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As the dog days of summer usher in autumn, I begrudgingly face the
reality that it's time to buckle down and handle a few important
chores around the house. These are the kinds of tasks that aren't
particularly rewarding now but, on a cold, wind-swept winter night,
let me sleep a little better knowing they've been done.
Once winter blows in, houses have to get serious. Roofs must shed
rain and snow, windows and doors must reject the cold, and the
heating system must keep rooms comfortable. If any of these
components don't hold up their part of the bargain, we have to
scramble around in the wet, cold, and/or dark to fix them.
So let's get started! By handling these few, important, reasonably
easy tasks now, you can avoid considerable grief later.
1) Inspect the roof
If possible, go up onto the roof to check its condition, but only do
this if you can do it safely. Look for cracked or missing shingles,
bald spots on shingles, missing or damaged flashing, and other
conditions that might allow leaks. If composition shingles look
aged, bend back the corner of one; if it crumbles or breaks, figure
it is time for replacement. In most cases, you can seal minor cracks
or tears with roofing cement or do minor repairs yourself.
Do not climb onto a roof that is steep, wet, or icy. Instead,
consider checking the surface from a ladder or, if you can't safely
climb a ladder, use a pair of binoculars to scan for broken or
missing shingles. From the top of a ladder, you can check the
gutters along a typical asphalt-shingle roof for fine gravel-like
granules that wash down from the roof's surface. An accumulation of
these usually means the surface is wearing away and replacement time
is near. If you see problems, call a roofing contractor.
2) Check the gutters
While you're on the ladder, look into the gutters. If they are
clogged with leaves and debris, either call a gutter specialist or
clean the gutters yourself. Gutters prevent basement and foundation
flooding and water damage to siding, windows, and doors. When
clogged with leaves and debris, they will fill with rainwater and
overflow. To make matters worse, the added weight of the water may
pull them loose from the eaves.
3) Look at the siding
Check the siding for cracks, damage, and separations. In most
cases, you can seal-up any leaky spots with clear caulking compound
(or buy paintable caulk and touch-up with paint). Either handle more
serious siding repairs yourself or call a siding contractor.
If close inspection of the paint reveals problems such as
blistering, peeling, alligatoring, wrinkling, or chalking, either
touch them up (if areas are minor), or call a painting contractor.
4) Investigate weatherstripping
Also look to see if windows and doors are effectively sealed
with weatherstripping. Weatherstripping will prevent drafts and
winter heat loss. If weatherstripping is damaged, it's usually
easiest and most effective to entirely replace it rather than to
repair it.
5) Service the heating system
If your home is heated by a forced-air furnace, turn off the
power to the unit and replace its disposable filter or clean its
permanent filter according to the manufacturer's recommendations.
While the furnace cabinet is open, brush and vacuum the blower
blades. If you see potential leaks around air ducts, seal them by
wrapping with duct tape. If you are not familiar with doing this
type of work yourself, call a furnace technician.
6) Sweep the chimney
If you can see past the damper in the throat of the chimney,
shine a flashlight up from inside to look for black, scaly creosote
buildup on the inner walls. Creosote buildup on the inner walls of
the chimney must be removed periodically to prevent chimney fires.
The amount of buildup inside the chimney will depend upon how much
wood you burn seasonally (especially resinous wood such as pine) and
how long it has been since the last cleaning. Cleaning is generally
recommended at least once a year for an active fireplace. Call a
chimney sweep to have this done. See also our DIY chimney cleaning
and repair advice.
7) Adjust storm doors
A storm door can reduce energy costs and prevent drafts. To keep
your storm door working properly, put a couple of drops of light oil
or spray a little WD-40 on hinges and latches. Be sure the door
closer is adjusted and working smoothly; to adjust the closing speed
of a pneumatic closer, turn the adjustment screw in the end cap. If
you have a storm-and-screen door with interchangeable glass and
screen panels, switch from screens to glass panels. See our report
on screen doors.
--Don Vandervort |
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