall/winter, which makes your gutter clean/check that much more important. If your downspouts become clogged, it will cause flooding, roof leaks, and you don’t want that headache.
Take the time over the next few weeks to ensure all gutters are cleaned and run water through them to test them out. Additionally, make a note in your calendar to turn off exterior valves so you don’t have to deal with any bursting pipes. Once you see the forecast for negative temperatures, overnight frost, etc., that’s your sign.
SEAL CRACKS IN YOUR DRIVEWAY AND SIDEWALK
We’ve all heard horror stories of what can happen to driveway/sidewalk cracks with expanding and contracting during the winter – very expensive repair bills.
The good news is there’s a solution; fill them now to prevent cracks from spreading, getting bigger, and having a massive concrete repair bill in the spring.
INSPECT AND REPAIR YOUR ROOF
Grab the ladder and head up to your roof to ensure there aren’t any missing or damaged shingles because with the amount of moisture we get here it will cause many costly problems.
When inspecting your roof, take a look at the trees that overhang your property to see if there are branches that can be trimmed (dead branches or weak) or debris that can be removed because once it gets windy, those branches can break off and potentially cause damage to your house or vehicles.
INSPECT YOUR HEATING SYSTEM (VERY IMPORTANT)
Hire a professional to inspect your heating system and to make any necessary repairs because the last thing you want is for your furnace to conk out in the middle of a cold winter night.
Another way to prepare is cleaning behind electric baseboards (if you have them) as there can tend to be lots of debris and dust that accumulates.
PREPARE YOUR LAWN FOR WINTER
Proper lawn care is an all-year process, and the best way to ensure it withstands the winter is by fertilizing it a few times throughout the fall.
Doing this can result in a greener lawn come springtime, and raking all the leaves before snow falls will prevent your grass from dying.
That wraps up our September blog. We hope you enjoyed our tips for making your home fall and winter ready.
We’ve helped many families on the island with lots of the above, so if you’re in need of some help, give us a call to get a quote or find out more.
To keep up with us and all the awesome projects we have on the go, follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn.