Do winter home improvement projects before they become a necessity and cost you endless headaches and money spending. Put practical home improvement tips on your to-do list and save money while living with a peaceful mind.
It is more of a challenge, though, finding ways to improve your home for winter. Considering the effects of the pandemic on homeowners and the home care industry as a whole.
Get A Winter Home Maintenance Checklist Ready
Get your best home maintenance guide ready each year during fall to plan your budget. It saves your resources doing the best home improvements for winter that can last until the next season. While it is not too early to do winter home remodeling ideas, it can guide you to prepare a winter-ready home ahead of time.
Homeowners have difficulties nowadays securing winter home improvements amidst the pandemic. Severely impacting the home care industry to get the rewarding and best winter home improvements. Consider these easy and best home improvement ideas you can do for winter.
8 Winter Home Improvements Worth Investing In
1 – Find a contractor or service provider for winter home improvements
Ask your realtor if you acquired your house from them, and if you are not into a do-it-yourself (DIY) winter home improvement. They usually have a list of home improvement professionals that you can ask to quote for the best home improvements for you this winter.
Most of them can do a walk-through and give you a realistic estimate worth investing in and help you decide and prioritize your winter home improvements project. You can use word of mouth from friends and neighbors to look for a home care contractor. You can also find them via digital marketplaces such as Home Advisor, Houzz, Porch, where homeowners can connect with them.
2 – Home safety improvements for winter
A home safety maintenance checklist is good during fall to thoroughly check all parts of your house. Check for your electrical, heating, ventilation & air conditioning (HVAC), appliances, gas devices, and electronics for surge protection. They are extremely dangerous and can even cost your home and life when not maintained. Do home improvements, like upgrading or replacing them, can anticipate their wear and tear periods.
Ensure your safety and security devices are working, like testing your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors and security alarms. Check for your thermostats and pressure gauges, and replace batteries when necessary. Check your kitchen, oven, LPG hoses and canisters, furnaces, and heaters for gaps and leaks. Ensure your fire extinguisher does not lapse its expiration date and replace them when needed.
Check your home for radon during fall as the weather gets cooler and windows stay shut more often, and get a contractor qualified to fix radon issues. Help improve your home safety and peace of mind by updating your home security measures for the winter season.
Most homeowners don’t understand that most of the foundation issues are caused by water. And if you don’t have proper drainage around the foundation – it can cause some serious foundation problems in no time. Read more about – How to drain water away from the foundation.
3 – Trim and clean your home vicinity
Better do a top-to-bottom checking, scrubbing, trimming, cleaning, and removing undesirable objectives and debris surrounding your house. Care for trees and shrubs to make sure leaves do not enter or block your roofing, gutter, electrical, and water systems. It can prevent tree loss and know when to prune them, avoiding falling trees during ice dams and winter storms.
Ensure tree branches and root systems are not damaging your floors, walls, wirings, and pipings. Consider repainting your home for uniform view and to spot and fill holes and gaps. Clean up your surroundings and indoor home improvements to spot poor house health early on.
4 – Clear pathways and driveways
Ensure your walkways, railings, stairs, and driveway are safe for winter. Clear the landscape for leaves and debris and easy removal of ice and snow. Ensure walking from the driveway to the front door of your house is safe, and all surfaces are free from ice and snow.
Check that all stairs are good and have sturdy railings to make it safer going around your house. Ensure walkways and driveway are in good surface condition and repair them for easier shoveling or scraping.
5 – Proper stock up on winter supplies
Stock up your winter supplies during fall or even earlier while available and before prices get sky high. Check your snow shovels and ice scrapers, replace them, or keep spare parts when necessary.
Better to restock emergency kits for your car and home. When you use a snow blower, have it serviced and purchase fuel enough when you use it. When you’re in a place with snowstorms or heavy snow in winter, ensure an early stocking of your essential supplies.
6 – Protect Your Pipes
Shut off exterior faucets and store hoses to protect your pipes from freezing temperatures. Wrap water pipes with insulators and hoses (if needed) before the outside temperature drops below the threshold. Uninsulated water pipes freeze when outside temperatures drop 20 degrees or below. It is based on a study by researchers at the Building Research Council at the University of Illinois.
Invest in frost protection caps for your faucets, pipes, and hose to prevent ice formation or pest harborage. After you drain your garden hoses and store them indoors, put protection caps as well. Ensure you monitor the temperature alert threshold outside and inside your house. Even interior pipes can crack near openings that let in cold air and develop ice blockages even in a heated space.
7 – Maintain your HVAC systems
Getting an energy-efficient HVAC system can be a complex but wise home improvements project. It can be costly when not maintained properly for all seasons of the year. It is your modern home partner in making your home comfortable for your family, and when you need it most. Maintain them in the most livable condition and service their components to provide your optimal home comfort.
8 – Add weatherstrips to your doors and windows
Apply weatherstripping around the frames of your windows and doors to keep warmth inside and cut your power bills. Install door sweeps to the base of your drafty doors, and it can keep heat in and cold air out. Cover your external steel frames with insulator pads to prevent the formation of icicles and ice dams. Make this one of your DIY home improvement projects.
Final Thoughts
These are the best home improvements you can adapt not only for winter but to upgrade its value. Make your winter home improvements project a realistic way to save resources while providing frost protection to your home.
