Happy Fall!
Summer is over, the days are getting shorter and pretty soon the leaves will be changing from green to all those spectacular colors here in southern Connecticut. Mother Nature’s color display will not last long before those beautiful leaves will be hitting the ground and home owners will be raking like crazy to clean up and prepare their lawns for winter.
The key word for Fall season is PREPARE – time to not only enjoy the change of season but also time to get your home and property ready for Winter. Here are some helpful tips to button up your home and property to prepare for Winter:
1) Lawn & Yard Maintenance – Those beautiful leaves need to be cleaned out of your gutters before they rot and cause water damage to gutters and water spill over onto the walkways and yard. Left over leaves in gutters can also dam up and cause damage to the interior walls of your attic area.
2) Flower Beds – clean, trim, fertilize plants and lawns (once all the leaves are gone).
3) Roof Inspection – while you’re up there cleaning out gutters, check your roof for any damaged shingles or tiles to prevent leaks when snow piles up on the roof.
4) Driveway & Decks – repair cracks and reseal driveways. Check out decks, porches for damaged supports, stairs & railings. Apply a new coat of deck sealer or stain to decks.
5) Chimney, Fireplace & Flu’s – check the outside of your chimney for cracks and damaged joints & patch where necessary. Clean out the flu to your fireplace or wood stove to remove creosote build-up, creosote can ignite, causing chimney fires. If unable to perform flu inspection/clean out yourself, hire a professional Chimney Sweep to be on the safe side.
6) Heating System – Hire a professional HVAC technician or have your oil or gas company perform a yearly tune-up. Remove or cover window air conditioners, cover central ac outdoor units.
7) Windows & Doors – Caulk windows and weather strip doors to prevent drafts (doing this will cut down on heat loss & reduce heating costs). Remove & store screens on windows & doors and install storm windows & doors.
8) Smoke & Carbon Monoxide Detectors – change batteries and test all smoke/fire/carbon monoxide detectors and replace if defective.
9) Supplies – check your snow shovels, ice scrapers, ready your snow blower and stock up on salt or calcium chloride and fire wood before the winter rush begins. it’s always better to prepare early to avoid the hardware store or Home Depot rush just before the first blast of Winter is predicted.
These are just some of the common preparedness tips – you might also want to start a home inventory of all your possessions, inside and outside. This is a great time to include a walk through of your home to start, continue or update your existing home inventory –
I do hope you have one.
If you haven’t had the time to perform a home inventory, please make this a part of your Fall preparedness. Even if you go through your home and make a list of your possessions, make a video or take pictures, it’s one of the most important things you need to do. Anything is better than nothing to prepare for any natural disaster, home disaster or home invasion. Know what you own and record the value, create an inventory catalog. If this task is to daunting for you or you just don’t have the time, call us at Fairfield Home Inventory for help.
It’s also a good idea to pull out your Home Insurance Policy to see if your up to date on your home repair and theft coverage.
Have a safe and healthy fall!