Homeowner Tips for Winter Home Prep

Preparing a home for winter can take a lot of planning and execution. It is a worthwhile task for homeowners who want to welcome the new year with greater comfort and energy efficiency. These tips help homeowners know where to put their focus, and when they should be asking for expert advice.

Ensuring Effective Heating and Ventilation

Keeping the heating system working well all throughout the winter is often at the forefront of a homeowner’s mind, and for good reason. When the heating system fails for some reason, every other aspect of home function and comfort is compromised. Furnaces running on fuel must also be properly ventilated for safe use. HVAC systems can have complex problems relating to appliances or the equipment used to deliver heat and ventilate the home. Hiring an expert to inspect the system in the fall helps to identify possible issues and provide homeowners enough time to arrange for necessary repairs.

Assessing Insulation

Confirming that a home’s heating is in ideal working order is only one part of ensuring comfort in winter. Heated air moves from one space to another in a process known as heat transfer. In winter, the insulation of the home serves to keep that heated air inside longer. Better insulation leads to a slower rate of heat transfer and greater efficiency for the heating. This promotes a steady temperature throughout the home and saves money on energy costs. The trouble is that many homes do not have adequate insulation, especially older homes. Requesting an inspection of the insulation allows homeowners to make plans to improve it before the cold weather hits.

Fixing Air Leaks

Air leaks in a home’s exterior have a surprising ability to make a home feel drafty and cold in winter. Air leaks can happen almost anywhere on a home’s exterior, but are particularly common around doors and windows. The frames around doors and windows can eventually have gaps through which air can easily pass. It is not quite like leaving a door or window open in the dead of winter, but can lead to notable inefficiencies in heating. Homeowners can usually seal air leaks around windows and doors with caulking or weather-stripping, but may need help from a professional for leaks in places like the attic.

Protecting Plumbing

One home system that relies heavily on the home’s effective heating is the plumbing. Any homeowner who has experienced a frozen or burst pipe knows that it is troubling and can be very expensive to fix. Since so much of a home’s plumbing may not be visible, it is often difficult for homeowners to know if their plumbing is adequately insulated. Sprinkling systems need to be drained fully before winter. Indoor plumbing should be properly insulated if it is located in any place that is not consistently heated to 55 degrees or higher, such as an unfinished basement. Insulating pipes and a water heater tank with designated materials will also reduce heat loss, saving energy.

Safe Use of Fireplaces and Chimneys

Of course, not everyone uses a furnace to heat their homes. Some homeowners like to use fireplaces from time to time for added warmth or ambiance in their homes. Safe use of the fireplace is absolutely key to preventing a tragedy from happening. Wood-burning fireplaces collect creosote as a byproduct that sticks to the chimney. If the chimney is not kept clean, the creosote could ignite and create a chimney fire. To avoid this problem, homeowners should arrange for a yearly inspection of the chimney and fireplace. The flue or damper should be easy to open and close, and the glass doors ought to be in good condition.

Roof Considerations

More than any other part of the home’s exterior, the roof keeps the elements out of the home. A roof’s solid condition and upkeep could easily make a home feel like a haven during winter. The roof requires at least a visual inspection in the fall, to identify any missing or damaged shingles or tiles. The gutters should be cleared of leaves and other debris until the trees are bare for the year. Clogged gutters may freeze into blocks of ice and damage the roof. Homeowners must confirm that all downspouts are in good condition and turned away from the home, so that rain or melting commercial snow removal Milwaukee can flow away from the home’s structure.

Every minute spent getting a home ready for winter will be repaid with countless hours of contentment within an ideally heated, ventilated and insulated space. If homeowners take the initiative in the fall, they will reap the benefits of a home that is more comfortable and has better efficiency and a longer lifespan for the home systems.

If you live in the Milwaukee area, and have a basement, chances are you have basement windows and window wells. While these basement windows provide much needed light in your basement, they often cause problems by making your home vulnerable to nature and intruders, and can even be a safety hazard.

Don’t fear! Your answer to all of these concerns is simple: window well covers. By making this easy home improvement, you can protect your home and its occupants from a range of issues.

Common Window Well Problems:

• Window wells collect debris such as leaves, twigs, mulch, rain, and snow that can cause rot or mildew when held close to your home’s siding or foundation. Ice can even cause foundational cracks. Window wells are also the perfect hiding and nesting place for animals and insects. A well-fitted window well cover keeps all of the elements away from the foundation of your home.
• Window wells present a tripping or falling hazard, especially if edged with bushes or rocks. You must be especially careful to watch children or pets running and playing near window wells. Most window well covers have traction to prevent tripping and can even hold up to several hundred pounds of weight.
• Even though they are meant to increase the safety of your home, because of their proximity to the ground, egress windows can be tempting to burglars or intruders. Many window well covers come with safety features such as locks that are accessible only from inside the window. Window wells are also the perfect hiding and nesting place for animals and insects.

DIY Window Well Cover Installation

A professional handyman in Milwaukee can help you find and install window well covers. However, if you’re feeling confident, window well covers are also an easy DIY project. Just gather your materials and follow these steps.

Materials

• Adjustable Wrench
• Tape Measure
• Painter’s Tape
• New Window Well Cover

How to Install

1. Measure the width of the window well at both the front and back, where it makes contact with the house. Then, measure from the house to the outside edge of the window well in at least two places. Be sure to measure each window well to make sure they are all the same size.
2. Look at the shape of your window well. Some window wells are rounded, squared off, or come together in a gentle U shape. Check to see if the back of the window well cover should fit into an opening between the window and siding.
3. Place the new window well cover over the window well with the back side flush against the house.
4. Measure 4-6 inches in front the house wall on both sides of the cover where it meets the window well edge and mark with painters tape.
5. Remove the new cover and place the taped section of the cover on top of a piece of 2’x4’ wood. Drill a hole through the marked section of the tape and into the cover that is slightly larger than the screws supplied with the new cover.
6. Install the window well cover clips (they should have come with the cover) so they will fit snugly over the edge of the window well.
7. Fit the cover on the window well. Make sure there is no bends in the clips or buckling in the cover.
8. Pat yourself on the back for a job well done!

If you have any questions about window wells, protecting your home, or new a home inspection in the Milwaukee area, give us a call today!

Warmer weather and longer days make summer ideal for checking items off your home maintenance to-do list. Here are some ideas to get started:

1. Touch Up Exterior Paint

Touching up the paint on your home’s exterior is a great first summer project. The Milwaukee weather can do a number on the exterior of your home, including siding, trim, and gutters. Grab a ladder, paint, and paintbrush and touch up paint where needed.

Look for gaps and openings on exteriors surfaces of any type to avoid water penetration and wear issues. Window ledges and sills, wood or metal trim, anywhere a little snow can sit, melt and refreeze, opens a little gap for water to enter. Touching up or repainting these areas in summer can save you a lot of money in the long run.

Plus, nowadays if you aren’t sure of the exact color of your home, you can ask any experienced paint professional to match it for you. Technology makes it easy to match colors these days.

2. Wash Exterior Windows

Nobody likes dirty windows to look out of. Start enjoying your view, and let the outdoors in.

This project requires a little elbow grease, particularly if you haven’t washed your exterior windows in a year or more. Skip the Windex and grab a sponge (or a strip applicator for picture windows) and a bucket of warm water with a squirt of soap, the less foamy the better.

After scrubbing, use a squeegee in an “S” pattern beginning at the upper corner of the window. Wipe the squeegee clean with a dry cloth after each pass. 

3. Clean Window Screens

Regular, light maintenance or an occasional deep clean on your window screens will keep them in good shape.

For regular maintenance (weekly or bi-weekly), wipe screens with a cloth or duster or run a vacuum cleaner with the soft brush attachment and a light touch.

For a deep clean, take all screens off of the house and clean them at once, outdoors. You could also clean them in the garage, basement, or bathtub – anywhere with a drain. Use a hose, a little soapy solution, and a sponge to clean the screen. Remember to be gentle on the mesh.

4. Clean the Exterior of your Home

Grime, moss, and bacteria on your home’s exterior not only contribute to diminished curb appeal, but can cause damage that costs a lot of money to fix. So keeping your home’s exterior clean is worth the effort.

Be sure to research proper techniques for cleaning the specific materials that make up your home. For most types of siding, you can use a hose and a long-handled sponge to scrub with soapy water.

Pressure washing is another great option, but requires a large, heavy duty washer. It also requires a bit of skill. If it’s not done properly, pressure washing may damage your home.

5. Reverse Ceiling Fan Direction

When your ceiling fan runs counter-clockwise, it forces air straight downward, creating a breeze. In the summer, this will keep your home cool and increase the effectiveness of air conditioning.

On most ceiling fans, the direction switch is located on the body of the fan, above the blades. Wait for the blades to come to a complete stop before attempting to access this switch. Use a step-stool or small ladder to reach. Flip the switch, then turn the fan back on. 

6. Clean Your Air Conditioner Filter

An air conditioner filter should be cleaned every two weeks to ensure proper functioning, particularly if you run it often. While some newer models have a self-cleaning function, most a/c filters can be cleaned by washing with warm water or with a vacuum cleaner.

7. Check Your Furnace

Just like your air conditioner, your furnace has a filter that needs to be cleaned. Turn off the power before locating the furnace behind the service panel or door. If necessary, unscrew the panel and remove the filter to be washed (if reusable) or replaced (if cardboard).

When replacing an air filter, make sure the air-direction indicator is facing the correct way – in the direction of the furnace.

Get a professional furnace inspection and tuning every year or every other year to ensure the proper functioning, safety, and longevity of your furnace.

8. Maintain Your Washing Machine

Check inside the body of the machine for soil or residue build-up and clean using a sponge and a mixture of ¾ cups bleach with a gallon of warm water.

Next, clean out your fabric softener dispenser using a damp cloth and hot water. And to polish the outside of your washing machine, use vinegar and water, or an all-purpose cleaner like Fantastik.

9. Clean Your Driveway, Patio, and Walkways

The best method for cleaning large, hard outdoor surfaces like driveways, decks, and patios is by using a pressure washer. Before you begin, be sure to inspect all surfaces for weeds or cracks.

For most concrete and brick surfaces, a pressure washer with about 3gpm and 3,000 psi works well.

Use a wide tip for the washer to ensure the surfaces do not degrade during washing. The last thing you want to do is crank up a strong pressure washer using the straight tip spray, and then all of a sudden you cut marks into your beautiful patio or deck…

10. Make your Baseboards Shine

This is a tedious, often-ignored task that, nevertheless, contributes greatly to the overall look and feel of your home. Use a damp cloth to wipe down all baseboards in your home. Be sure to protect your knees by kneeling on a folded towel. And then throw on some music or a podcast to make this boring task more tolerable J.

11. Clean Dishwasher and Garbage Disposal

Once every month or two, flush your garbage disposal with hot water and dish soap, or use a store-bought cleaner. This will give it a nice rinse. And if you ever eat lemons, or use them for a drink, toss the used lemons into your disposal. When you run the disposal, your kitchen will smell like wonderful… unless you’re some weirdo that doesn’t like lemons 😉

To ensure a clean dishwasher, pour 2 cups of vinegar into the bottom of the machine and run on low.  Also, be sure to grab some rags or paper toweling and give then bottom inside of your dishwasher a good scrub to get rid of any extra food or dirt.

12. Inspect Hoses

At least once per year, inspect all household hoses for leaks or other damage, including dish and clothing washers, dryers, dehumidifiers, refrigerators, and toilets. All hoses should be replaced every 3-5 years.

13. Get a Home Inspection

Ok, so this doesn’t need to be done each summer, but it’s always a good idea to make sure your home is in good shape. Letting problems go, or not noticing problems with your home can turn into huge expenses later on.

So if it’s been a few years since you’ve had a home inspector look over your home, consider spending a few hundred dollars to have your home checked over by a professional home inspector. They’ll notify you of potential red flags or problem areas that you should consider addressing.

And if you’re considering selling your home, a pre-listing home inspection will give you plenty of time to address any issues that may arise when you go to sell.

Live in the Milwaukee area? Book your home inspection today!

Insulating does more than protect you against the cold — it protects your most valuable asset when costs rise.

With energy costs increasing every year, insulating your home could be an excellent way to save natural resources and ease the strain on your pocketbook. The project sounds simple: add a little insulation, and the savings roll on. However, this is not the case. Modern homes are complex, interactive systems. Insulation must be added with a lot of thought and planning.

Done right, insulation reduces heat loss and increases the comfort of your home. Done incorrectly, it will not increase energy efficiency; instead, you will waste your money and might even cause serious damage to your home. So where should you start?

Because our homes consist of complex systems of many interrelated components, numerous interactions push or pull air through our homes. Some are easy to understand, such as wind blowing against our home pushes its way in. However, some air movement is more subtle.

For instance, warm air rises, creating a stack affect; pushing  air through any penetrations into the attic. The same stack effect can draw air up a chimney when the fireplace damper is open while a fire is burning. The chimney attached to any gas-burning appliance constantly draws air up and out of the home.

You want to stop these pesky air leaks, and you want to invest in your sealing and insulation dollars where you will have the biggest improvements in comfort and payback.

Start with simple insulation projects. Check your attic first:

• Make sure that the insulation level is appropriate for your climate.
• Close any leaks or air bypasses into the attic.

Survey the attic for potential air leaks through the thermal boundary to your home. Common culprits include the following:

• The area around chimneys
• Plumbing vents
• Wire penetrations

When insulation is added, it is very important to keep the areas above the soffit vents clear for air movement. If you block these areas, you can create moisture problems. In older homes, these areas should be checked, because often they are blocked with insulation.

You can also consider a professional energy evaluation of your home. Home evaluators are trained to check all systems and components of the home and provide a prioritized list of energy improvements with energy-efficiency payback for each item.

It is a good idea to have a professional evaluate the condition of your home and do most of the insulation work. If you re considering blowing in insulation or addressing “can” lights, you definitely need professional help. A professional will be a big help with details and climate specific information as well.

The most important thing to keep in mind is to consider the type of work that will be most beneficial to your home and plan for the specific work that needs to be done. Done right, improving the insulation of your home can save money and natural resources while making you and your family more comfortable this winter.

Do you have a question regarding your existing or future home? 
Send us an email at  scot.mclean3@gmail.com