TIghtening Up Your Home During Winter

January and February are quite often the hardest months of the year when it comes to the weather. In an ideal world, we would have our homes in shipshape condition before the start of the winter, but quite often, time runs away with us, and before we know it, we are knee-deep in snow, trying to fix all the problems. You still have time, though! Here, we look at some of the jobs that you should be doing to make sure your home is in the best possible condition to get through the winter months.

Check your boiler and heating system.

If you have not already done so this year, do not forget to get your boiler and heating system serviced and checked by an appropriately qualified and registered plumber or engineer. There is nothing worse than being left without heating and hot water in the bleak mid-winter!

Secure your roof tiles

Head up onto the roof and check for any missing, loose, or cracked tiles, and replace them if necessary. If heights are not your thing, a residential roofing company can do this for you and make sure everything is in order up there. If your roof is in a state of disrepair, any snow and strong winter winds can wreak havoc and cause some quite substantial damage to the rest of your property.

Check your chimney

If you have a chimney, check for cracks and loose rendering around the chimney pots and roof join. Heavy rainfalls and wind can damage them, so before the worst of the weather kicks in, sort out any issues.

Insulate pipes

Frozen pipes are a big problem in the winter, and it can cause them to burst, which leads to all sorts of damage to your home. The best way of preventing this from happening is to keep them warm. Apply thick layers of foam to insulate pipes, otherwise known as lagging, particularly those in exposed and cooler areas such as garages, basements, lofts, and utility rooms. You might also want to do this to your water tank if it is not well protected.

Clear out your gutters and drains

Hopefully, you did this at the end of Autumn, but if you didn’t, go and do it now! The leaves and branches and twigs that have blown off the trees can clag them up, leading to them bending, warping, and even breaking, not to mention the problems with them overflowing. Make it part of your regular maintenance schedule throughout Autumn and Winter to check them and clear them out.

Plug any holes and gaps

Go around your home with a can of spray foam gap-sealer and a tube of caulk and find and fill in any gaps and cracks in the windows, siding, and foundation. If you can’t fix one straight away, make a note of it to sort out at a later date. You can find the gaps by using a candle flame or a digital thermometer to see where the cold air is entering.