Winter is a tough time of year, and now that fall is coming to a close in most areas of the country, it seems that Jack Frost is getting ready to start nipping at toes much sooner rather than later!

When it comes to looking after your house all year round, there will be tasks that are on everyone’s list, and most will be done during the spring when the days are lighter and a little bit warmer, but the truth is if you don’t look after your house going into winter, there could be serious repercussions.

Why Do A Winter Home Check?

Do you make an effort to check your home before the winter? You get your car winter-ready, so why not do the same for your house? After all, we’re all spending a lot more time inside our houses both working at home and doing more homeschooling this year, so it’s important that our houses are safe and ready to withstand a long winter.

There’s another reason to sort out home improvements before winter sets in, though, with the pandemic still raging. Waiting until something breaks to call in tradesmen to fix it could mean you’re waiting a few weeks for your repair, and those few weeks could be incredibly uncomfortable and even dangerous.

Getting Your Home Winter Ready

If you’re ready to start taking your home improvements seriously for the winter season, here are seven home improvements that you can do today that will mean you are less likely to face a major issue as the cold winter season sets in.

Winterize Your Decking

Have you checked your decking recently for rotted planks or bad joints? If you have, when was the last time you covered your decking with protective paint?

Protecting your decking from water damage is vital, especially going into a bleak winter. It’s also important to consider grip on your decking; how will you stop it from being slippery when it does rain?

Check Your Roof

You’ll need to call in a professional roofer for this job, but the relatively low cost of a roof check will far outweigh the much higher cost of a roofing disaster. Check the felt, any loose tiles, any damp spots, and be sure that your roofing expert checks the seal of any skylights you have installed.

Check The Gutters

While your roofing professional is up there, ask him to check your gutters too. Gutters clogged with leaves and debris could cause problems down the line, from inefficiently draining to a full-on overflow, a collapse, or all kinds of other dangers. 

Check and clear out your gutters towards the end of fall, once the leaves have all fallen from the surrounding trees.

Inspect Your Windows

How are the seals on your windows? Have you checked them recently? Windows are one of the most common places that a house leeches heat and energy from. 

Leeching heat when you’re paying to heat the inside of your home means you are wasting money! For the sake of a few minutes checking, you could save yourself a few hundred dollars this winter!

Test Your Heating 

Speaking of heating, when was the last time you checked your heating system? Was it last winter? If so, it’s worth checking your heating system again now before you need it!

In wintertime, heating engineers and plumbers are usually incredibly busy on callouts (to households who didn’t check their heating ahead of time!). To save yourself sitting in the cold for a few weeks, check your heating before you need it and get an engineer out if you need to.

Sweep Your Chimney

Do you use a log burner or open fire in your house? Did you know you’re supposed to get your chimney swept once a year at a minimum? Chimney fires can be absolutely devastating, and it’s just not worth the risk to your family. Call out a chimney sweep and get the job done. 

Fun fact: in many countries, chimney sweeps are considered very lucky to be around!

Paint Your Fences and Siding

Fences and timber sidings spend every day outside in all weathers, and they’re a big part of our security and privacy, so we should be looking after them properly. Therefore, before the cold and rain sets in fully, get out there with the paintbrush (or a paint sprayer if you’re smart!) and give the fence panels a new lick of paint. Do your house siding, too, if it needs it.