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Prevent Damage, Claims and Worry: Winterize Your Home
As the last leaves fall to the ground, you may have already put the final touches
on winterizing your garden. But have you done all you can to winterize your home?
From the most obvious tasks like cleaning gutters and inspecting chimneys to the
more subtle such as checking for loose shingles and caulking beneath interior window
sills, each step you take will help you and your family stay warm and dry, avoid
insurance claims and protect the value of one of your most important investments.
What to do first? That's a tough question, because every step is important. But
since we at Auto & Home see the highest number of claims filed for damage done
by ice-damming and burst pipes, let's start here.
Water Woes
Jim Vasseur, director of field operations at Ames Information Services, a Shorewood-based
firm that conducts inspections for the insurance industry, says ice-damming generally
occurs when heavy snow builds up on a roof and insulation in the attic is insufficient.
Warm air from the attic heats the roof and begins to melt the snow on top. Water
from the melting snow then runs toward the roof's eaves. "But the roof is cold along
its bottom, so the water refreezes and builds a new layer of ice," says Vasseur.
The resulting ice dam impedes the flow of more water produced by the melting snow,
and since it has nowhere to go, "the water begins to go under the shingles and leak,"
he explains.
The ideal way to stop ice-damming is to remove the snow from your roof with a long
rake, but that may be easier said than done. Another old-fashioned solution involves
filling a nylon stocking with rock salt and laying the stocking over the channel
into which melting snow flows. But Vasseur has a better idea: Increase the insulation
in your attic - or, in homes under construction, ask your contractor to install
a bituminous rubber product impregnated with tar that's called "Ice and Water Shield."
Either way, says Vasseur, "For a few extra dollars you're insuring that you won't
have a loss."
Once you've attended to the roof, move on to the gutters. Clean them well to provide
a clear path for melting snow. Leaving debris in your gutters can contribute to
ice-damming, because again, the water will have no place to go except beneath your
eaves and into your insulation, framing and walls. Even worse: the mold and rot
caused by these leaks may not be covered under your homeowners' policy.
Now inspect each downspout attached to your gutters to ensure they are in working
condition - and that they direct water at least three feet away from your home's
foundation. For those that fall short, you can buy plastic or metal downspout extensions,
and "aprons" to broaden water distribution once it leaves the spout. Failure to
keep water away from the foundation can cause basement leaks, mold, and other damage.
Pipe Protection
Now consider water pipes in your home that run inside the exterior walls. To keep
them from freezing, shut off the water valves to each outside faucet and drain the
faucets. Then turn them off to prevent corrosion. The first sign of pipe freezing
is reduced water flow. You can let water trickle from faucets, because moving water
won't freeze. Less wasteful, especially in unoccupied homes, is leaving cabinet
doors under sinks open to allow pipes access to warm interior air. And keep thermostats
in an unoccupied home at a minimum of 55 degrees F.
Heating vacant homes is particularly important, because most policies exclude coverage
for burst pipes if the heat is not maintained. For added protection, consider installing
a monitor that will sound an alarm and phone the alarm company if inside temperature
drops below 55. Such monitors can be added to your burglar-alarm system or installed
separately; their use may also qualify you for a discount on your homeowners' policy.
Window and Door Warmth
Even if your windows and doors are relatively new, you should still check the caulking
around and beneath each one, both inside and out. After time, non-silicone caulk
dries and falls out. Previous water damage may also have caused cracks and holes
in caulking that can easily be filled. Be sure to caulk from the outside so that
no water can penetrate. Once moisture gets inside, insulation, plaster and wallboard
act as absorbers, causing them to remain damp and eventually cause damage and possibly
mold. In fact, Vasseur says caulking is one of the most cost-effective winterizing
steps you can perform. No wonder: "Leaks around doors and windows can increase your
heating costs by 6 to 10 percent," he says.
If you discover spaces around windows and doors that are too large to be caulked,
consider filling the holes with expanding foam made especially for this purpose.
You can also buy 6-inch-wide insulation designed to fit beneath siding or shingling.
If you can feel cold air beneath any door leading outside, install or replace a
door sweep. These simple devices, made of metal and plastic, rubber or bristle,
are extremely effective, inexpensive, and easy to install.
Fireproof Fireplaces
Have your chimneys inspected and flues cleaned before lighting the first log. Soft
woods such as pine and fir produce more creosote - a waxy, tarry substance - than
hardwoods like oak and cherry. Artificial logs, sold in stores, usually give off
the most creosote of all. What's more, says Vasseur, creosote build-up occurs more
rapidly inside brick chimneys, due to their rough surface, than on metal flues,
which are smooth and slippery. A fact: a flue fire can occur without your knowledge
at the top of your chimney and cause considerable damage. Avoid the risk with annual
inspections and cleanings.
Carbon Monoxide Alarms
As you tighten your home to prevent leaks of all kinds, keep in mind one danger
that increases as a result: the risk of carbon-monoxide poisoning. When your furnace
runs, its heat exchanger heats dry air. After time, the heat exchanger can crack,
causing the release of carbon monoxide, an odorless gas that can kill swiftly. If
your home has no carbon monoxide detector, be sure to buy one for each level of
the house. And check all existing smoke and carbon monoxide detectors to make sure
they work correctly.
When you're finished, congratulate yourself for your wisdom and hard work. "A lot
of people buy a house and think they're done," says Vasseur. "But a house is a job
in itself and it must be maintained."
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