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Winter is around the corner. Before it gets too cold outside here are some things we may want to get done around the house now. These suggestions are for the average householder living in a city. For those residing in a smaller town with more land, you have some extra work around the house to complete before the Winter season. This mainly focuses on householder tasks to complete outside their home living in the city. Expect to spend a full day or a couple days checking off your list of duties while it is still bearable to be outside. Here are 9 fall house tasks to complete before the Winter.
1. Reapply Broken Caulking Around Doors And Windows To Prevent Drafts
Are Your Windows Sealed Properly?
Check the windows and doors outside around your house and see if there are any cracks in the caulking or window frames. Broken caulking around doors and windows will not prevent drafts from coming in. Use a sharp utility knife to cut away the old caulking and reapply a quality exterior caulking to get a good seal. Wintertime often has high winds and it will be too chilly outside to do this later.
A cold draft, even if it is a little bit, can cool down a room very quickly due to heat loss. If the caulking is almost coming off then remove the old caulking and re-do it again to seal up all the windows effectively.
2. Clean Out The Eavestroughs
Your house has eavestroughs, aka gutters, that run around the perimeter of your roof. They catch rainwater that runs off of your roof and funnel it to your down spouts typically located at the four corners of the home. It is a simple system which works well unless there is a blockage that prevents the proper flow of water. The most common source of such a blockage are tree leaves and twigs that fall from the trees around the home in Autumn.
This is likely not an issue for new homes on sub-divisions where there are no mature trees towering above the roof line. It becomes more of a concern the older the neighbourhood is. A homeowner can start removing these accumulated tree leaves from their eavestroughs around this time.
A blockage causes water to flow over the edge of the eavestroughs and get under the roof shingles. If left unaddressed, this will lower the life of your roof drastically.
What You Need To Clean Your Gutters
Use an extension ladder and lean it up against your house, climb up and scoop out the accumulated tree leaves once the majority of them have fallen from the trees for the season. Work your way around the perimeter of your house making sure your gutters are free of any obstructions.
A bungalow is the easiest type of house to do this with. A two-storey house would require a taller extension ladder.
A Word of Caution On Ladder Use
If you have a fear of heights or if such work is simply too physically demanding this is best left to a professional who is better equipped to do such work. Smaller roofing companies will offer this service at a modest price.
3. Weather Strip The Windows For Blocking Cold Air
Aside from caulking the windows on the exterior it is a good idea to weather strip the windows. Doing this will help block cold air from coming in.
Weather stripping will help close off any holes or pockets around the window that are bringing cold air in. It takes about an hour to install the stripping on all windows around the house. If this is something you prefer a professional to do, contact a contractor for assistance.
4. Shut Off The Water Supply To Your Outdoor Water Faucets
Before it starts to get too cold, shut off the water supply to your outdoor water faucets. This is so that they do not freeze.
Most people do not anticipate an ice storm to take over but it has happened. No one is using the faucet outside by the end of fall. Now is a good time to turn it off and keep it safe from freezing up.
5. Insulate Your Garage Door
An easy way to help keep heating costs down is to insulate your garage. This would likely not apply to a stand-alone garage as much as it applies to an attached garage. Your garage door(s) are made of thin steel / aluminum / wood / fibre glass that do not have very much insulating value on their own.
There are some good insulation kits that the manufacturers of such doors offer which is a viable option if your garage door is relatively newer. However, a DIY solution is just as easy at a fraction of the cost.
How To Insulate Your Garage Door
The basic principle is to measure the depth of your garage door, purchase some polystyrene boards in the thickness to match, cut to size and install to fit in the door panels.
Older garage doors were traditionally made of wood. If you have a wood garage door and it shows signs of rot it is better to invest in a new door.
A garage door made of steel, aluminum or fibre glass is ideal for insulating. A typical garage door will be made up of four horizontal sections. On the interior side of the door each piece will have space for the polystyrene to fit into.
6. Insulate Attic
Most modern homes have an attic that must be insulated. The roof sheathing and roofing shingles keep the elements out but do nothing to help with insulation. The better the insulation in your attic, the more benefits you will see in your energy bills. This applies to both the heating and cooling seasons.
The fall is the perfect time to get your attic insulation topped up. Attic insulation is fluffy and it is blown in. Over time this insulation settles and compacts. The higher the R-value of your insulation the better. This is typically achieved by the thickness of such insulation as well as its density. Your attic insulation needs to be looked at annually and may require a top up every 5 years.
7. Reorganize Your Cold Cellar Storage
9 Fall House Tasks to Complete Before The Winter
Re-visit your cold cellar at least two times a year for re-organization. One time is at the start of Spring and the second time is around the Fall. Check the expiry dates of the canned items, rice, flour, peanut butter and jam and organize the dates from the most current to the oldest expiry date. Have the oldest expiry date items at the back of your shelves and whatever is about to be expired sooner at the front.
This gives you a good sense of what you have, what needs to be used and what you should buy more of. Replenish your food and use it so that nothing goes to waste. This is a good time to clean up the area and take things out that you can use in the colder months. In the winter, going to the cold cellar is a lot less comfortable. It can take up to an hour to re-organize your items, depending on size of the space and how much stuff you have.
8. Air Out Your Home And Use Incense To Cleanse It
The cleanliness of our home can feel fresh simply by airing it out. If the windows are not open we end up with stagnant energy in the house. It is heavy and musty, making the space a bit stifling.
Airing out our home is something good to do throughout the year, but in the winter it is not possible. The best time to cleanse our home before it gets too cold is around the end of October to the third week of November. After that windows will remain closed until March of the following year.
Open the windows on a nice day before it starts to get too cold and burn some incense throughout the house. Doing this helps cleanse the space and changes the air quality of the home. It is also best to clean your home before burning any incense to help remove any stagnant energy properly. Use a stick holder so that the ashes fall on the stick and not on the floors of your house.
9. Clean Out Your Dryer Exhaust Vent
Disconnect the flexible duct tubing from the air exhaust outlet of your dryer. Clear any of the accumulated lint that may block air flow. This is to prevent your dryer from being inefficient all the way to preventing a fire. It can be done anytime, but it is best to do it around this time once a year.
Some dryers also require you to clean out the blower wheel which can be done at the same time. The wet lint sticks to it and builds up causing your dryer to vibrate.
Summary-9 Fall House Tasks To Complete Before The Winter
Start working on the 9 Fall house tasks to complete before the Winter arrives. Once they are done your house will be ready for the season. Avoid spending time outside in the cold to get your outside household chores completed.
Now is the best time to finish up any loose ends outside around your home so that there are no setbacks later on. These are just some of the tasks we can take care of so that our home is ready for the Winter season.
Keep up with the maintenance of your property so that it does not become an issue later on.
Enjoy the cold days ahead in the comforts of your home.
**Originally posted October 28, 2022 on mcinthehouse.com**
** Recently update on November 7, 2023. **
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