Preparing Your Home for Winter Storms
Living in New England means that winter storms are inevitable. From ice and wind to significant snowfall, the winter months can take a toll on your home. There are some steps that you can take now before winter sets in to prepare your home for this.
Keep the Heat in By Ensuring that Your Home is Well Insulated
It is good practice to ensure that the heat in your home stays put during the winter months, making your home more energy efficient while also lowering your heating bills. This is also important if you lose power. Insulating your house now can make a big difference in keeping the temperature up if you do lose heat for hours or even days during a storm. This will not only make your family more comfortable, but it will also protect the home from frozen pipes.
Sealing windows with a plastic covering can go a long way to keeping the warm air in and the cold out. You will also want to caulk any drafty areas around windows or doors. Weather stripping is a good way to seal drafty areas including around the plumbing and electrical lines of the home.
Evaluate the Outside of the Home for Potential Problems
Now is a great time to take a look at your roof. A roof in need of repair or replacement can put you at risk for developing ice dams during the winter months. If a home’s gutters are blocked with leaves and other debris, this can lead to melting ice and snow accumulating on the roof and seeping into the home.
The fall is a great time to invest in a roof rake. During large snowfall, removing the accumulation from the roof of the home can go a long way to preventing damage.
Another risk for damage during the winter is hanging tree limbs and dead trees close to the home. Pruning these branches and having dead or dying trees removed can go a long way to preventing potential damage during a winter storm.
If you do experience water damage to your home this winter, whether from frozen pipes or ice dams, the professionals at Soil-Away are here to help. You can reach the Soil-Away team at 603-641-6555.