Tips To Protect Your Home From Severe Cold Weather

Tips To Protect Your McCall Home From Severe Cold Weather

You have activated your heater and chopped up some wood for the fireplace. You have gathered blankets and have stocked up on hot chocolate and chili fixin’s for the winter months. The inside of your home is geared up for the colder months. But have you prepared the outside of your home? To protect your home and save yourself some serious money later on, check out the below tips to protect your McCall home from severe cold weather this season.

Have a Back-Up Heating Plan

Take those storm warnings seriously and always have a back-up plan in case your power goes out. If you use a gas or electric heater, in addition to a fireplace, make sure to stack up on lots of extra wood in case you need it. Alternatively, you should purchase a generator to run heaters if the electricity fails. If the temperature drops too much inside the home, pipes could freeze and burst which can cause a lot of unnecessary damage. Bonus tip: Always keep an extra fire extinguisher on hand if you have a generator or fireplace just to be extra safe.

Pad up the Home

Give your siding and shutters a once-over to make sure they are securely attached to your home just in case strong winds want to whip them off their structure. Calk up the windows and buy some weather stripping to place around doors to secure up the gaps where icy winds can creep in. Additionally, insulate your exposed pipes with insulation, available at your local hardware store, to keep them from freezing. If your are really concerned about some of your pipes you can add heat tape to help insure they stay warm. Bonus tip: Open your sink cabinets slightly to let warmer air in to help keep pipes functional.

Call a Tree Trimmer

Branches that droop over roofs, garages, or cars can get pushed down with ice and winter wear. This can potentially cause scraping and scratching on your home. Hire a local tree trimmer to fix up the branches around your home. Unless greatly experienced, it is not recommended to do it on your own because it can be very dangerous in wintery conditions. Bonus tip: Sources like www.angieslist.com can be useful in identifying the perfect hire.

Stock up on Extra Everything

Buy a couple days worth of water and food in case the power does go out. Stock up on additional batteries for flashlights, and even candles for extra lighting. Additionally, make sure to have plenty of melting agents, such as rock salt on hand for those icy walkways. Be sure to store the melting agents in a sealable container off the ground. Bonus tip: Use an old spade or serving utensil to distribute the salt evenly over your walkway. A hard work and good stock of supplies will keep you well prepared for the hardest of winters. Get ahead of the curve, to keep yourself stress-free during the cold months of winter.