5 Tips For Keeping Your Home Protected in Freezing Temps

With winter finally setting in, now is the perfect time to prepare for those cold-weather months by making sure your home is protected.

If you’re not careful, it’s easy for damage caused by freezing temperatures to go unnoticed until spring. It is, therefore, important to keep your home safe this winter.

Here are five tips that will help ensure your home stays cozy and warm all through the winter.

1. Check Your Roof For Damage

The most important part of your home when it comes to staying warm is the roof. Make sure to check for any damage that may have been caused by falling branches or ice dams.

If you find any damage, make sure to repair it as soon as possible to prevent further damage and higher heating bills.

Roof damage can also cause leaks which can become a major problem in the winter. If you spot any water stains on your ceilings, take a closer look to see what could be causing them.

If there are no signs of roof damage from above, you likely have an indoor plumbing problem.

2. Get Your Heating System Serviced

Your heating system is responsible for keeping your home warm, so it’s important to make sure it’s in good condition.

Have a professional check and service your heating system to ensure it’s running properly and is ready for the colder months. Also, upgrade your old furnace with a new high-efficiency model to ensure you are getting the most out of your heating system.

3. Install Insulation

If you don’t have any insulation in your attic and walls, this is the perfect time to add some. You can use heat tape for pipes.

It will keep cold air from entering your home and give you a comfortable living environment. Old homes can have an R-value of just 1.5, which is much lower than the value required to keep heat in your home.

If you have insulation that isn’t up to par, have a professional check it for holes and patch them if necessary.

Add more insulation to walls and attic to achieve an R-value of 30 or more. Also, insulate your attic and basement. Your attic and basement are two of the most important places to insulate in your home.

If they are not properly insulated, you could be losing a lot of heat through the roof and walls. Make sure to add insulation to these areas to keep your home as warm as possible.

4. Check Your Vents

Ensure that you have adequate ventilation in every room of your house by checking all of your vents throughout the house for blockage.

Ensure nothing has been blocking the vents or preventing warm air from reaching your home. Sticking, drafty doors can cause major problems when it comes to keeping warm during winter.

Other areas to check include door thresholds, which should be weatherproofed for maximum protection against cold air currents.

Always keep your home well-lit—the more warm light coming into your home, the better. Staying on top of routine exterior maintenance, such as cleaning away debris and getting rid of ice dams, will keep sunlight coming in through windows.

5. Seal Up Your Home

Check around your windows and doors to make sure they are appropriately sealed. Use weather stripping, caulking, or anything that will prevent cold air from coming in around these entry points into your home.

You can also use shrink film for larger expanses of windows. Also, have a backup generator ready in case of power outages, which can frequently happen during winter storms.

When preparing for the upcoming cold months, remember to make sure your heating system is ready for sub-zero temperatures, roofs are fully repaired if damaged, and you have insulation throughout the walls and attic.

It will help keep heat inside your home this winter season. Please contact a local home improvement specialist for any other tips or advice.

Freezing temperatures are dangerous and not fun. It can lead to sickness and even death. Protect your family and yourself from cold weather.

You can ensure that your home stays warm and protected this winter by following these five tips. Don’t forget to take advantage of the cold weather by cuddling up by the fire with a good book or movie!