Top 5 Home improvement projects to complete before winter arrives

The famous quote from Benjamin Franklin, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” can easily apply to home improvement projects that you should tackle before the colder temperatures of winter arrive.

Maybe you’ve managed to avoid burst pipes in the winter. Maybe you haven’t sat next to the drafty window anyway when it’s freezing outside. However, chances are you don’t want to be standing out in the cold making fixes and learn the hard way. Besides, repair professionals prefer to be called to check for potential winter problems that might crop up on your home when spending time outside doesn’t mean shivering. As a courtesy to yourself and repair professionals, think ahead. Put together your seasonal chore list.

There are 5 home improvement projects you should complete when the weather is more tolerable.

1. Get your home inspected

If you like learn from nightmare home repairs as much as I do, you’re in for a treat at This Old House which shows lots of home inspection nightmares.[1] Don’t be a nightmare, become a smart homeowner. Start by performing your own quick home checkup that might include these handy tips from a licensed home inspector.[2] Additionally, if you don’t know a licensed home inspector, you can find one here.[3]

2. Winterize your pipes

I can’t stress this one enough, because I was on the receiving end of thousands of gallons of burst pipes this past January in a townhouse. Winter months can be unkind to old pipes, especially after frozen water in pipes cause water pressure buildup and burst at the weakest point. Trust me; you may suffer from extensive water damage. Here are a few valuable tips.[4]

3. Check your furnace and home thermostats

Replacing a furnace costs more than annual servicing, so don’t procrastinate. Here are a few tips on how to perform furnace maintenance in the fall and how to update your home’s thermostat.[5][6]

4. Check your Windows

While the Old Farmer’s Almanac jokes that "one log can heat a house" if you just run up the stairs with the log, throw it out the top window, and repeat this three times, you might prefer remedies that address drafty windows instead. Click on the following footnotes to familiarize yourself with some good tips to make sure you’re not exposed to several drafty windows this winter.[7][8]

5. Clean out your gutters

Bob Villa shares a few tips to simplify it.[9]

I suggest that you learn a thing or two about gutters, because if they get clogged in the winter months, you’ve got a bad winter ahead of you and face possible damage to your home.[10]

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[1] http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/photos/0,,20057325_20089653,00.html

[2] http://www.thedailygreen.com/living-green/blogs/save-money/fall-home-maintenance-checklist

[3] http://www.nachi.org/

[4] http://www.angieslist.com/articles/5-tips-winterizing-plumbing-and-pipes.htm

[5] http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/how-to/intro/0,,20429134,00.html

[6] http://moneyning.com/frugality/handyman%E2%80%99s-advice-to-take-the-bite-out-of-winter-heating-costs/

[7] http://www.angieslist.com/insulation/home-winterizing.htm

[8] http://homebuying.about.com/od/buyingahome/qt/92607_WinterHom.htm

[9] http://www.bobvila.com/articles/19-quick-tip-cleaning-your-gutters/

[10] http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/photos/0,,20490361,00.html