9 tips to be winter-ready

The nights are drawing in and that chill in the evening air tells us summer is over, and it’s time to begin a few home maintenance tasks before winter arrives.

Preparing for cold weather can help reduce your heating bills as well as mitigate against structural damage caused by rains, snow and freezing temperatures.

Perhaps your first act should be to turn off the air-conditioning unit. Many folks tend to leave their AC on and let it run in the background but this can adversely affect the life of the unit. 

So, flick the switch to “off”, and if you have an external unit then drape or tie a tarp over it to protect it from the elements.

As your neighborhood real estate agent, I see the initiatives many residents take to maintain their properties with a minimum of fuss. Here’s a quick list in the hope it will inspire you.

  1. Seal the deal – Check for cracks and leaks around doors and windows and seal them quickly with a caulking gun and silicon.
  2. Be the draft excluder – Walk through the home and try to feel where drafts are coming from. Little crevices can push your power bill higher if they’re allowed to go unchecked. 
  3. Critter alert – As part of the same task, see if you can spot where mice might seek refuge during the cold winter months, and block potential entry points. In older homes, you should be on the look-out for termite activity. If you find any, get the pest experts in quickly. 
  4. The heat is on – When was the last time you had your furnace or fireplace serviced, or your chimney cleaned? Don’t wait for something to go wrong. And book your service providers before a cold-snap arrives because that’s when there’s sure to be a long wait.
  5. Temperature control – Reset your thermostats so you have them at your preferred temperature. Make sure that during summer you haven’t moved any furniture in front or over the airflow vents.
  6. Crack check – Walk around the outside of your home and check for any foundation and mortars cracks. Summer temperatures can result in a minimal movement of a home that can be enough to crack foundations, exterior renders and facia. Address each issue as water will get into these cracks and cause significant problems down the track.
  7. Get into the gutters – It’s a lousy job, but the gutters will almost certainly need to be cleaned of leaves. Blocked downpipes can cause untold damage when the big rains and snow comes. Even if you’ve installed gutter guards, be vigilant.
  8. Hit the roof – Check for missing tiles, shingles or tears in the tar. 
  9. Tools at the ready – It sounds a little dramatic, but check that you have your snow shovel, ice scraper and sidewalk salt at hand. When the first snows come, there’s nothing more infuriating than rummaging through the garage for them in the freezing cold.