When it comes to winter and your home, it pays to be prepared. Tackling some of the basic home repairs or maintenance before the cold weather really kicks in can help you to avoid more serious remedial work when the temperature warm again or you facing disaster in the coldest months.
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The last couple of winters have certainly been extra chilly, with some difficult times for travel and a lot of people becoming homebound, or having to walk for supplies. With extra snowfall and icy roads, it’s not surprising that our homes need a little bit of care and attention to be ready. It’s important for us to ensure our homes are well prepared for the winter months. Although you may think it needs to be expensive and you’ve got presents to think about soon, it doesn’t need to be costly at all.
You can make sure your home is ready by using these handy tips below:
Have Your Heating And Plumbing Serviced
This is one of the most important things you can do to prepare for winter. No one wants to be left without hot water or heating in the coldest months of the year, so make sure you book an appointment with reputable Plumbers and a Gas Heating Engineer to service your heating and plumbing before the winter arrives. These should both be done every year anyway, so it’s best to arrange it for the autumn months.
Lag Your Pipes
If you lag your pipes, especially plastic pipes, it will help you to reduce heat loss from your system as well as prevent them from getting frozen and bursting. The best way to protect them is by using foam insulation tubes that you slip over the pipes. It’s very inexpensive and could save you a fortune over your pipes bursting.
Get Your Chimney Swept
This is certainly a task to get ticked off before the winter starts. Harsh, cold weather can cause damage to your chimney masonry, not to mention the fact that chimney fires are extremely common after the fire hasn’t been used or cleaned since the winter before. Before the weather gets too chilly and you fancy getting cosy in front of the fire, have it serviced and cleaned.
Clear The Downpipes, Gutters, And Gullies
Check all of these for moss, debris, and leaves before the winter starts. It’s very common for them to become blocked from heavy snow and rain in the winter if they haven’t been cleared. If you have any that are damaged or cracked replace them rather than leave them to get worst.
Top Up Your LPG/Oil Tank
If you are living in a home that uses the mains, it’s important for you to top it up otherwise you risk running out. You don’t want this if you end up snowed in or poorly for a few days or weeks. If you can, buy your oil before it gets to the coldest months, when the winter hits it usually pushes the prices up. If you can buy it in the summer you will likely get the best prices, however, if you haven’t yet get it before the winter sets in. If you find a good price, remember you can store it for around 2 years, so ensure you have plenty in storage.
Insulate Your Loft Space
If you haven’t already go your loft space insulated, you should do it as soon as you can. You should do the same if you have poor performing loft insulation. It will certainly pay off when the colder months set in. There is a lot of government-backed schemes at the moment so it’s worth research this to see if you are eligible. This is one of the easiest ways you can improve the energy efficiency of your home, it can dramatically reduce your energy bills.
Identity And Fix Any Problems With Your Roof
If you identify and fix any problems with your roof before the winter you are helping to prevent any leaks or further deterioration to the structure of your home. If you only have a few cracks tiles or slipped or missing tiles they can usually be fixed or replaced easily. If you have a roof that is made of other materials you will need to make sure there is sagging or signs of leaks before the winter. Heavy snow and rain can cause serious problems for these types of roofs, so make sure you don’t neglect them.
Clean And Maintain Any Outdoor Lighting
Before the nights start to get really short and dark, clean your light thoroughly (turn off the power first). Check that the bulbs are working, and replace them if you need to. LED lights are the best for outdoors so you may want to change all your outdoor lighting to the same. Make sure you have some spare bulbs in storage ready just in case they go during the winter. If you have any solar-powered lights, remember that snow and debris will prevent them from working properly, so you will need to clear anything before they work as they should.
Repair Broken Gates and Fences
Doing this will help you to prevent any further serious damage during the coldest months of the year. If we have extremely harsh weather again this year, it will be difficult to get out to make repairs, so checking them and repairing them before the coldest months will help to ensure they are still standing at the end of the winter. It will also help to keep children and pets safe if they are in the garden.
Draughtproof Your Doors And Windows
The Energy Saving Trust says that 46% of homes still need to tackle this task. It is also estimated that it can cost between £85 and £276 for the insulation to be done properly. Doing this will also help you to enhance the appearance of your property. Ensuring your windows and doors will not only spruce up the outside of your house, but it will save you money in the long run. Also, draught-proofing is much better for the environment!
This checklist should help you to get your home ready for the winter without it breaking the bank. Is there anything that you do each year to get prepared for winter? Please share some of your to-dos in the comments below.
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