Cold weather is coming and you should really be asking your self if your home is ready for it or not. Winter weather can be rough on your old house and this is no joking matter. Especially when you own an older home, it is always wise to do some inspecting and repairing before the cold comes. If you live in a warmer climate where you never get freezing temperatures, snow, ice, or even a lot of rainfall, then winter time worries probably do not plague you like they do with people who experience these things every winter season.



Letting the cold air in and the warm our out is a major concern during the winter. With the cost of heating what it is these days. You can not afford all of those tiny window and door leaks anymore. If you have newer energy efficient windows and doors then you have already done what you should to keep your heat inside. If you have older wooden windows and doors then you will likely have to do some heat loss control. Try stapling plastic inside or outside of your windows and then sealing around the edges with duct tape. This might make a mess on the window frame, but it does help stop drafty leaks. Keep your windows well caulked inside and out and this may help too.

Letting heat out is one thing, but allowing water into your home is even worse. Frozen pipes can be worrisome for those who have older and sometimes even newer homes that live in rigidly cold regions. Make sure your crawl space is sealed up well so that the coldest winds can not blow through. Insulate your under the house of basement pipes with heat tape or insulated pipe wrap to keep them from freezing. Use this same insulation treatment on the pipes underneath cabinets. If your washer and dryer is in an unheated basements, do these pipes as well.

If you have a well pump out doors for your home, you can keep a light bulb burning in there or find another way to give it a little heat in order to keep it from freezing up too. It is not when pipes freeze that causes the big problem, it is when they burst or split and them thaw out. This is where the water and damage comes from. Nothing is worse than having to do plumbing repairs inside the home or outside the home in the dead of winter.