Maintenance helps prevent damage to your home and keeps your expenses down over the long term. Whether you do everything yourself get neighbours and friends to help or hire a company fall maintenance for homes in Alberta is important to ensure your home can deal with everything our winters can throw at us. In this article we’ll review the essentials of fall home maintenance in Alberta.
Exterior Alberta Home Maintenance in Fall
Here are the must-dos for the exterior of your home in autumn:
You can do a visual inspection from the ground with binoculars orget a ladder and check yourself. You can also hire a professional to check your roof. It’s important to fix any problems before our tough winters make them worse.
2. Clean gutters and downspouts.
Cleaning your guttersmeans water can drain properly and helps prevent it from damaging your home. Use a plumber’s snake to clean out the vertical portions of your downspouts (and make sure they’re draining at least 3 metres from your home). You can install gutter guards to help keep debris out of your gutters but you’ll still need to clean them at least once a year.
3. Inspect the rest of the exterior of your home.
Your siding foundation and window and door seals help protect your home by keeping weather and vermin out. Check for cracks gaps holes or any kind of damage. Get any issues fixed as soon as possible – caulking needs to be done before it gets too cold. Mostsmall problems are easy to fix on your own but you can always call a professional to inspect and fix your home too.
4. Clean and cover the barbecue.
Most Albertans will barbecue year-round but if you’re not part of this group you should store or cover your barbecue and unhook the propane tank and store it as well. If you do plan on grilling during the colder months get a good cover for it. Either way your grill should get a good cleanat the end of the summer.
5. Disconnect outdoor hoses and turn off the water to outdoor taps.
Once you’ve turned the water off be sure to turn on your outdoor taps to drain the lines of the remaining water.
6. Remove window A/C units (or cover the entire exterior with an insulating wrap).
It’s better to remove the unit for better insulation for your home but if you really can’t take it out ensure it’s well wrapped to keep the cold out.
7. Clean the yard.
Rake those leaves put away or cover your patio furniture and get all outdoor tools and toys into a shed garage or basement.
You should also trim your trees and bushes as needed. An arborist can help if you’re not sure what needs to be done. Dead branches can more easily break and cause damage.
Interior Fall Maintenance for Alberta Homes
Yourinsulation keeps your home warmerand energy costs down. Check your insulation (particularly in your attic) and ensure there aren’t any vermin or issues.
2. Inspect and clean your furnace.
Generally the filter needs to be replacedevery three months – this is especially important for winter when we’re spending so much time indoors.
Give your furnace an inspectionto check if everything is in working order. Or you can pay a professional to clean and inspect it for about $200.
3. Turn circuit breakers off and on.
Turning your circuit breakers off and onhelps you see if your breakers are functioning properly – a failure to shut off in the event of a power surge can cause a fire. Make sure you’ve turned off all devices appliances and fans.
4. Clean the dryer vents.
Cold dry weather increases static electricity so you want to make sureyour vents are cleanbefore winter comes.
5. Stock up on snowstorm supplies.
A big snowstorm is going to happen – this is Alberta after all. It might even happen in May or September! Be prepared by ensuring you have shovels sand or a pet- and plant-safe ice melt and afully stocked emergency kit which includes food water and warm clothing.
6. Clean the chimney.
You are probably going to be using your fireplace and chimney more often during the colder months so it’s important that it’s clean. It’s a good idea to hire a professional – your insurance policy may even require it.
7. Check your alarms.
Do a check on your home alarms and replace the batteries if needed.
Home maintenance helps prevent damage and keeps your long-term costs down. With a usually short window between summer and winter it’s key to take care of your fall maintenance early in the season. Catch the small problems before the cold and snow magnifies them.
