How to Prep Your Home For Cold Weather

Right now you’re cheerfully carving pumpkins and warming up a fresh batch of apple cider, but you know that this pleasantly cool weather will soon take a sharp nosedive into wintry temperatures. While you should surely enjoy the fall festivals and pumpkin spice lattes to the full, it doesn’t hurt to think ahead and prepare for winterizing your home.

When cold weather hits in Northern Virginia, it seems to just strike without notice. It could be 60 degrees all week then suddenly winter makes its appearance like a surprise holiday guest…but this time you can’t say you made plans to go elsewhere. That cold weather will be there to stay, and it’s up to you to have a home ready to withstand its wiles.

Winterizing Your Home Prevents Damage

While hot weather presents its own hazards such as high energy bills and potentially warping asphalt roofing shingles, extreme cold can put your home through the wringer. If you don’t prepare your home for the upcoming changes, you can end up with some serious damage in several areas of your home, including the plumbing system, HVAC, and roof. Here are some ways you can winterize your home to prevent common cold weather damage like burst pipes and sagging gutters.

Indoor Prep

After you switch out your summery linens for seasonally appropriate “flannel everything”, your next step is to get on top of your home’s interior workings.

• HVAC: Change your furnace filters at least once a month. These will maintain a consistent airflow and keep heating costs as low as possible.
• Faucets and Pipes: Close off any water to exterior pipes (after draining them first). On especially cold nights, keep them on a slow drip to prevent total freezing. Thankfully, in Northern Virginia, we don’t have to worry too much about temperatures that low, but we have seen a few polar vortexes in the past couple of years. So keep your eye out.
• Check your home for drafts: Is cooler air seeping through your windows or doors? It’s now prime time to caulk the openings. Or, get a pro to repair or replace these items.
• Get Inspections! If you plan on using your fireplace, get someone over to make sure it is in working order. Inspect your HVAC and get it serviced for the season to ensure all parts are in working order.
• Clean your dryer duct: Winter leaves few chances for drying clothing outside. You need a fully functional dryer to keep your laundry rotation running smoothly. A clear dryer duct will lam

Exterior Prep

There’s also plenty to do outside! Much of your home’s integrity and well-being depend on how well you maintain its exterior elements. Here’s our shortlist:

• Get a Roofing inspection: Get a professional roofing inspection to make sure no shingles are cracked or warped. If snow or hail gets on these, you can end up with more damage that can lead to leaks. By detecting problems from issues like hail damage early, you can get small repairs instead of a total roofing replacement.
• Clean your gutters: Leaves that get wet can freeze and cause a plethora of issues, including bursting gutters. Or, your gutters can get so weighed down that they fall off your house altogether. Not fun to deal with, but so easy to prevent for a fraction of the cost of repairs!
• Landscape your yard: Fall is a great time to tackle those overgrown pokeweeds and tree sprouts that have taken over the yard. Not only is it comfortable outside, but there are far fewer mosquitoes to contend with, too. Wear the right safety gear and get to work!

Roof Inspections in Northern VA

Trust the repair and restoration of your roof to the professionals at Noble Roofing. Call (703) 404-0505 for an estimate today or complete our online quote request form.

In the case that your roof is too damaged, Noble Roofing also offers full Roof Replacements. Noble offers a 25 year roof protection warranty when purchasing GAF Roofing Systems.