Winter Home Maintenance Tips

Winter is here once again and with it comes that sense of renewal, as the New Year lurks right around the corner. Along with the promise of a better, more prosperous year, comes the inevitable chill of the season. While these cold months can be pleasant, they can also cause damage to your home and your wallet if you are not prepared. Inside this article, North Georgia’s finest home remodeling and build/design firm offers tips to keep warm and prepare your home for Old Man Winter.

Just like your vehicle, your home requires preventive maintenance and upkeep to ensure it keeps its value and remains a place where you can live comfortably. While some of the maintenance you perform will need to be done year round, some of it will be season-specific. Each season comes with its own set of challenges and needs from a maintenance perspective.

Home Maintenance for the Winter

Perhaps the most pivotal part of your winter home maintenance checklist and “must-dos” involve your heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) system. Prior to the start of winter, you should have had your heating and cooling system serviced by a professional HVAC technician. Make sure the tech checks for any potential issues and swaps out your filters — the last thing you want is to have your heating system clunk out in the dead of winter, when heating companies are experiencing peak business.

This maintenance should extend to other heating appliances in your home, including your water heater and furnace or boiler (if you have one). If you have a chimney, you will want it serviced and cleaned by a licensed professional to help ensure it functions properly and does not become a fire hazard.

Another smart move homeowners can take to ensure their home is ready for the winter is to call in a home energy auditor to conduct an energy audit on your home. During this process, the auditor will look for any air leaks and energy waste in your house and offer solutions to make your home more energy efficiency — a key step to reducing your utility bills and keeping your family comfortable.

Finally, don’t forget to look at areas outside of your home as well as the inside. Simple steps such as cleaning your gutters, checking your roof for any loose shingles or leaks, and winterizing your hose bibs and sprinkler system, are all great preventative maintenance steps that can reduce the risk of leaks or burst pipes in your home once the temperatures start to drop below freezing.

North Georgia Winter Home Maintenance

If you live in North Georgia and have questions about winter maintenance for your home or need a referral for an HVAC professional or home energy auditor, give Tracy Tesmer Design/Remodel a call and we will be glad to help you keep warm through the cold season!

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