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Is your home ready for the snowy months ahead?

There is nothing more relaxing than sitting at home and watching the snowfall with a warm drink in your hand knowing your house is ready for the frigid months ahead. Before you go dashing through the snow though, there are things that need to be done to prepare you and your home for the cold season. Here are a few tips and tricks:



1. Make sure the weather stripping on your doors is in good shape. They shouldn’t have any rips or cracks in them, but if they do, they need to be replaced. Your door frames shouldn’t have any cracks either, fil them with caulking if you notice some.


2. Make sure there are no cracks in your windows or window frames. Broken seals in your window pane can reduce the efficiency of your window as well, so you may want to consider replacing.


3. For your garage door, make sure that all the moving parts are well lubricated. Your door should make a proper and solid seal and you don’t want to have any rust on any of the rollers or hinges.


4. All your pipes need to be well insulated if they are near exterior walls, in any uninsulated parts of your home or under any crawl spaces. All your outside taps should be turned off with any hoses disconnected, and if there’s a shut off valve to the outside taps they should be shut off as well.


5. Make sure there’s no blockages in your eavestroughs as this will help avoid any ice damage throughout the winter months. Your downspouts should be facing away from your house so any drainage or melting snow doesn’t end up in your basement.


6. Your home’s heating system will need regular maintenance and there’s no better time to make sure it’s working! You’ll want to change your furnace filter and it’s recommended to get an inspection done by a reputable HVAC contractor. There’s nothing worse than having your furnace crash on a cold winter day (or night – brrrrr!)

7. Your fireplaces and chimneys should be cleaned and inspected to prevent any fires. This is also a good time to order wood if you have a wood burning fireplace. Your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors also should be checked and the batteries changed.


8. All your outdoor lights should be checked, and bulbs changed. Nobody wants to change a lightbulb in -30!


And always remember… “Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home.” - Edith Sitwell




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