Weatherizing and Winterizing Your Home

Your sweaters may have replaced your summer clothes in the closet. And you might have spent last weekend preparing your garden for the cold. But have you turned your attention to the exterior of your house yet?

Now’s the time to prepare your home for the onslaught of cold weather—and your pocketbook for the ever-growing energy bills you may soon be faced with. Here’s what to do to weatherize and winterize outside the house. (Then in November I’ll provide more pointers on what to do to improve energy efficiency indoors.)

Check out these 5 Home Winterizing Myths. Then it’s time to get started!

• Do a home energy audit—you can hire someone to do it for you or do it yourself.

• Seal leaks outdoors (particularly around windows, doors, and outdoor faucets) with weather-resistant caulk. If you’re sealing areas made of brick, use masonry sealer.

• Remove debris from your gutters and rinse the gutters with a hose to allow rain and snow to drain. Make sure downspouts carry water away from your home’s foundation to avoid water damage.

• Repair loose shingles or leaks in your roof to prevent water damage.

• Have your chimney professionally checked and cleaned.

• Drain outdoor faucets and shut off water to the outdoors.

• Replace cracked window glass, seal loose windowpanes, and weather strip windows.

• Call the power company to trim any dead branches along power lines. (They should do it for free.)

Want to learn more? Check out this post (it’s incredibly thorough). Or download this handy guide (warning: by clicking this link you’ll be downloading a PDF).

Until Monday,
The Home Know-It-All