With the sun setting earlier and also rising later, the wind blowing leaving the trees leaf-less it gets more and more obvious that winter is preparing its entrance in a delicate manner. Most of us think that winter is a season when one has to deal with issues such as wiping away the dust from the ski gear or simply enjoying the warmth and romantic sitting by a fireplace. Maybe so but one has also to think about ways to prevent winter water damage.

Preparing your home for winter is a house duty. This kind of duty should be started in early or middle autumn so it gets the right amount of time to be properly done. We all know that the cost of preventing a damage caused by water is lower and preferable over actually dealing with winter water damage. Follow the steps from below to have a good start:

• Begin with outdoor preparations for winter

Snoop your house for scissors, because the time to trim your trees is here: make sure to cut the dead branches. Such branches, if left in the tree, can become a hassle when you least expect them to. Snow, ice, strong winter wind or all three can catapult them directly into your nearby car or house windows causing a great amount of damage, not to mention that they can also cause injuries to your family members and not only.

The following step after cutting the dead branches should be cleaning the roof gutters so no ice dam can form. Ice dams prevent melting snow and ice from getting down the stouts as it should, causing the water to infiltrate in the house via the ceiling or the walls.

While attending to this matter verify all windows tracks and sliders. Their tracks and water drainage holes ought to be clear. If not, ice, snow will not flow the way it should. It will melt and it will be seeping in the house walls in no time. In case you have a house with a crawl space, be sure to check that all the pipes that are exposed have good insulation. Do you have a pool or a spa facility in your house? If so, you need a professional who can winterize your system.

• Move on to the indoor preparations for winter

Ending the outdoor tasks, it is time to take care of the interior of the house as well. A frozen pipe is one the main causes of winter water damage. Do run meticulously check on the pipes of your home. Areas such as unfinished garages, mud rooms, laundry rooms or basements can be a starting point when checking for exposed pipes. Make sure that all of them are insulated and also that they don’t leak nor do they have cracks.

Next move to the attic section of the house. Check the insulation and upgrade it if needed.
An attic that is not insulated properly leaves a lot of heat to escape causing a dreadful cycle: the snow on your roof melts then freezes back then melts again in a repeating cycle. This cycle can damage your roof.

We also advise you to have the heating system properly checked by a professional. Fireplace as well needs checking as you wouldn’t want to find a crack in your furnace when is minus degrees outside. Be sure to heat the house when temperatures drop. The minimum temperature should not go under 65 degrees. Proceed into shutting off the plumbing system in case the water bursts your pipes. Have a key wrench nearby for those hard to adjust valves or simply have the valves replaced.

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1. DIY House Repair » Using Snow Melting Mats as Part of Winter Preparation — January 30, 2012 @ 4:55 am

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