How to Winterize Your Edmonton Home
As homeowners in Edmonton, we deal with the widest variety of temperatures throughout the year than most places in the world. From scorching heat waves to extreme sub-zero cold, our prairie homes need to be prepared for anything!
Now that you’ve taken care of some necessary fall home renovations to get your home ready for cooler temperatures, here are five ways to winterize your home that will prevent any damage and keep you warm and cozy all winter long.
1. Inspect Your Roof
Are your shingles intact? Are your eavestroughs and gutters free of debris such as leaves and branches? The health of your roof is an important part of getting your home ready for winter — but if it’s too dangerous, steep or slippery to get up on your own roof, it’s best to call in a professional.
If you have loose shingles, this could lead to leaks— water can accumulate in the nooks and crannies of your home and freeze. This expansion can cause severe damage to the structure of your home. You can use roof repair glue to fix loose shingles to help prevent these leaks, but it’s also important to check for warning signs that it may be time to replace your roof.
Clean gutters and eavestroughs allow water to easily flow down from your roof and away from your home, preventing damage to your foundation and ice buildup (like dangerous icicles) on your roof and siding. It’s also important to make sure your gutter spouts point away from your home to protect its structural integrity.
2. Seal Gaps & Cracks
This winter, it’s not only important to stay warm, but to save on those heating bills! Gaps and cracks around your windows and doors can allow heat to escape, meaning that your furnace is not able to work as effectively. Fill any cracks and gaps that are wider than the width of a nickel by applying caulking to them. After two to five minutes, use your finger or a caulk smoothing tool to reinforce the seal.
Weatherstripping your windows and doors is another great way to keep the cold out and the warm air in. To find out where weather stripping is needed, take a smouldering stick of incense and hold it along the seams of your windows and doors — even the smallest breeze will make the smoke stream dance and show you where there is a draft. In addition to applying caulking, door sweeps and adhesive-backed insulation foam are very effective at deterring drafts. You can tell if you need a door sweep if you can see sunlight peeking out under the door.
3. Check on Your Furnace
Don’t get stuck in the cold this winter — make sure your furnace is operating effectively and efficiently by getting a professional to do a pre-season inspection of your HVAC system. An HVAC professional can help you check for leaks, test for carbon monoxide, or let you know if you need a new furnace.
Proactive maintenance is always better than reactive maintenance and increases the lifespan of your system and furnace!
Throughout the season, make sure you are replacing your furnace filters on a regular basis. This helps prevent dust particles from penetrating the clean, heated air and keeps you breathing easy. Dirty filters can also affect the efficiency of your furnace by restricting airflow, and in extreme cases, lead to a fire.
4. Upgrade Insulation
If you have an older house with an attic, adding a layer of insulation is one of the easiest ways to winterize your home. Many homes with an attic either have no insulation or very little. Since heat rises, a properly insulated attic floor will prevent that heated air from rising into the attic where it won’t heat the parts of your home where you actually live.
A home renovation professional will be able to tell you how to choose insulation depending on the age and style of your home, which will help you create a consistent climate all winter while improving your energy efficiency.
5. Install a Programmable Thermostat
A programmable or smart thermostat will help you save energy by heating your home to match your lifestyle. You can set the thermostat to begin heating your home when everyone is waking up and getting ready for work or school, then setting it at a lower temperature when no one is at home during the day. You can also make adjustments to the settings for weekends and vacations. If you invest in a smart thermostat, you can even make changes from your phone, whether you’re at home or not.
These five easy home winterization tasks will not only make sure you’re set for the dropping temperatures, but also ensure your heating is working effectively and efficiently to keep you warm all winter long while saving on your heating bill.
When it comes to a home that’s built for all seasons, it’s important to invest in an Edmonton home builder that you trust. Timberstone Builders has over 15 years of experience building, remodeling, and renovating award-winning custom dream homes in Edmonton and the surrounding area.