Many homeowners may think it is too premature to worry about preparing your home for Fall, but getting an early start on seasonal home improvement is a sensible idea. It’s time to think about what you can do to make sure your home is ready for the cold season that is quickly approaching. To help you better prepare for the season, we made a list of home improvement maintenance and repairs that should be handled long before autumn turns into winter.
Inspect your driveway’s condition. Carefully check your walkways and driveways for cracks. Cracks in asphalt or concrete can quickly become worse by extreme, changing temperatures. By fixing cracks in walkways and driveways you can offset the risk of injury and expensive costs later.
Seal or replace your home’s windows. If you already have new windows, then you are more than halfway through this step. Make sure your windows are properly sealed with weather stripping. If your home’s windows are dated, now is the time to replace them with new, energy saving windows. New windows are energy efficient, and can keep your heating costs low.
Get your chimney cleaned. Many house fires during the Fall season are attributed homeowners that neglect their chimney maintenance. In fact, if you do not do any of these other tips for preparing your home for Fall, at the very least clean your chimney. Have a licensed contractor inspect your chimney, clean out any debris, and remove any caps. A dirty chimney can cause smoke to build up in your house, and can even spark a fire or create dangerous Carbon Monoxide levels in your home.
Check your gutters before Fall begins. Once the leaves start to fall, it is more time consuming and frustrating to try to clean your gutters out while leaves are falling. Debris builds up more quickly than you may expect during the course of the year, and letting the gutters become cluttered can lead to unexpected costly repairs to your home. If your gutters are showing evidence of pulling away from your home, it is time to contact a licensed general contractor to replace them.
The key to proper home maintenance is prevention. Take some advice from the experts, and do not wait to prepare your home for Fall. It is wiser to address home improvement projects just before the colder season, than to face a big problem in the dead of winter.
At Center Island Contracting, we know that the best way to offset costly winter weather damage is to make your repairs during the milder seasons. Whether your gutters are loose and pulling away from your home or your new window project is on the horizon, our licensed general contractors are here for you! We make home maintenance and preparing your home for Fall a breeze. Please call 631-465-9765 to discuss your home repair needs with a fully licensed and insured general contractor.
