Get Your Vancouver Home Ready for the Fall & Winter Season

Summer is slowly coming to an end, which means that the fall and winter months are approaching. As you start getting your home ready for the upcoming seasons, there are a few things we recommend you do to prepare your home beforehand.

We recommend you check and keep up with the maintenance of your furnace and/or boiler annually. If you’ve run your furnace and some areas in your home appear to be cooler than others, you don’t necessarily need to upgrade your furnace just yet. Adjust the furnace or get your ducts cleaned and opt for a quality air filter to keep dust and any other debris out of the ducts. This goes the same with ensuring all heat registers and/or zones are working in your home.

You’ll thank yourself for inspecting your roof and chimneys now before the rainy season. Factors such as severe weather can speed up the deterioration process of your roof. Look for signs of worn or lost shingles, as well as mold, and that everything on your roof is installed properly.

Do a quick visual chimney sweep

Check to make sure there are no bird or squirrel nests inside your chimney, as well as is also any crumbling bricks. If you cannot see all areas of your roof and it’s older than 15 years, a roof inspection is a good idea. Not comfortable climbing onto your roof? Please reach out to us for a referral to a professional who will inspect it.

‘Tis the season to order your firewood

Stack and cover the wood neatly in an outside location away from the soil. Keep the firewood in your yard on top of plastic sheeting, and remember to dispose of any old and rotten firewood.

Easy to forget, but make sure to check your gutters! They could potentially be clogged with last year’s leaves & debris. One way to check the integrity of your gutters is to go outside when it's raining and check your downspouts. Using a garden hose to spray water on your roof to see if your gutters are leaking is also another great way to check.

Inspect the exterior of the home for gaps around windows, door frames, and joints. Search your home for any other gaps and ensure that there are no caulking gaps as they may happen. Be up to date with the condition of the caulking around your home.

Windows should be latching correctly to avoid unwanted drafts and loss of heat. Check weather stripping around exterior doors, as well as the exterior lighting.

Shut down your pool and sprinkler system properly, as well as drain the outside faucets. The fall season is a great time to get any pool work done, especially if there’s a problem. Your outside water faucet is completely unprotected from the elements. It will freeze over the winter and there is a greater chance of basement flooding or other nasty leaks.

You can do a basic drain of the line, by shutting off the water valve to your outside spigot, going outside then opening the exterior spigot valve. From here, let the water drain out of the line. If the water in there freezes, there is plenty of room to expand without breaking any pipes or seals. Leave the water shut off to the faucet until you need to use the hose.

Since most of us stay mostly indoors during the colder months, make sure you change the batteries in your smoke detectors. Clean and inspect both your fireplace and dryer vents, as well.

Scan the trees on your property for broken limbs or limbs hanging over your house. These limbs might need to be pruned back. If they need to be pruned, learning proper tree pruning techniques will help your trees flourish and keep them staying and looking fresh.

Don’t wait for winter to restock on cold-weather essentials

This includes items such as snowblowers and shovels. Keep your driveways clear with salt and ice melt. The earlier you get these items the better, as most people wait for the first snowstorm to buy these items.

Lastly, we recommend you get your lawn fertilized and ready for spring growth. This can look like mowing early or often, trimming trees and bushes, and assessing the soil, to name a few. Fertilization will help give a big boost of nutrients to stimulate recovery and prepare it for the upcoming seasons.

Contact us if you need a referral for one of our preferred service providers. 

Let us know: what else would you recommend to get your home ready for the colder seasons?