Preparing/Inspecting your home for winter part II

In my previous post I talked about the roof and what needs to be done in preparation for old man winter. Today I am going to discuss what else needs to be done to your home in preparation for the coming winter months.

One of the most common cold weather entry points, on a home, are the windows and doors. Start off walking the perimeter of the home looking at each window. Check the caulking and make sure it is still in good shape. Maybe you don’t see any and wonder what I am talking about. When a window is installed, a bead of caulk is applied to the window frame. This is not seen at all. But this does break down over time. The exterior portion of the window frame is usually overlooked. It doesn’t get caulked at all. If this is the case, then I recommend caulking this gap, between the window frame and the wall. As the home moves or shifts, and as the sun beats down on the window, the interior caulk will begin to break down. Furthermore, wind and cold can enter the wall cavity reducing the efficiency of the insulation. By caulking the perimeter of the windows you will achieve two things: first you will prevent water from having any chance of penetrating the wall or window, and second you will block off any access for the cold to enter.

Next step is to walk around looking for any openings, (IE. wall penetrations, electrical, A/C, phone, cable) where cold or water can enter the wall cavity. Place some caulk around these openings as well. If there is a large opening, I recommend buying a can of expandable foam. Use the foam to fill the opening then caulk over the top to seal it off completely.

Now that you’ve checked and fixed any and all openings, it’s time to enter the home and check all exterior doors. You want to look for the seal around the door. Check for damage or wear. One way is to close the door and look around the edges. If you can see any light, there is a problem. Replacement is easy and most materials are easily found at the local home improvement stores.

The reason behind checking and fixing these is to assure that your home is weather tight and to keep as much cold out as possible. Small amounts of cold air entering your home will cause your heater to work harder and more often raising your overall cost to heat the home.