Fewer hours of sunlight, more sweaters, and falling leaves can only mean one thing:  winter is coming to New England. Is your home ready for another snowy, icy winter? Here are seven ways to get your home and yard ready for the season.

  1. EXTERIOR – Check your home’s siding for loose panels or shakes. If you have wood siding check carefully for mold or rot that might indicate a growing problem. Cracked or leaking siding can let heat escape into the winter cold. Disconnect garden hoses and, if possible, use an indoor valve to shut off and drain water from pipes leading to outside faucets.
  1. ROOF & GUTTERS – Call a qualified roofer like HiTech to check your roof for shingles or panels that are cracked, missing, curling, or shedding granules. Have your gutters cleaned to avoid snow and ice backup that can lead to costly water damage.
  1. HEATING SYSTEM – Schedule a cleaning for your furnace, replace filters, clean heating ducts of dust and buildup, and bleed radiators.
  1. FUEL OIL- Check to ensure that you have enough home heating oil remaining in your tank to warm your home when the nighttime temperatures drop. If you do not, call for a delivery before the first frost.
  1. PIPES– Check for exposed pipes that are susceptible to freezing and wrap them in insulating material. Cold weather can cause pipes to contract and open up connections to leaks and drips.
  1. DOORS & WINDOWS – Check your doors and windows for gaps that allow warm air to escape and cold air to enter. If you have storm windows, install them before Thanksgiving. Remove and store screens until spring. If your windows are old and drafty, replace them with new, energy efficient replacement windows to save on energy all Winter long.
  1. CHIMNEY – Check both the interior and exterior of your chimney before you need it this winter. The inside should be cleaned, and the outside should be checked for cracks or leaks that could result in falling bricks or a blocked flue.

Call HiTech  at (978) 206-6200 to learn more about the ways we can help you prepare your home for the coming Winter!