Fall is here Ottawa, and Winter is coming!

 

The days are getting shorter, the leaves are falling fast, and Winter is coming!  Now is the perfect time to get your home ready before winter starts to take its toll, and while the weather is still decent enough to spend time outdoors.

Seal it up: Caulk and seal around exterior doors and window frames. Look for gaps for all things entering your home and caulk those up as well.  Check wiring, piping for A/C unit etc.  Not only will you get heat loss, but water can enter and then freeze over and expand.  Creating more issues.

Look up: We had some good windy storms this summer and fall.  Have a look at your roof to ensure that no shingles are damaged or missing.  You don’t want to wait until spring to have these fixed up as winter can be brutal on a roof.

Clear it out: The amount of people that don’t do this blow my mind.  Clean out your gutters!  Plenty of helpful tools available out there so you don’t have to climb up on a ladder to get the job done.  Or hire lil Billy across the street to climb up there.  Check the joints between sections of gutter, as well as between the gutter and downspouts, and make any necessary adjustments to tighten them.

No hose:  Shut off outdoor faucets and make sure exterior pipes are drained of water.  And bring your hose inside.  Faucets and pipes can easily freeze and burst in our cold climate, causing leaks and water damage.

Warm up time: Have the furnace inspected to ensure it’s safe and in good working order. As a general rule if your furnace is under 10 years old, have it looked at every second year, if its over 10 years, every year have it looked at.  Its like a car and the better its tuned up the more efficient it will be.  Don’t forget to change that filter as well.  Clogged filters will make it work harder to operate well.  And cmon, you and your family have to breathe that!

Light that fire: Clean your fireplace and chimney out before sparking it up.  Again, lots of options out there in Ottawa and at a low cost.  Your family and home will appreciate it.

Enjoy the remaining days of fall and if you or anyone you know are looking to make a move before the winter hits, let me know asap!  amiller@kwottawa.ca