Preparing your home for winter is not all cosy blankets, soft knit throws and festive decorations. While these are not doubt important to the aesthetics of your home, there are a few more functional and practical preparations that we recommend making to keep your family as safe and comfortable as possible all through the colder months.
Consider this blog post your winter checklist, helping you ensure that your home is as ready as possible for the upcoming winter months.
If you have a chimney, get it swept!
If you use your chimney for warmth in the home or even just to add to the atmosphere, be aware that a collection of soot and debris can cause serious and expensive damage – not to mention it can pump smoke back down into your home if you’re not careful. Chimneys should be swept at least once a year to keep them safe and in good working order.
Get your boiler serviced
Don’t leave it until your boiler breaks down – so many homeowners do, and then find themselves at the bottom of a long list of other customers who have done the same thing. The result? Days of cold before someone can come out and help you. Avoid this by getting your boiler serviced before you really need it.
Check your gutters and downpipes
When the leaves fall in autumn, they can quickly cause blockages in your gutters and downpipes – which, when left unattended, can cause leaks and even water damage to the foundation of your property if you don’t fix it quickly. Do a clear now and make sure you check them regularly to ensure that debris is not collecting and causing issues with your gutters.
Insulate your loft space
Sometimes we forget about the spaces in our home that we don’t occupy on a daily basis – but the loft is in fact one of the most important places to insulate, and it’s all thanks to science. Heat rises, which means that as you heat your home (and spend money on doing so), that heat is rising and can be lost through your loft and roof if your space is not properly insulated.
Insulating the loft will not only keep your home more consistently warm – it will also keep your bills as low as possible.
Check outdoor lights
The days are shorter in winter and it’s likely that you will find yourself coming home in the dark more than once. Make this as comfortable and safe as possible by checking all your outdoor lights are in working order while you still have time.
Check for leaks
This is more to do with your outside taps and drains, though it can save both money and injury on those cold winter morning where leaks can quickly turn to ice. We recommend doing a thorough check of any water sources around the exterior of your property, fixing them before they turn to potentially dangerous leaks.
Similarly, if you have a paved driveway and suffer from moss and growing weeds between the cracks, get these removed before the winter months when wet moss can quickly become slippery and hazardous to walk on.
Draught-proof your windows and doors
Not only will this keep your home warm and cosy, but it will also help you with those heating bills over winter. Draught excluders are a good support for windows and doors, but we recommend getting the right infrastructure in place to really keep your home insulated.
Fix your outside space and surrounding structures
From fences to gates, anything that is broken in the winter will be difficult and more painstaking to fix thanks to the cold and potential frost – and it will subsequently annoy you for the whole winter season. Get your outdoor space fixed up now so that you avoid difficult weekend and evening projects on the colder and shorter days.
Consider postponing any new roofing plans
From home extensions to loft conversions and roofing projects, starting in the middle of or just before the winter is a recipe for cold days and nights, a lack of insulation, and plenty of delays caused by adverse weather conditions. Start a roofing or loft project in the spring and work through the summer to ensure that your project is completed with minimal disruption to you and your family.
If you’re looking to winter-proof your home, we’re here to help. Our construction team are experts in all things insulation, roofing, and building – and we’re always available to provide advice about how best to ensure your home is safe and warm for the winter.