The nights are drawing in and the air has turned cold; winter is well and truly here and there’s nothing like getting warm and cozy at home with a nice hot drink. Of course, that’s a lot harder to do if your home isn’t prepared for the cold season and you end up huddled under a dozen blankets watching your breath turn to little ice crystals!
The cold can be wonderful and refreshing, but you don’t really want your bedroom turning into one giant glacier. Fortunately, setting up your home to hand the winter months isn’t as difficult or complicated as you may think. Here are a few extremely easy ways to get your home winter-ready…
Protect Your Pipes
Nothing will make your home a worse place to be than having frozen or burst pipes in the winter, so here’s a quick science lesson. When water freezes, it expands. The problem is that pipes are not usually designed to expand and this means that when the water in your pipes freezes, it can bend, damage and even burst your pipes!
Not only will burst pipes make heating your home in the winter a serious problem, but you don’t want to have to face the potential flooding and disaster that can result from it. Therefore you should make sure that your pipes are well protected with a foam layer called lagging as this simple precaution can save you an enormous amount of hassle down the line.
Seal It Up Tight
The last thing that you want is to spend the summer feeling comfortable and happy in your home, only to discover leaks, drafts, and other problems when the weather turns cold so make sure that your home is sealed and insulated properly.
You can reroof to avoid any unpleasant leaking when the heavens open and make sure that your home is properly insulated so that you don’t find yourself needing a hat and gloves even when you’re indoors. Not only will these things help to keep you safe and warm, but they’ll also actually save you money too.
Making sure that your house is sealed and secure means that you’ll be using less energy to heat it and therefore your energy bills will drop significantly as a result. It may seem like an extra cost on the surface, but making these changes will save you a shocking amount of money in the long run. Things like exterior wall coatings from All Weather Coating are equally as important as you can easily ensure that your home is well protected and weatherproof.
Get Covered
Insurance might not be the most glamorous or exciting part of setting up your home, but it’s definitely one of the most important things that you need. No matter how well you protect your home, winter damage can still potentially happen and if it does you don’t want to be left to deal with it all by yourself.
By getting insured for winter damage you can make sure that even if the worst does happen you’re not going to be left shelling out your savings to get it fixed. A lot of home insurance policies don’t cover storm or accidental damage as standard so make sure that you double-check exactly what your policy covers.
Of course, one of the best things about a lot of these tips is that they continue to work all year round, protecting your home from the elements and ensuring that you’re always as safe and comfortable as possible so that your house can remain a happy home.
