Is Your Home Secretly Letting In The Cold?

Getting your home ready for the cold is vital, and you want to make sure that you’re checking your heating system to ensure that it’s working properly and to stock up on warm blankets. However, you should also make sure that you take a close look over the home and see if there are any gaps where cold might start to seep its way in. Here, we’re going to look at ways of ensuring your home is as heat-efficient as it can be.

Make sure that you have the insulation you need

Ensuring that the home is insulated is one of the best things you can do in dealing with the cold. There are plenty of benefits of insulation, including that it makes the home a lot easier to heat and helps it stay warmer for longer. Insulation can also help you avoid one of the biggest winter home disasters: the burst pipe. Ensure your home maintains its warmth as best as possible and protect yourself from some potentially pricy water damage.

Mind your roof

Every roof is susceptible to damage in the winter, whether it’s due to hail, wind picking up debris like branches or even particularly cold temperatures. You should take a look at the roof for signs of disrepair, such as broken or missing tiles, as well as general signs of failure, like discoloration and sagging. In some cases, a spot repair might be just what it needs, but you should start budgeting for a replacement if your roof is over a decade old.

Don’t neglect your gutters

If you’re taking a look at the roof, check out the gutters while you’re up there. These can easily get clogged by debris like twigs and leaves picked up by the wind, which can lead to leaks finding a way inside the home. Check out gutter cleaning tools with the help of sites like Family Handyman and make sure that you clean them at least twice a year.

Check the exterior fixtures, too

The façade of the home might seem like one of the most solid aspects of it but, over time, parts can come loose or be worn away by the weather, exposing the parts inside to potential damage as well as leaks. This can even affect your insulation, requiring you to replace it. Teams like Northeast Home can help by installing or replacing vinyl siding on the face. Aside from a nice addition of curb appeal, this gives a little extra protection to where the seams in the façade are.

Look to the windows and doors

Of course, most of the “seams” in the exterior tend to surround the windows and the doors. Over time, these can become warped or can age out of place, leaving air gaps that can allow the heat to escape and drafts to come in. You can check these parts of the home for drafts with little more than a piece of paper, letting you know when you’re in need of a replacement.

Is Your Home Secretly Letting In The Cold?

With the tips above, you can ensure that your home retains its warmth as best as possible for those upcoming cold days.