Prepare Your Home For Winter

Posted on September 26th, 2009 by Bruce

Prepare Your Home For Winter

As the days get shorter and the nights get cooler, it’s time to prepare your home for the cold winter months ahead.

One of the easiest Do-It-Yourself projects to complete, is sealing the air leaks in your home. This project also has great financial paybacks – saving you more money in a year than the materials usually cost. Additional benefits include increased comfort as the drafts are cut down.

Seal Air Leaks

Air Leak Test: You can wait for a windy day, then walk around the house and “feel” for air leaks around windows, doors, vents, baseboards and electrical outlets. Wetting your hand will help you “feel” the drafts. You can also use a smoking incense stick to look for these light breezes.

Rather than waiting for a windy day, you can also create these breezes by closing up all the doors and windows and turning on all exhaust fans in your home. As the exhaust fans take air out of the house, fresh air is sucked in through the air leaks around doors, windows, etc. If trying this method, make sure you first shut off any gas (natural gas, propane, etc.) sources – fireplace, furnace. See Home Air Leak Test for more info on this method.

Caulking: Once yo have noted the location of air leaks, it’s time to seal them up. There are various types and colors of caulking available from your local hardware store. For outside applications, make sure you select an outside caulk. I was able to pick a pliable caulking that matched my window colors exactly. Exact color matches are not necessary but it’s nice when it happens. If you will be painting the caulking later, you’ll also want to check that the caulking you select is paintable – paint will not stick to some caulking. On the inside of my window frames, I used clear caulking.

For large openings, you may want to consider an expanding foam. You spray the foam into the crack and then cut away any excess once it cures. Be careful with the foam, as some varieties can be a bit tricky to cleanup if accidentally sprayed on walls for the floor.

Doors: you can use caulking around the door frames, but the actual opening around the door is usually sealed with a foam strip. Applying foam weather stripping around doors is easy. The foam strips come with self-stick tape on the back. Pick the size you want, then peel and stick. Check the bottom of your doors for leaks as well. Sealing the threshold takes a bit more work. Measure the size of your opening, then visit your local hardware store. They should have a good selection of threshold strips that simply screw into the floor.

Outdoors: Check the outside of your home for possible air leaks. Pay attention to pipes, electrical outlets and conduit. Also pay attention to joins of different materials, such as the joint when bricks meet siding. Look for cracks in mortar, foundations and siding materials. When in doubt, add caulking.

Insulate Your Home

Adding insulation to your attic, basement and walls can also have a big impact on your heating bills and comfort level. If you need additional insulation in your walls, it’s time to call in a professional. However, add a few extra inches to the attic is often a very simple task. Pick a cool overcast day, as the attic can get very hot when the sun is shining. Check your existing insulation level and if you need more, try to use the same insulation material. And be careful where you walk – you don’t want a hole in the bedroom ceiling or a personal injury.

If your basement walls are not insulated all the way to the floor, then this is a good place to add. You may also want to cover the floor/ceiling joists if they are exposed. This can warm up the floor to bare feet and also reduce noise transfer between floors.

Other Areas to Consider

Look at your window blinds – can you close off the windows at night to keep the heat in? Are the windows dirty – wash them now before the cold sets in. Are the water pipes insulated? Did you turn down the water heater to a reasonable level. And while we’re talking about water, have you installed low-flow shower heads and aerators on all taps? Washing your clothes in cold water will save money anytime of the year. If you use a dryer in the winter, because the clothesline is buried in snow, can you vent the heat to the inside of the house? If you do vent inside, ensure you have a lint catcher and also monitor your moisture level inside the home.

Bottom line – now is the time to consider getting ready for the cold winter months. Don’t wait for the snow to arrive before checking outside walls for cracks.

GreenTerraFirma

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