| Winterizing
The House
Do it now, before
it gets colder
Once we had a
roof leak. It happened in the dead of winter, with several
inches
of snow blanketing our shingles. What a mess.
Once we had drafty windows and doors. It was virtually
impossible to caulk
exterior cracks and weather- strip crevices in
the rain that fell constantly that
late fall.
Once we had a
faulty outdoor faucet - with no shutoff valve - that dripped
and
dripped. When it froze, yuck.
Get the idea?
With the weather
still cooperative, now is the time to prepare your home
to
withstand a more unreasonable Mother Nature.
You need not be a construction
professional to "weatherize" your home.
Inspecting exterior systems - roof,
windows and doors, foundation, plumbing, electric
and heating - can be performed
by the most inexperienced homeowner. You just
need to know what to look for.
(That's where we come in.) You
might start by making a checklist; every home is different.
If you have old windows and doors
or a moist basement, make those priorities.
To help with
your checklist, we'll review some areas of the home - interior
and exterior - that should be examined seasonally.
In addition, we'll provide some Web
addresses where you can get repair and maintenance
information.
Of course,
some work is better left to the professionals. For
example, tuning
up
your furnace, repairing your masonry
chimney or fixing a leaky roof might
be out
of your realm. But these areas can be
inspected visually by homeowners
for signs
of failure.
If you have
the time, you'll likely save yourself loads and loads
of trouble
later on - because something always goes
wrong at the worst possible time.
1. Roof
Start with a visual inspection. If you
can safely (crucial term) walk on your
roof, look for missing or broken shingles,
missing flashing (the metal coverings
around openings and between valleys)
and sagging gutters. If you can't walk
on
your roof, perform the inspection with
a pair of binoculars.
Remember,
the gutters and downspouts also part of the roof system.
Although
this often is a job for late fall,
your gutters might be clogged now with old leaves,
twigs and other
debris. Clean out and repair gutters. You might have
to
repeat the cleaning process later in the fall,
after most of the
leaves
have fallen
from the trees. Rotted wood often
lies behind sagging gutters. If these damaged fascia
boards
aren't replaced, interior leaks could follow.
Another
overlooked part of the roof is the chimney. All chimneys
should
have a cap, which keeps debris, animals
and moisture from entering the opening. On
masonry chimneys, look for loose bricks and mortar
or missing bricks.
If you can't make the repairs, find a reputable mason.
On
the Web: National Roofing Contractors Association
(www.nrca.net);
Chimney
Safety Institute of America (www.csia.org);
Hearth, Patio & Barbecue
Association
(www.hpba.org).
2. Siding
Whether vinyl, wood or brick, the exterior
covering of your home can fail over
the years. Vinyl can warp and buckle.
Wood can crack, split and rot. Brick
can
loosen and decay. These failures can
allow moisture through walls, eventually
causing serious problems. Again, a
visual inspection can save you headaches.
Replace and repair damaged siding.
Remove dirt, grime and mold. For
repair
information, visit the Web sites
listed below.
On the Web:
Vinyl Siding Institute (www.vinylsiding.org);
The Engineered Wood
Association (www.apawood.org);
MSN House and Home (www.houseandhome.msn.com). 3.
Windows and Doors
Cleaning, caulking and weather- stripping
should be priorities. On older windows,
you might have to replace glass, scrape
peeling paint and dried caulk, and
remove
rotted wood. Signs of wood rot include
crumbling and wood that is spongy
soft. Use insulating
window film to cut down on drafts. With newer vinyl
windows,
caulking, cleaning and installing new
weather-stripping should suffice.
On doors, squirt
squeaky hinges and hard-to-turn locks with liquid graphite.
Tighten loose hinge screws; replace
missing ones. To check weather-stripping,
close the door and, from the inside,
run a lit candle across the edges
of the
door. If the flame flickers or goes
out, you have a draft. Another detection
method is to have a helper on the
outside shine a flashlight around
the edges
of
the door while another person examines
the edges from the inside. If light
shines
through, there's an opening to seal.
On the Web:
DAP (www.dap.com); U.S.
Department of Energy (www.eere.energy.gov/consumerinfo/);
LIPA (www.lipower.org/residential/tools/tools.html);
3M Co. (www.3m.com/US/home_leisure/index.jhtml).
4. Foundation
Start outside. The soil around the
foundation should slope away
from the home for
proper drainage. If you haven't done
so in a while, adding new top
soil to create
a slope is probably a wise move.
Poor drainage around the foundation
is a
major
cause of basement leaks and flooding.
Use a masonry caulk to fill all
cracks. Also, move any debris, firewood and
outdoor furniture away from the
home. In the
winter, cluttered areas around the
foundation can provide rodents
and other furry
creatures with sheltered nests. Repair
cracks in concrete walkways and
steps, and
seal the asphalt driveway before
colder weather arrives.
On the
Web: The Concrete Network (www.concretenetwork.com);
Rutgers
Cooperative Extension (www.rce.rutgers.edu/pubs).
5. Heating & Cooling
Cover, store and clean portable air-
conditioning units. Outdoor condensing
units
for central-air systems can be hosed
cleaned of debris and covered with
tarps.
Turn off the power to these units
at the service panel.
Before the air
gets cold, start your furnace with the house windows
open.
As it
runs, look for leaks or condensation
in the exhaust vents that run
outdoors. Rusted vents are a sign that exhaust
is not being directed out of
the home
properly. Be aware of any abnormal
odors or smells. Change filters;
check owner
manuals for their locations and directions.
Consider having an older furnace
- 10
years or older - annually inspected
and tuned by a professional heating
and
cooling technician.
Don't forget
your clothes dryer. Use a shop-style vacuum to suck
up old
lint
collected behind the dryer, and remove
the exhaust vent and remove
any lint clogs. Lint that collects on the
exterior vent also should be
cleaned away.
6. Plumbing
Shut off the water to exterior faucets
- these faucets should have a shutoff
valve - and then open the faucet
about a quarter turn. Pipes in
basements and
crawl spaces should be protected
from cold air. Adding fiberglass
insulation,
sealing cracks and crevices with
expanding foam and insulating pipes
with foam
tubes could prevent pipes from bursting
this winter. Faucets exposed to
high winds and prone to freezing should
be protected with specially designed
foam
covers (available at hardware stores
and home centers).
7. Trees
Trim tree branches away from your
rooftop and exterior walls. In
the event of
an
ice storm or heavy snow, you don't
want broken or falling branches
to damage
your
exterior.
8. Outdoor Lighting and Outlets
Test Ground Fault Interrupter Circuit
outlets. Plug in a hair dryer
or other
small appliance, then press the black
button on the outlet. If the
appliance turns off, then restarts when the
red button on the outlet is pressed,
the
circuit is working correctly. Or
use a testing device that runs
about $10
at
hardware stores and home centers.
A faulty outlet could spell trouble
when
you're
hanging holiday lights.
Also, reset automatic timers for
outdoor lights.
9. Garage Door
Clean and lubricate the tracks
on your garage door. Use an
all-purpose lubricating oil and wipe with a clean
rag to remove dirt, grime and
debris. Then,
lubricate the track with a white
grease. Tighten all screws
and
brackets.
Replace
worn cables, too.
10. Miscellaneous
Replace batteries and check if smoke
detectors and carbon monoxide
detectors are
working properly. If needed, buy
new units.
Winterize lawn
and garden equipment and have your small-engine
mechanic tune
up
the snowblower. Fill gas tanks, and
use a squirt of fuel stabilizer
to make sure
the gas is ready for winter, too.
Replenish your
battery supply and make sure you have a working
portable radio
and
flashlight. After the big blackout
and Hurricane Isabel,
who knows what winter
will bring?
Copyright Newsday, Inc.
--------------------
This article originally appeared
at:
http://www.newsday.com/ on October 9, 2003
Visit Newsday online at http://www.newsday.com
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