We’ve made it to October, fall is in full effect and the Holiday season will be here before we know it. Before the weather gets too cold or extreme weather comes knocking on your front door, now is the time to weatherproof and prepare your home for the fall and winter months.
There are a few tasks and projects that you can do yourself to ensure that you’re prepared for the fall and winter months that are on the horizon. Below, Mr. Flush Plumbing in Augusta provides tips, tricks and preventative measures to ensure that your home will be weatherproof and ready for the cooler months.
One of the most important preventative measures to preparing your home for the fall and winter months and ensuring that your home is weatherproof is to seal gaps around windows and doors that are 1/8 of an inch or larger. Choosing to weatherproof your windows and doors by sealing the gaps will cut your winter heating bill by up to 15 percent.
To weatherproof your windows for the cooler months, Mr. Flush Plumbing in Augusta recommends that you press adhesive-backed closed-cell foam onto the bottom of the windows sash. Then, secure a loose sash by applying a strip of plastic V-channel weatherstripping in the groove the sash slides in and then fortify it down with finishing nails. For weatherproofing the doors of your home, use foam strips on the sides and tops of doors and consider installing a door sweep on the bottom.
Another good start to making sure your home is weatherproof is by checking on your gutter system. When gutters aren’t secured or pitched at the right angle, then they can overflow and threaten the inside of your home. Properly pitched gutters slope between 1/16 inch and 1/8 inch per foot so that the water is directed to the leader and out the spout away from your home.
Mr. Flush Plumbing in Augusta recommends ensuring your gutters are pitched and functioning correctly to protect the investment of your home as we near the winter months. To check the pitch, try holding a level even with the gutter and pour water into the gutter to check which way the flow is directed.
If you have any known cracks in your driveway, walkway, steps or other concrete around your home, Mr. Flush in Augusta recommends you seal those cracks as soon as possible. Cracks are a hazard and can fill with water and freeze overnight in the winter months resulting in damages and expenses that no one wants to deal with. Luckily for you, if you can caulk, then you can fix the cracks in the concrete surrounding your home.
The first thing a homeowner should do before repairing cracks is to make sure the area is clean and dry to start the weatherproofing project. For cracks less than a half-inch wide, squeeze a bead of acrylic latex concrete repair compound deep into the crack and then smooth the excess. If you have a crack larger than this, trowel on a vinyl concrete patching compound and let it sit a day before walking on it or three for driving.
If you have ceiling fans in your home, you can change their rotation to turn clockwise so that it pushes the warm air down into your home. Mr. Flush Plumbing in Augusta recommends changing your ceiling fans to clockwise to keep your living space warmer during the winter months and ultimately save you money on energy bills.
If you have AC window units in your home, once the temperature drops you should consider removing them and weatherproofing the window like we mentioned above. Even the best installed AC window units can have gaps and cause higher heating energy bills in the winter months.
No one wants to do this but procrastinating this easy DIY attic inspection could lead to serious damages, expenses and critter invasions down the road. During the brightest part of the day or during a steady rain, look for streams of light or water entering the attic through the roof or sheathing.
If there are any holes, fill sheathing gaps with closed-cell polyurethane foam and fix small roof leaks by caulking with tripolymer elastomeric sealant. The tripolymer elastomeric sealant is comparable to asphalt shingles and resists UV rays. However, if you have large leaks in your attic, don’t attempt to caulk those but instead contact a licensed and experienced roofing contractor near you.
While your checking your attic for holes, take the time to survey if your attics is properly protected. If you can see the tops of the joists, then you might want to consider improving the insulation in your attic for protection against extreme weather and the winter months.
If the existing insulation in your attic is roughly even with the tops of the joists, you can add a new layer of unfaced batt insulation perpendicular to the old one and push the pieces together, so they are flushed side by side.
However, if the existing layers are more than an inch above the joists, blown in cellulose or fiberglass does a better job filling the crevices. If you are unfamiliar or uncomfortable assessing these attic repairs yourself, Mr. Flush Plumbing in Augusta recommends contacting a professional roofing contractor to prepare and weatherproof your home for the nearing winter months.
If you were searching for the best ways to weatherproofing your home, Mr. Flush Plumbing in Augusta hopes that the tips above help you in preparing your home for the coming winter months. Weatherproofing your home ensures safety and peace of mind as the temperature drops and extreme weather hits.
If you need a licensed and experienced professional plumbing service, contact the plumbing professionals at Mr. Flush in Augusta.