It may still feel like summer, but winter is just around the corner. There are some important areas of your home you should inspect now, because dealing with them as an emergency in the winter can be miserable. Here is a list of things to do in the month of September. You should be able to do most of these tasks yourself, but if you need help, you can always contact me and I have many people I can recommend for you to hire.
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Check driveways and sidewalks for cracks
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Cracks and joints should be filled with a high quality sealer made for concrete. Anytime water can enter a joint or crack, it will freeze when the outdoor temperature falls below freezing. Once water becomes ice, it expands and pushes on the concrete making the cracks bigger. Even when it isn’t freezing, water getting below the pavement will undermine the base and cause uneven surfaces.
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If you already have pavement that has settled and is uneven, before you pay to have it replaced, check into having it mud jacked. This is a process where a hole is drilled through the concrete, and then a slurry mix is pumped through the holes to fill the voids and lift the sunken concrete panel. This can save you lots of money if you were thinking of replacing the concrete.
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Check outside hose bibs
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Sometimes called spigots, hydrants, or sillcocks, these are the outdoor faucets you connect your garden hose to. Make sure they turn off completely and water stops flowing or dripping when shut off. They are designed to drain the water pipe a good distance inside the home in order to prevent the water pipe from freezing, so it is normal to have water drain for a short time after it is turned off, but then should stop completely. Most of these can be repaired if they don’t shut off completely. It is also important to disconnect the garden hose each time you finish using it. Leaving the hose connected can prevent the water pipe from draining and allow the water to freeze, possibly splitting the pipe.
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Clean and inspect chimneys
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For those of you who have wood burning fireplaces, it is important to have your chimneys cleaned and inspected regularly. How often really depends on how much wood you burn and if you have noticed any problems. An unhealthy chimney is not only a fire hazard, but wastes energy, and allows smoke to enter the living area.
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Inspect the heating system
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Now is the time to prepare your furnace for cold weather. A failure during the winter can be much more than just inconvenient, it can cause other damage that is costly, like water pipes to freeze and break causing interior flooding. Many of us Midwesterners use a whole house humidifier on our heating systems, so don’t forget that. They can be problematic with corrosion and lime build-up.
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Service yard equipment
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It may seem reasonable to finish the mowing season by putting the mower away after the last mowing and waiting until spring to get it ready for the new mowing season, but you would be wrong. Before you put it away for winter, it is important to change the oil, fill the fuel tank with a Top-Tier fuel that is not blended with ethanol, and use a quality gas stabilizer. You should also clean or replace the air filter, and check the spark plug, replacing it if necessary. This would be a good time to sharpen and balance the mower blade as well, replacing it if it is cracked or damaged beyond repair.
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Inspect the roof
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Your roof has a big job to do over the winter. Here in Central Iowa, we have some winters when it snows a lot and stays below freezing for extended periods. In times like that it is common for snow to accumulate on the roof, adding a significant amount of extra weight. Then there are winters when we get snow, but the temperatures fluctuate with period of freezing and thawing. This situation will really test your roof’s ability to shed water. Look for missing/loose/damaged shingles, vent covers, and flashing.
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Don’t forget your gutters and downspouts. They play a big role in preventing water from getting to your foundation and freezing, which will put excess pressure on the basement walls causing cracking and bowing. Make sure they are clean and free of debris. All water from the roof should be caught by the gutters and directed away from your home’s foundation. They will not function properly if filled with debris or plugged.
Now you can relax and enjoy fall activities worry-free!
Norwalk IA Real Estate –
Jon Niemeyer, Broker/Owner/REALTOR® at EXIT Realty North Star. I list and sell real estate in Central Iowa including Norwalk, Des Moines, West Des Moines, Cumming, Indianola, Carlisle, Waukee, Urbandale, Grimes, Clive, Johnston, Ankeny, Altoona, and Pleasant Hill in the Counties of Warren, Polk, Dallas, and Madison. Call
Jon Niemeyer at
515-490-4675.