winter ready!

It’s that time of year… for fall maintenance on the exterior of your home. 

Yes the snow will soon be here (for some of us) and those pesky problems that just seem to get worse are still there. As I said in an earlier post, it is a good time to take a 30 minute inventory of the condition of the exterior of your home. I was on my roof this weekend and noticed a few items that do need attention. My guess is you will find some things too.

1. I would start by walking the perimeter of the house. Look for things like broken seals on your windows, caulking that needs re-doing or replacing, cracks in your window glass, siding or trim that has come loose or even fallen off.

2. Look up at your soffits. It doesn’t take much of a hole for those miserable little red squirrels to gain an entrance. Check the fascia too for any sign of failure. And of course... check your foundation for a potential friendly neighborhood mouse entrance.

3. Look over all your siding. Look for loose or missing pieces. Peeling paint, flashings etc.

4. Check the ground for broken shingles. That is usually the place you notice first if a shingle has broken.

5. Make sure your frost free water shut-offs are in working order and they actually do shut off the water to the outside. If you don’t have frost free shut-offs, be sure to turn your water off inside before the real freeze happens.

6. Time to climb on the roof….if you feel safe in doing so. When you are up there, look for where that shingle blew off that you found earlier on the ground. Make sure it gets replaced by you or someone who does this type of repair on a regular basis. Also look at the general condition of the roof. If you have been thinking it needs replacing for a few years now, I would say it’s time to get it done. Look at all the flashings and valley’s and make sure there are not any areas missing or damaged.

A good proactive plan in checking all these things and replacing or repairing them as they arise, will make your life far easier if you take care of them one at a time instead of waiting for all of them needing to be done at the same time. A lot easier on your pocket book too!

Feel free to contact us if you have concerns about any of these areas of your home that need attention. Then sit back and relax during the cold winter months, knowing your home is "winter ready". 

~ The Carpenter