Canadian winters can be harsh and maintaining your home during this season can be a big project in itself. That’s why many homeowners hire local pros to run winter checks on their property before the temperature hits a freezing point. By using HomeStars you can hire local pros even in the peak of winter to get some tasks done that you may have forgotten about. Here’s a custom winter checklist to help maintain your home during this harsh season.
Get Your Trees Trimmed
Spring, late summer or fall are favoured seasons for tree trimming. However, if you did not get your trees trimmed last season you should consider getting them trimmed sooner rather than later. Overgrown trees and long branches can become saturated with heavy snow on them. Many times branches can’t sustain the weight of snow and fall down. This can cause serious physical injury or damage your property. To avoid such damages we recommend you get your trees trimmed by a professional today.
Gutter and Roof Cleaning
Heavy snow can break more than a few tree branches. In fact, if left long enough to pile up, snow can actually damage your roof as well. Using proper equipment for roof raking is important to avoid any damage to the roof, walls or gutters. Cleaning gutters and downspouts are of the essence in winter to avoid make-shift nests built by pets, potential flooding and heating issues, as well as the creation of ice blockages and icicles. Missing out on your winter cleaning checklist can lead to these many damages and fixing them can cost a fortune. So, book a roof and gutter cleaning service while you still have time left.
Hire a Snow Removal Company
Living in Canada during winter means shovelling walls of snow from your yard and driveway every day for almost half a year. Canadians wake up an hour early during the winter just to remove the snow saturated in front of their doors so they can drive away safely to work. Saturated snow can also hamper the structural integrity of your house and often leads to basement flooding. Instead of spending hours every week on this chore, you can hire a community-reviewed snow-removal specialist. If you’ve never hired a snow removal company before, here’s what to look for and questions to ask before you hire.
Protect Your Patio and Outdoor Kitchen
Picture Courtesy: New Age
You invested in a beautiful outdoor kitchen to use all spring and summer long, so it’s important to protect your investment. Protecting your patio and outdoor kitchen is important to maintain its longevity. If they are not properly covered or stored away, heavy snow and freezing temperatures can damage them in just one season. You can carefully pack and store away your patio furniture and cover the outdoor kitchen set up in a closed gazebo. If you forgot to winterize your outdoor kitchen at the beginning of the season, you can still do it now by hiring the right pro.
Run Maintainance on Heating and Furnace
Canadian homes run on 3 common types of heating systems: boiler, furnace and heat pump. Irrespective of the heating system you have chosen for your home, running its regular maintenance is important to avoid any breaks in the system in the middle of winter. Freezing temperatures, snowstorms and blizzards can have adverse effects on your home’s internal heating system. Many homeowners also have heated driveways and outdoor radiant heating systems. Breakdown in these systems can result in mountains of snow saturation outside your door. Make sure you hire a heating and furnace contractor to check the working order of your heating systems to avoid any surprises.
Update Insulation
Proper insulation is important to maintain indoor air quality and temperature. Good insulation can also help you reduce energy usage. You can get spray foam, blown-in, fibreglass or reflective barrier insulation to go behind your drywall, flooring and ceiling. Be it a winter season or summer, proper insulation will keep your home’s temperature at a comfortable degree. You can update your insulation with the help of the Canada Greener Homes Grant so it doesn’t cause a financial burden on your family.
Winter can be difficult and unpredictable in different parts of Canada. But having this checklist handy will help you hire the right pro for all your winter home improvement and maintenance needs. The sooner you hire a winter pro, the better it will be for your home!
