It’s getting cold outside - subzero temps are in the forecast for the Minneapolis area in the near future. Now that the cold season is here, your home should be in good shape to resist Mother Natuer and Jack Frost as they blow through Minnesota.

Recently we shared some home winterization tips on our blog.  If you aren’t sure how to get your house ready for the winter, or you just want to refresh your mind on the necessary tasks, here’s a good breakdown of the different steps that you should take when it becomes winter time.  We thought this was so important that we'd address it again for those of you who might have missed our first post or have put off winterizing your home.

Winter Home Prep: Care for Your HVAC system

The heating system of your home is going to be running a lot throughout the winter, so this means that you have to take good care of it. Have a professional come and look over the system and make any necessary repairs while carrying out standard maintenance on it. Also be sure that you change the filter of the furnace and that you are doing so throughout the months that it operates. This helps keep the system running efficiently.  Check with your furnace manufacturer for the frequency.  When it gets really cold and your furnace is working at top performance, once a month is not too often.

Winter Home Prep: Care for Your Roof

The roof of your home is strained during the winter and if you don’t care for it, it could fail. It has to support a sometimes heavy wet snow load as well as ice.  That’s why you have to maintain your roof, and make any necessary repairs that you might need. First look over the flashing of the roof to be sure it is in good condition and that it is still locked in place. Next check the roofing material itself to make sure it is in good shape, if it isn’t make replacements as needed to keep things running properly. A Minneapolis roofing contractor like Quarve can help with a thorough roof inspection.  
  • By the way, now that winter is here and things are frozen and icy, we don't recommend that you get up on your roof yourself - it's too dangerous.

Winter Home Prep: Insulate Your Home

While your house should be properly insulated already, cracks and drafts will develop over time. It’s up to you to locate those issues and seal them up before they cost you money. Go around your home and feel for drafts that you could close up. Fill them with foam or caulk.

Also consider replacing low quality single-pane windows with more modern ones, and seal around any windows that happen to be leaking cold air. Finish your insulating by going into the attic of your home and filling in any gaps or replacing worn insulation to keep a nice solid barrier in place. This is an important step to take to ensure that your house remains warm all winter long.

Make sure to hire a professional Minneapolis home remodeling contractor rather than attempting to tackle some of these things yourself.  A roofing contractor will know how much insulation is sufficient and where it should be put.  It's important to keep the attic space cool to prevent formation of ice dams, but you don't want that cold air transferring down into the living areas of your home.

If you need to make some changes, it's not too late.  Our Minnesota home improvement crews work all winter.  Winter remodeling also comes with its own set of benefits; check them out.

It’s tough handling all these tasks yourself, and you should hire professionals to do everything you aren’t familiar with. You’ll save a great deal of time with professional help, and probably some money in the process as well. Speak with us here at Quarve, your licensed Minneapolis and St. Paul area home remodeling contractor to find out more.