Well, winter is nearly upon us, and as the weather gets colder and wetter, you start to think of cosy, toasty homes to snuggle into. Problem is if you do not do a bit of preparation for the colder weather you could find you are burning through your budget.
Heating costs, so to ensure you only heat your own home and not the great outdoors, you need to get your act together. Ensuring your home is winter ready in other areas is equally important so that you don’t have frozen or burst pipes and remember the garden needs some TLC before it’s blanketed in frost. Here are some ideas to put on your checklist.
In Your home
Ensure you have adequate insulation in your loft and wall cavities, keep that heat in. Also, check your windows and doors. If not doubled glazed, consider looking into this as a long-term solution, but draft proofing will help, if not in the budget for this year. Some very nice draft excluders for the bottom of the door can also add a touch of fun to the décor.
What is your heating situation? Do you need to bleed the radiators? Lag the pipes and check your boilers, might be worth getting your boiler serviced professionally, a broken boiler in winter not only expensive but can take time to be fixed and that means being cold!
If you are planning on the new heating system or changing your heating system, consider Best electric radiators. Now electric was not the cheapest option around at one time but times change, and with the Economy 7 and Economy 10 tariffs available now it is a cost-effective solution to heating your home.
Electric night storage heaters are also another option. These heat ‘bricks’ throughout the night at a much cheaper tariff and provide heat all day. Like most utility prices are on the rise but the benefits of installing electric heating include, no upheaval to the home, no pipes to lay, no flue to be organised and unlike gas, electricity is available throughout the UK.
If you plan on using your fireplace to have a real fire, check on local authority guidelines as to what you can burn. Have the chimney professionally swept to avoid any problems on lighting the fires.
Outside Your Home
Check the roof! Look for holes; slates that need replacing. Get the jobs done now before they get blown off. Check the stability of aerial’s and chimneys if you have one. While you are doing that look out for any cracks in the wall that may need filling. Check gutters are clean and debris free, and drains are clear, no blockages.
Gardens need some attention before the frost and snow hit them so thoroughly weed your garden now, and the cold weather will play its part in keeping them back, might even get you into spring without doing anything. Take up any fragile plants and move into storage. Give the lawn a final once over and mulch the soil.
Be more sustainable and make yourself an area to compost fallen leaves over the cold period, leaf mulch is especially beneficial for the soil.
Be animal-friendly and hang out some bird feeders, they will come flocking – make sure out of reach of any cats!
A final consideration is to check your house insurance. Make sure it is up to date and covers you in the event of any problems.
There is a lot of confusion over what is considered a natural disaster and what is a ‘peril’ like wind or hailstorms or freezing of appliances, make sure you know what yours covers.