Home Maintenance Projects to Prepare for Winter

Home Maintenance Projects to Prepare for Winter

As we end the long, hot summer around the Triangle, all of us are ready for the cooler days of fall.  Everyone looks forward to the days of cooler temperatures, the changing colors of the leaves and if you are like me, the days when you don’t have to run your heat or your air conditioner.  Fall is also a great time to get your home ready for the winter months by doing some projects around the house before the rush of the holidays and the shorter daytime hours.  Here are a few helpful maintenance projects to help keep your home in tip top shape.

Fall is the perfect time to aerate and fertilize your yard.  Your yard has endured a long summer growing season and needs the winter to recuperate.  Aerating is the process of creating holes in the soil of your yard.  These holes loosen up the soil to allow air, water and nutrients (fertilizer) to reach the roots of the grass and allow it to flourish.  Doing it in the fall allows the grass to absorb the nutrients fully going into its dormant state and be ready to blossom come spring time for a richer green lawn.  After aerating is also a great time to reseed  the lawn as well in order to fill in any bare spots.

Winterize your outdoor faucets.  Newer homes may offer “anti-freezing” faucets on the exterior of the home but if you are in a home that was built 15+ years ago, winterizing your faucets is a very important step.  First step is to make sure you disconnect the garden hose from the faucet.  Water gets trapped in the hoses and if left attached to the faucet, that water can cause the faucet pipe to burst.  Once the hose is detached, make sure the faucet drains free of any existing water.  Cover the faucets with an outdoor faucet cover.  These are typically made of hard styrofoam and can be found in any hardware store such as Ace, Home Depot or Lowes.   They are very easy to install and are only about $4 each so no reason not to take the extra precaution.  They also come off very easily so you are able to use your faucet any time you need it.

If you have gutters on your home (and to protect the foundation of your home, you should) then be sure to clean them out along with the downspouts after all the leaves have fallen.  Gutters getting clogged and backing up is one of the biggest reasons for wood rot around the facia of your home.  Gutters stop flowing and fill up like a long bathtub.  When they overflow, they not only flow over the front of the gutter all around the edge of your home but also can and will flow off the backside which is your facia board of your home.  Cleaning out your gutters just requires a ladder and a little time and is well worth the effort to keep them clean, compared to the alternative.

These 3 quick tips are not all the things you need to think about around your home but they are items that every homeowner should consider, regardless of when your home was built.  Home ownership is one of the most rewarding steps a person can take in their life but like anything that is rewarding, it also takes work.  Nothing worth anything is easy.  Protect your investment and take the time to protect your home.  

If you are not yet a homeowner or are a homeowner but your current point in life has you needing a different home, larger home or ready to downsize…….give our team a call.  We are here and ready to help you with whatever your needs are.  Give us a call today (919-300-5421) or check us out online at WelcomeToCarolina.com