By Joseph M Constantine, Jr
President, Constantine Builders, Inc

It’s that time of year again.  Time for a seasonal paradigm shift.  You’ve put away the lawn furniture and closed the pool.  So you think you’re ready for winter, right?  Maybe you need to think again?  As a builder, I’d much prefer building you a new home, or remodeling your kitchen or bath, or building you an addition.  But instead, this time of year often brings in calls for repairs due to lack of good home maintenance. 
To maintain your home for the long life it should have and to save you money on heat bills and costly repairs from neglect, I’ve come up with a fall check list for your home.  Before it get’s too cold, here are 10 areas of your home you can check, fix (or get fixed), for a relatively small amount of money.

1)    Find the Holes – Let’s start outside. They say caulk is cheap.  Okay, I say caulk is cheap, and way less expensive than what it’s going to cost in lost heat or to replace rotted wood.  When choosing caulk, consider your type of siding material.  Each type of caulk has a list on it to tell you if it’s compatible.  Most colors are available, too.  Take a tour of the exterior of your house.  Look around windows and door trim, outdoor hose faucets and find the cracks.  Make a list and get the appropriate caulking.  If your cracks are small, like most I’ve seen, you’ll use only a few tubes of caulk at around $5 a tube.  That $20 will save a bundle in heat bills and repair costs.  PLEASE NOTE, for big cracks, call a professional to take a look first.  Let’s not cover up a bigger problem.  By big, I mean any crack you can stick a finger into.  For cracks ¼” or less, get caulking. After consulting with a professional about larger cracks, if they aren’t a problem, can spray foams, such as Great Stuff™ are very user friendly.  This foam goes a long way around holes on brick siding penetrations or larger non structural cracks, all for about $5 a can.  I like to cut off the excess foam smooth at the surface after it dries and skim caulk over it to protect the foam from insects that can tunnel into it.  Remember to wear gloves and old clothes.  This stuff sticks to anything and does NOT launder out. (Ask my wife.)

2)    Weather Stripping – Easy and relatively inexpensive; less than $10 per door and often even less for a window.  Most of you know which openings leak air.  Put away the towels from the bottom of your door and get out the hammer and saw. Most weather stripping kits are user friendly.  By user, I mean you.   And with the tax credits offered for new high performance windows and doors this year, it may be a good time to look at a change. (See tax credit website listed at the end of this article.)

3)    HVAC Tune Up – All heating equipment needs attention, especially those using fossil fuels like oil.  For every house I build or remodel, I recommend a yearly service call to at least change the filter on hot air systems.  I’ve been in jobs that have never seen a change.  Your system will run so much smoother and with less effort.  With oil heat, yearly cleaning and service checking is a must.  A few small parts cleaned or replaced, will save a bundle with lower heat bills. For these systems, I recommend calling in a professional.  Most companies offer deals for yearly service calls.  Again, check out the tax rebate program for purchasing better efficiency units, especially if your system is 10 years old or older.

4)    Wood Heat  - I personally own two pellet stoves and a wood stove for my main heat source.  And I also have a fall routine for each.  My wife and I clean the pellet stoves.  It’s a dirty job to clean them, but you can tell the difference in heat and efficiency when they are cleaned.  Plus, every other year we have the installer come for a service check.  For the wood stove, we’ve had the same chimney sweep contractor since we installed the stove.  He cleans the flue pipe and checks the stove for cracks or defects as well as checking the chimney all the way to the attic. We do this every year for less than $150 a year. We sleep well at night using these stoves, knowing they’ve been professionally serviced.  I’ve rebuilt places after a chimney fire.  The total cost in lives and material possessions is way greater than the relatively small cost to check and clean this type of equipment.  Again, rebates apply for purchasing the more efficient units that are available today.

5)    Attic Hatches – I’ve singled this one out for a reason.  Most attic hatches are like having an open window all winter.  I’ve been in attics in the winter when it’s raining on the inside of the roof and not on the outside.  When warm heat meets a cold surface, any meteorologist can predict the resulting rain storm in your attic. Home centers now sell insulated covers, that when installed properly, work well.  We have also made them for unusual situations.  However, for a small price, again, you’ll save a bunch. Don’t ignore yours.  If you have one, chances are you are losing a lot of expensive heated air through it.

6)    Check Interior Holes – Recessed lights are one of the biggest losses of heat; even the so called IC or insulation contact cans. I have pictures of fixes on my website (our website address is listed at the end of this article). If you are handy, and cheap, you can do this yourself.  If not, consult the web and hire a BPI (Building Performance Institute) contractor.  Hire a performance contractor for an energy audit.  Look for other holes.  We’ve all heard heat rises, right?  Well, the reality is heat doesn’t know that…heat goes toward cold in any direction, not just up.  Doors to unheated knee walls and cellar doors are big problem areas for leaks.  Weather-stripping can help. There are many more interior holes to consider, but for now, I want to get you started thinking about the major problems.  In many cases you can fix enough small holes to see a big difference in your bills and your comfort.

7)    Wash the Windows – Seems trivial right?  But the sun’s heat is one of the few things in life that is still free.  And use window treatments to maximize solar gain and minimize heat loss.

8)    Gutters – I’ve seen ice dams clinging to piles of frozen leaves stuck inside gutters, often causing backups, which lead to leakage into the home.  Hire a professional for this one to be safe. The contractor can also straighten and otherwise fix problems you may not even realize are there.  Call a pro - you’d be surprised at how little many of them charge for this service. Also, have them check where the downspout ends.  I had one dumping thousands of gallons of water right against the owners’ foundation.  This caused his driveway to heave and his foundation to crack.  We rerouted the water to a safe place and the problem was solved.  The cost? $150.  The damage cost $14,000 to repair.  Have your gutters checked.

9)    Insulation – You may be fine. But I’m in homes all the time that have little or no insulation.  (Again with the rebate.  But hey, who doesn’t like a good tax credit?)  Plus, lumber yards and big boxes are running fall specials on insulation.  Rarely can you have too much insulation.  But you can put it in wrong.  When in doubt, call a pro.  At least look to see if and how much insulation you have.

10)    Landscape Issues – Look for plants that touch the house.  Prune them back enough to discourage squirrels from having easy access to gain entry.  It’s cold and rodents know what season is coming, too; they want in.  A quick cut may be all that is needed.  Plus, rake leaves AWAY from the house.  I’ve known people that rake them up to the house for insulation.  But as the leaves rot, they hold in moisture that stays against your siding, and rot communicates way better than people.  You get the idea?  Keep the moisture away from your house.

All this may seem like a lot to think about if you haven’t been doing any or most of these things in the past.  But every year, it will get easier and less expensive to maintain your house.  Either way, winter is coming.  Get in a yearly routine and soon you will be able to enjoy winters rather than dread them, and maybe you’ll think about calling me for a kitchen instead of a leak.

A few helpful websites:

www.home-performance.org  BPI Certified Contractors
www.thinksmartthinkgreen.com   Rebates from National Grid
www.thestimulussource.com   Tax Rebates
www.crbra.com Local source for Remodeling Contractors
www.constantinebuildersinc.com Constantine Builders, Inc.