Cold weather has hit our area of Texas a bit unexpectedly! Regardless of the temperatures, however, certain weather patterns require specific maintenance for your home during the winter months. Gerard Construction wants to help you protect your investment and your home, and we have advice for what you need to do to prepare for the inevitable colder months ahead.

Outdoors

Starting at the top of your home, you want to ensure all shingles are present and in good repair. If any are loose, a cold winter front with wind could knock more of these off and create more issues. Your gutters and downspouts must be cleaned, especially since much of our winter comes with rain and thunderstorms. If we have a freeze, you want to be sure the ice drains out of the gutters, so it doesn’t damage them more. Prepping your home for the winter is also a great time to install weather stripping around your doors and windows, as you can tell where these gaps are, and this saves you money on your electric and heating bills.

Indoors

An often-forgotten step is to reverse the direction of your ceiling fans. Those of us in the South love our ceiling fans and air circulation. By changing the direction, you will push the warm air to you to keep you toasty at night. Now is the time to also get your HVAC system checked out. You don’t want a random breakdown to occur before family visits or during a multiple-day freeze in the area. If you have a fireplace, hire a company to clean and inspect your chimney to prevent dangerous situations from happening. If you have been considering extra insulation in the attic, now is the time to install it to keep your home warm and prevent heat from escaping. Additionally, extra insulation will help you in the summer as cool air stays inside.

Other Considerations

Because we frequently have freezing temperatures overnight, it is helpful to make a plan for plants and pets. Whether you wrap and cover your plants or bring them inside, thinking through what would be best ahead of time can help prevent stress later. Additionally, having the supplies on hand that you may need to cover pipes and spigots is also beneficial. Some patio furniture may be best stored in a shed or garage, too. Check with the manufacturer’s instructions.

Other parts of the country may have different tasks to complete and stay on top of to winterize their home, but these are a great place to start. Here, along the Gulf Coast, this list should be fairly comprehensive, with a few exceptions. If you need to remodel during this time or are looking to build a new home to ring in the New Year, contact our team at Gerard Construction. We can help turn your dream into a home!