After a busy and fun-filled summer, the last thing people want to be thinking about is a cold and wet winter. It can be easy to put off basic home maintenance tasks that have been on the list since the beginning of the year but still really need doing. Some of which are more important than others.
However, to ensure that you stay warm this winter and that your house is operating at its most efficient, you should complete these winter home maintenance tasks before the cold arrives. Some of them will be impossible to do when the cold weather has come in so it’s worth setting aside some time to complete them now so you can spend the winter months cozying by the fireplace waiting for the summer sun to return.
Prepping Your List
Before you start on any tasks it’s probably a good idea to go around your house and make a list of everything you think needs doing. If you find tasks that you don’t think you will be able to complete yourself then you can always go online and search for ‘handyman services near me’ to find someone to come and complete them for you. Some jobs will require a professional to carry them out for you.
Sweep the Chimney
For anyone with a log burning stove or open fire, one of the most important things you can do before the winter hits is get the chimney swept. Some of the latest figures available show that there are 7,000 chimney fires every year in England. However, most of these are preventable with basic chimney maintenance.
There are different guidelines on how often you should clean a chimney depending on the type of fuel that you burn. The guidelines are:
- Oil fires and gas fires – Clean the chimney once a year
- Bituminous coal – Clean at least twice a year
- Wood – This requires the most maintenance and chimneys should be cleaned up to four times a year
Check for Drafts and Gaps
Improper insulation around doors and windows is one of the leading ways in which heat is lost in the home. In older houses, especially, this can be a real problem. It doesn’t take long to go around the house on a breezy day and just move your hands around the edges of windows and doors. This will help you to identify areas where you are losing heat.
The solution to fixing these types of small issues is to use some silicone to fill in the gaps. For larger gaps around windows, you may need to use a more heavy-duty filler or concrete/mortar mix. If the gaps underneath doors are a problem then draft excluders are cheap to purchase, and you will be sure to feel a difference almost immediately.
Insulate the Roof and Walls
Along with getting your chimney swept, this is another job on the list that is probably best left to a professional. However, it’s easy to identify whether or not this is something you should look into doing.
One of the most common and popular forms of insulation you can use to upgrade your home is cavity wall insulation. This type of insulation is put between the brick and the inside wall of your home. Sometimes it comes in blocks of insulations and sometimes it can be sprayed in by a professional insulation company.
The other area that you can look to better insulate your home is in the roof. You can do this yourself by purchasing large insulation blocks and fitting them between the eaves of the roof.
Test Drive Your Central Heating
It’s a simple tip but one that you will kick yourself about if you don’t try it. Simply checking that your heating in your home is working before that first cold snap comes in is a good idea.
As you can probably imagine, plumbers are at a premium when the cold weather comes in because people will realize their heating and boiler systems aren’t working. It can sometimes be days before someone can come out to have a look. Save yourself some stress and run the heating for an hour, just to make sure everything is working okay.
These tips should help you prepare your home for the winter months. As well as being useful for helping to keep your home warm, they are also important because they will help to keep you to save money when using something like a log burning stove to heat your home. Putting in the effort beforehand will ensure that you are ready for when the cold weather arrives.
Speak Your Mind