Published at 12:38, Monday, 05 November 2012

Prepare your home now for the cold weather ahead. With winter nearly here, it’s important to plan ahead and ensure that your home is adequately weather proofed and protected from the elements.

Here are the top tips on how to prepare your home.

Check if your house insurance provides emergency cover for any failure of the heating or hot water system and the breakage or blockage of pipes and drains.

Check that your pipes are sufficiently insulated to prevent any bursts from frost damage as well as restricting heat loss. During exceptionally cold spells it may be worth keeping the central heating on constantly to allow warm air to circulate.

Ensure that you properly insulate your property to help restrict heat loss, conserve energy and reduce fuel bills. This should include lofts and cavity walls together with draft exclusion around windows, doors and letter boxes.

Arrange for your boiler to be properly checked and serviced. This should always be undertaken annually before the arrival of the colder weather.

Check your roof for any missing tiles and ensure that any flashings around the chimney stack and any skylight windows are fully intact to prevent water damage.

Unblock your drains and clear the guttering of any leaves or vegetation which can cause problems arising from rain water overflowing.

Check whether any external re-pointing of brick work to main walls is required in order to prevent further deterioration from rain water ingress and frost damage.

Ensure that all external timberwork including windows, doors, fascias and barge boards etc are properly coated and protected. This may involve remedying any soft or rotting timber. These types of repairs should always be completed by autumn at latest and well before the arrival of cold and wet weather which will hinder this type of maintenance.

Preparing your home for the cold and wet weather should not be underestimated. If there are jobs you are unable to undertake yourself, planning ahead and listing the works required may allow you to save money by employing just one tradesman for one visit, rather than arranging a number of ad-hoc ones.

Bear in mind that by annually managing this process properly, any routine type repairs and maintenance for your home are unlikely to escalate into larger scale jobs which will inevitably incur higher bills.

Visit the website at www.cumberland.co.uk

Published by http://www.cumberlandnews.co.uk