How to Protect a House From Cold Weather

a large remote property with snow on the house and driveway

Winter is the season for cozy fires, warm drinks, family time, and outdoor adventures in the snow. It also heralds the holiday season and celebrates all the past year has brought. But, while winter offers many seasonal delights, it can hit your home hard. It’s essential to prepare before the cold sets in to prevent damage and preserve your property.

Keep reading to learn our six tips on how to protect a house from cold weather and prepare for the coming winter.

1. Do a Property Check

Heavy snowfall can cause tree branches to crack or fall. Do a check around your property and make sure falling branches won’t damage your home, vehicles, or other property in any way. You may want to do preventive pruning before the season starts to avoid any possible damage.

Also, check the outside of your home. Gutters that are full of water or leaves can freeze and crack. Hoses can also cause damage if left connected to your house over the winter. Before winter kicks in, do a sweep of your entire property to clean and maintain it. Check for anything that could cause issues over winter and make efforts to prevent them as best as possible.

2. Watch Internal Temperatures

a person monitoring smart home systems via a tablet

Many people turn up their thermostats during winter. Once the internal temperature of your home is nice and toasty, you shouldn’t significantly change it when you leave the house or while you sleep. This is because your water pipes can freeze. If the pressure becomes too much and they burst, you can face significant damage that may require a lot of home repair.

Another way to keep your home temperature consistent is to check for drafts or leaks by your windows and doors. Seal up any cracks or holes to make your thermostat more effective and reduce your heating bill.

3. Update Home Insulation

Another way to protect a house from cold weather is to update your home’s insulation system. Properly insulating the pipes and ducts running through your walls and basement will keep your water system running smoothly.

Make sure you’ve insulated your attic floor, too. Heat rises, so if your attic is not sealed off from the rest of your house, you’ll have to use more heat to warm the temperature of your living spaces.

Also, consider insulating your windows with shrink-wrap for an extra layer of warmth. These coverings will help keep your home warm, without disrupting the beautiful snowy views outside.

4. Install a Home Generator

Sometimes, a power outage in your area can affect your access to electricity. In the summer, this means the food in your freezer may go bad. In the winter, it means you may not have access to heat for cooking, warm showers, and temperature control.

Because heat is so important to have in the winter, installing a home generator to cover any power outages you may experience is a good idea. If you choose a gas generator, follow regulations and best practice advice, like installing it outside to protect yourself from carbon monoxide poisoning.

5. Get Vacation Ready

a large philadelphia house covered in snow

There’s a lot of work that goes into taking a vacation. However, one of the most important things you can do to prepare is to get your house ready for your absence. If you leave the water and heat off for an extended amount of time, your home could experience some major problems before you return.

Unforeseen power outages can also affect your property while you’re away. It’s best to have someone check on or live in your house while you’re gone, especially if you have pets that are staying behind.

However, you can also install a smart home thermostat and monitoring system. This protects your home and improves home security. It can even increase home value.

6. Be Prepared For Emergencies

a man inspecting the underside of a crawlspace

Your best plan of action to prepare your home for cold weather is to have one! Ensure you know what to do if a pipe bursts and who to call if your power goes out. It’s your responsibility to equip yourself to deal with the cold if something goes wrong.

Over the winter, things you should have on hand include a list of important telephone numbers, flashlights with working batteries, candles, blankets, hand warmers, and charged energy sources for your phone.

Summary: How to Protect a House From Cold Weather

Preparing for the winter will keep your home warm, safe, and airtight until the warm weather comes around again. A little preparation can save you a lot of trouble later and ensure your home functions as a peaceful haven for many years. It can also prevent major issues from occurring on a property, which can be problematic when selling.

Do you need to sell a damaged property? At Brotherly Love Real Estate, we buy houses fast for cash in Philadelphia and San Diego. You can sell a house as is to us, without making any repairs or modifications, and get a fair price. You can also sell a house with code violations to us.