Now that it's cold outside, we all need to focus on our outside maintenance before it gets too cold! I found this great article from the National Association of Realtors giving a few good tips of things to do. If you would like to hire someone to do these things for you, I have a few good contractors that I could recommend. Drop me an email and I'll help you find one in your area!
Here's the article:
Don't Let Clients Make These Winter Mistakes
MONDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2016
As winter approaches, it’s important to make sure a home is ready for the colder months ahead. Help your clients prepare by warning them about potentially costly mistakes. HouseLogic offers the following tips of the mistakes to avoid:
1. Not protecting the outdoor faucet.
It’ll cost about $2 to buy a protector for an outdoor faucet, and that small investment could save owners up to $15,000 in potential damages. Frozen water can cause a lot of damage, and an outdoor faucet is particularly susceptible to freezing temperatures. Remove the garden hose from the outdoor faucet, drain it, and add a faucet protector, which will prevent cold air from entering the pipes.
2. Not removing icicles immediately.
They may look pretty hanging from the edge of a home, but it’s a sign of an ice dam, a buildup of ice in a gutter or roof that is preventing snow and ice from melting and draining through the gutters. Those ice blocks, left untouched, can lead to pricey roof repairs. Also, for homes more prone to them, it may be a sign of not enough insulation in the attic, says Chris Johnson, owner of Navarre True Value in the Twin Cities area.
3. Skipping gutter cleanups.
By the same token, when it rains, water pouring from gutters like a waterfall is a sign of trouble. That water can pile up on a foundation and cause damage. Clean the gutters a few times each fall to prevent clogs.
4. Letting cold air get inside.
This can be a costly mistake to heating bills. Sealing cracks with caulk can easily be done and will keep the cooler air out. HouseLogic suggests looking for visible cracks around windowsills, baseboards, and dryer vents.
5. Not getting your furnace checked.
“Forget to service your furnace and you could easily cut five years off the life of your system,” says Danny Lipford, host of “Today’s Homeowner” television and radio shows. And those are costly: New units are around $4,000 installed. Also, don’t forget to replace furnace filters, which has been linked with trimming potentially 15 percent off your energy bill.
Here's the article:
Don't Let Clients Make These Winter Mistakes
MONDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2016
As winter approaches, it’s important to make sure a home is ready for the colder months ahead. Help your clients prepare by warning them about potentially costly mistakes. HouseLogic offers the following tips of the mistakes to avoid:
1. Not protecting the outdoor faucet.
It’ll cost about $2 to buy a protector for an outdoor faucet, and that small investment could save owners up to $15,000 in potential damages. Frozen water can cause a lot of damage, and an outdoor faucet is particularly susceptible to freezing temperatures. Remove the garden hose from the outdoor faucet, drain it, and add a faucet protector, which will prevent cold air from entering the pipes.
2. Not removing icicles immediately.
They may look pretty hanging from the edge of a home, but it’s a sign of an ice dam, a buildup of ice in a gutter or roof that is preventing snow and ice from melting and draining through the gutters. Those ice blocks, left untouched, can lead to pricey roof repairs. Also, for homes more prone to them, it may be a sign of not enough insulation in the attic, says Chris Johnson, owner of Navarre True Value in the Twin Cities area.
3. Skipping gutter cleanups.
By the same token, when it rains, water pouring from gutters like a waterfall is a sign of trouble. That water can pile up on a foundation and cause damage. Clean the gutters a few times each fall to prevent clogs.
4. Letting cold air get inside.
This can be a costly mistake to heating bills. Sealing cracks with caulk can easily be done and will keep the cooler air out. HouseLogic suggests looking for visible cracks around windowsills, baseboards, and dryer vents.
5. Not getting your furnace checked.
“Forget to service your furnace and you could easily cut five years off the life of your system,” says Danny Lipford, host of “Today’s Homeowner” television and radio shows. And those are costly: New units are around $4,000 installed. Also, don’t forget to replace furnace filters, which has been linked with trimming potentially 15 percent off your energy bill.
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