[rhouse30]

What are some things a handyman can do to winterize the home inside and outside?

Thanks in advance.

[twinkiedooter]

Several things.

Be sure to caulk your windows and doors on the outside.

Put weatherstripping around all doors.

Look for any cracks in the foundation and fill them.

Install storm windows on the outside or if no storm windows use heavy clear plastic to "make" your own storm windows.

Depending if you can access your heating duct work - look for open seams in the duct work and tape with metal duct work tape.

Wrap your water heater in an insulated blanket.

Wrap your water intake pipe with heat tape so pipes don't freeze in below zero weather.

Inspect your roof for loose shingles as you want to repair them now instead of trying to repair them when the temperature is below freezing.

If you have an accessible attic put another layer of pink fiberglass insulation in the attic as heat travels up and you want to retain the heat in winter.

If you have heavy drapes, put them up so when it gets very cold outside at night the drawn drapes help keep the heat in the house.

If you have a fireplace, be sure it is cleaned out from last year's creosote build up so you don't have a chimney fire.

Bring your snow shovel in from the shed/garage and keep in the house.

Buy some rock salt for your walkways for when it is icy out so you don't slip and fall and break your neck/leg.

Clean your gutters of fallen leaves so gutters don't overflow or freeze and can handle the snow melt run off.

Trim back any limbs so they don't break off in a heavy storm and crash onto your roof.

Make sure your house numbers are visible from the street to facilite rescue/police personnel in case of emergencies at night in a storm.

Make a list of emergency phone numbers such as police, fire dept, electric company, phone company, etc and post them in a convenient place. I keep my list inside a kitchen cabinet door for easy access.

Store some bottled water and non perishable food as well as hurricaine candles and flashlights and batteries in case of power outage.

Get a hard wired phone. Cordless phones don't work in black outs but hard wired phones will.

Be sure to rake up or mulch your fallen leaves off the lawn as wet leaves can be slippery under snow or just by themselves.

Have your furnace tuned up if it's an older model.

Check to see if your electric company offers a repair plan (costs about $10 a month) in case your furnace does not work this winter. The cost is well worth it. Some plans will pay for up to $1,200 a year repairs on your existing furance. It does take 45 days from the time you sign up for the protection to go into effect but if you sign up now, you'll be covered for when it truly gets nasty out there and your furnace stops working. The protection plan is added onto your monthly electric bill.

[ballengerb1]

I think the best thing a person can do is get their hands on a thermal camera. Sometimes your local gas or electric company can get you one or at least steer you in the rright direction. A thermal camera will show you where your insulation is thin, lacking or where air is leaking. I have used some even in a new home. You'd be surprised the things we find like a totally missing batt of insulation in an outer wall or ceiling bay.