Four Steps to Winterizing a Home As the days grow shorter and the nights grow colder, homeowners across the country are beginning to batten down the hatches on their homes and prepare for winter. Winterizing the home in preparation for the long winter months is one of the best things that a homeowner can do to help protect their home from damage during the winter as well as save money on heating and utility costs.
Energy Preservation and Damage Prevention Energy preservation and damage prevention are the two main goals for any homeowner that is attempting to winterize their home. With these two goals kept firmly in mind, a homeowner and a person who has bought their home using a VA home loan can logically think of tasks to do to properly winterize their home. But for those who still need help with where to start as they attempt to winterize their home for the upcoming cold months, consider these four steps to winterizing a home. By completing each of these tasks, a homeowner and a person who has bought their home using a VA home loan can be assured that they have taken the basic precautions necessary to protect their home and boost the home’s efficiency at retaining much needed heat.
Gutters, Air leaks, and Insulation The first step that a person can do to help them wade into the winterization process is to clean out their gutters. Cleaning and clearing the gutters of any clogs or blockages will do a few things to help protect the home; the first being that clearing the gutters will help them to perform their role of providing safe drainage of water from the roof and the second being that as the snow melts a well working gutter system on the roof will lessen the chances of incurring a flood in the basement or ground level of the home. The second step to winterizing the home is to seal any air leaks that are present in the home. This means apply extra layers of caulk to doorways, windowsills and other problem areas of the home to ensure that these areas of the home are secured from leaking the heated air within the home. The third step for winterizing a home is to beef up the insulation that the home already holds. The attic or upper crawl space of the home will be the best place to add extra insulation due to the fact that heat rises, and by stopping the heat from escaping through the addition of more insulation a homeowner can ensure that their home will better retain the heat it produces.
Heat The fourth step to winterizing a home is for the homeowner to check and inspect their heating unit in the home. Whatever item may produce the heat for the home, whether it is a gas furnace or a wood burning stove, this appliance will need to be inspected for safety as well as for efficiency. Along with inspecting the heating source of the home, a homeowner may wish to consider inspecting the air ducts of the home to ensure that they themselves do not have leaks that will lead to inefficiency. Winterizing the home is an important step for all homeowners who wish to protect their home and help them conserve more energy this winter. Photo Credit: humusak2 , ColinBroug