Are Your Ready For
Winter?
brought to you by
Chrissy Neumann
East
Cobb
$449,900
- Brand New
construction, just ten minutes from I-75 at Delk
Rd!
- Four sided
brick, over 1/2 an acre of land, 3 car side-entry
garage
- Five full
bedrooms and three and a half baths, Master on the Main
- Hardwood Floors
throughout the entire first floor
- Two story foyer
and Grand Room - tons of heavy trim and crown molding
- Imported cherry
cabinets and top of the line granite counter tops
- Great
schools!!
- View This Home at CastlesByChrissy.com
Tuesday's
Tip
Once winter blows in, houses have to get serious. Roofs
must shed rain and snow, windows and doors must reject the cold, and the
heating system must keep rooms comfortable. If any of these components
don't hold up their part of the bargain, we have to scramble around in the
wet, cold, and/or dark to fix them.
So let's get started! By handling these few important,
reasonably easy tasks now, you can avoid considerable grief later.
1. Inspect the roof
If possible, go up onto the roof to check its condition,
but only do this if you can do it safely. Look for cracked or missing
shingles, bald spots on shingles, missing or damaged flashing, and other
conditions that might allow leaks. If composition shingles look aged, bend
back the corner of one; if it crumbles or breaks, it is time for
replacement. In most cases, you can seal minor cracks or tears with
roofing cement or do minor repairs
yourself.
Do not climb onto a roof that is
steep, wet, or icy. Instead, consider checking the surface from a ladder
or, if you can't safely climb a ladder, use a pair of binoculars to scan
for broken or missing shingles. From the top of a ladder, you can check
the gutters along a typical asphalt-shingle roof for fine gravel-like
granules that wash down from the roof's surface. An accumulation of these
usually means the surface is wearing away and replacement time is near. If
you see problems, call a roofing contractor.
2. Check the
gutters
While you're on the ladder, look
into the gutters. If they are clogged with leaves and debris, either call
a gutter specialist or clean the gutters yourself. Gutters
prevent basement and foundation flooding and water damage to siding,
windows, and doors. When clogged with leaves and debris, they will fill
with rainwater and overflow. To make matters worse, the added weight of
the water may pull them loose from the eaves.
3. Look at the
siding
Check the siding for cracks, damage,
and separations. In most cases, you can seal any leaky spots with clear
caulking compound (or buy paintable caulk and touch up with paint). Either
handle more serious siding repairs yourself or call a siding
contractor.
4. Investigate
weatherstripping
Also look to see if windows and
doors are effectively sealed with weatherstripping.
Weatherstripping will prevent drafts and winter heat loss. If
weatherstripping is damaged, it's usually easier and more effective to
entirely replace it rather than repair it.
5. Service the heating system
If your home is heated by a forced-air furnace, turn off
the power to the unit and replace its disposable filter or clean its
permanent filter according to the manufacturer's recommendations. While
the furnace cabinet is open, brush and vacuum the blower blades. If you
see potential leaks around air ducts, seal them by wrapping with duct
tape. If you are not familiar with doing this type of work yourself, call
a furnace technician.
6. Sweep the chimney
If you
can see past the damper in the throat of the chimney, shine a flashlight
up from inside to look for black, scaly creosote buildup on the inner
walls. Creosote buildup on the inner walls of the chimney must be removed
periodically to prevent chimney fires. The amount of buildup will depend
upon how much wood you burn seasonally (especially resinous wood such as
pine) and how long it has been since the last cleaning. Cleaning is
generally recommended at least once a year for an active fireplace. Call a
chimney sweep to have this done.
7. Adjust storm doors
A storm door can reduce energy costs and prevent drafts.
To keep your storm door working properly, put a couple of drops of light
oil or spray a little WD-40 on hinges and latches. Be sure the door closer
is adjusted and working smoothly; to adjust the closing speed of a
pneumatic closer, turn the adjustment screw in the end cap. If you have a
storm-and-screen door with interchangeable glass and screen panels, switch
from screens to glass panels.
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THE
PROPERTY LISTED ABOVE OR THE TIP PROVIDED
PLEASE FEEL FREE TO EMAIL CHRISSY@CASTLESBYCHRISSY.COM
OR CALL ME AT 404.925.5335
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