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5 Home Repairs You Must Make Before Next Winter Strikes

by Trish

 Winter has nearly disappeared and it won’t be back for a long time. That means you can concentrate on getting ready for summer. You want your home to be beautiful, but first you have to do something. When the cold weather was here it’s possible it could have damaged your home. Especially if you had lots of snow and heavy storms. It’s better to fix the faults soon so you can forget about them and your home will be safe next winter.

It’s entirely up to you if you want to do it, but just remember if there is damage there it could get a lot worse next winter. If anymore damage is caused it could multiply the price of the repairs. Before you do anything you will obviously need to know what could have gone wrong because you might not be able to see anything from where you’re standing. Here are a few of the big ones you need to have checked so you can put your mind at ease.

Seal your driveway

granite-stone-steps-paving-brick-Atlanta

Go outside and have a look at the ground. You should be looking for any cracks that appear in the driveway. The good news is that cracks don’t mean it’s falling apart, but the bad news is that it needs to be resealed. Think about all that water that would have got into the cracks during winter. Because it was so cold the water would have turned to ice and it makes the cracks worse. If you don’t get them fixed now the cracks will get even bigger next winter and the drive could fall apart.

Fix your roof

tuiles givrées / frosty tiles

The roof must be checked because anything could have happened to it and you would never know. If it’s not rained heavily since winter you would not know if a large section of your roof had been destroyed. If tiles have cracked or fallen out it’s now going to be easy for the rain to get inside and do even more damage. It’s a good idea to get someone out straight away so they can give the roof a once over.

Clean up inside

If anything did happen to your roof you can’t just stick some new tiles on and forget about it. You need to go and look at the damage inside your attic because anything could have happened. Maybe there is a huge puddle of water that needs to be dried up straight away. You don’t want mold growing inside your home and that can happen when there is enough moisture. Take up a huge cloth and make sure all the water is soaked up.

Deal with the fence

all roads lead to home

When the wind is strong enough it’s hard for your fence not to have suffered any damage if it’s old. That isn’t to say the wind would have ripped it out of the ground, but it could have broken it in some places. You must go and check, especially if you have any pets that run around the garden because it’s easier for them to escape. You also want to secure the fence in case it falls down in the future and lands on someone.

Unclog the gutters

DSC01310

You won’t want to do this on your own because the smell will give you nightmares, but all the crap needs to be taken out of the guttering because if it’s not kept clean you will eventually pay the price. It will be full of leaves and everything else that somehow ends up there and it doesn’t let water get away. You might have survived this winter without having it cleaned out, but make sure you don’t get into next winter without them being empty. They could fall down when blocked water freezes up and it becomes very heavy.

Attached Images:
  •  License: Creative Commons image source
  •  License: Creative Commons image source
  •  License: Creative Commons image source
  •  License: Creative Commons image source

Lance Abraham is an interior designer by profession and is an integral part of the top brass of Baybrook remodeller Inc which is a leading company providing replacement windows in CT.  He has vast knowledge in this field and shares his thoughts with people on his blog.

Filed Under: DIY, Home Improvement, House and Home Tagged With: cold, damage, fence, fix roof, gutters, heavy storms, home repairs, moisture, mold, seal driveway, snow, summer, winter

Zip it Up–Top Tips to Protect Your Plants from Winter’s Cold

by Trish



With winter at its peak, you’ve probably never thought of tending to your garden. However, keep in mind that the cold temperatures this season brings can be difficult on your plants. So to make sure that they’ll make it through the winter, it’s never to late to zip them up so that they can brave the cold. You can also do other gardening chores this season that will ensure you’ll have a healthy garden as spring approaches. Here are some of the best tips to accomplish such things.


Around the garden

If there are remaining potted plants outside, wheel them in a sun room, shed, greenhouse or garage. Although they may not be at their best indoors since they won’t be receiving sufficient sunlight, the shade will ensure that they’ll make it long enough to survive through the winter.

Don’t forget to rake around your garden for fallen leaves because if you leave them be, they can cause heavy damage and may even serve as a breeding ground for diseases come spring time. Likewise, it might be the worse chore for winter, but you still need to do some weeding since weeds don’t take vacations. Most weeds are undergoing their flowering and seeding stages during winter, so before they spread their seeds, uproot them to save yourself from future weeding.

Trees and Shrubs

For your trees and shrubs, it’s all about covering them up against the cold and pruning. If snow has built up on the branches of the trees, make sure it doesn’t turn into ice by knocking it off from the branches using an upward motion to prevent the limbs from breaking. After you’ve done this, you can prune most of the shrubs and deciduous shade trees around your garden, but avoid pruning flowering trees.

Check around if there are newly planted trees, especially those with thin barks, and shrubs that you forgot to wrap. If there are, cover their trunks from the base up to keep moisture at bay. Then, build wind breaks around trees and shrubs that are not protected. Position poles on the ground, making two sides of a triangle. The triangle’s tip should be positioned on the spot that receives the most wind. Then attach a burlap or cloth around the posts, but make sure that it doesn’t touch the leafy parts. This will protect the trees and shrubs from freezing.

Indoor plants

Although your houseplants may not be totally exposed to the perils of winter, they still require special attention so that they will not succumb to the cold. Hence, check all of your plants for pests or diseases. If some of them are affected, treat them with organic products to prevent the pests or diseases from spreading.

When watering the houseplants, do it minimally. The water should just be enough to saturate the soil and drain through the container holes. Make sure not to over water the plants, or else they’ll end up soaking in standing water that can damage their roots. Also, take the time to turn plants every other week so that all the foliage will receive sufficient sunlight. And during extremely cold nights, draw down the curtains or blinds to protect the plants on your windowsills against the cold.

This guest post was penned by Ericka for http://www.steelbuildingsdesign.co.uk/. Ericka is passionate about learning and sharing information about gardening. She is also fond of writing articles about home improvement.

Filed Under: Gardening, The yard Tagged With: cold, Gardening, healthy garden, plants, potted plants, protect plants, prune, rake, spring, winter

Spring is definitely here

by The Diva

It looks like the weather is starting to get warm again. I couldn’t believe it in March when for over a week we had almost early summer like weather. It was amazing! Of course, it cooled off again to almost winter like temperatures, doesn’t that figure.

Spring is definitely here and it’s way ahead of itself this year. My garden is weeks ahead of itself. If I didn’t know it was the beginning of April I’d think it was early May when I look at how big the plants are in my backyard and how many leaves are already on the roses and so on.

One of my friends is so ready for summer to get here that he’s already getting his cottage prepared. He’s been up there getting it set up already and he normally doesn’t open up his cottage until the end of April! Oh and he’s already looking for a pwc battery for his Jet Ski. The water in the lake is still too cold to use a Jet Ski but if the weather keeps up the way it has I’m sure people will be in the water by May.

How’s the weather in your area? Has spring sort of jumped into early summer or at least into late spring due to a warmer than normal winter in your area too?

Filed Under: Gardening, Home and family, House and Home, Items to Try, The yard Tagged With: april, battery, cottage, garden, growing, jet ski, lake, leafs, May, open up, plants, roses, spring, summer, warm, water, weather, winter

Crazy weather – feels like summer

by The Diva

It was like summer here in Toronto this week. Everyone in my neighborhood was out walking around in shorts and light tops, riding bikes, skate boarding, roller skating, jogging … you’d never know that it was Winter/ Spring!

The news was even crazier. The whole country was warmer than usual this past week, but I think overall Toronto was the warmest so the news kept showing people basking in the sun on the beach dressed in bathing suits and so on. I remember seeing them interview one girl who looked like she’d just been playing volleyball on the beach but she had all these steel bracelets on her wrists so her interview was distracting.

March isn’t over so I suppose we could still get a snow storm, but somehow I doubt it will happen. It feels like summer has already arrived even though Spring is really the season that only just arrived two days ago.

Filed Under: Home and family, Items to Try, neighbors, Recreation Tagged With: beach, bike, clothes, jogging, march, neighborhood, news, people, roller skating, shorts, skateboarding, spring, summer, warm, warm days, week, winter

I’m freezing!

by The Diva

Brrr It’s getting cold! I’m absolutely freezing right now!

Actually I don’t think I can really complain as we’re having a much warmer than normal winter here in Toronto than normal. They were actually saying on the news today that we might break a record for warmest January since the 1930’s or 1940’s!

I can’t complain about snow either. I think it’s only snowed three or four times – snow that stayed on the ground for a few hours or a day or more I mean – or that had to be shoveled.

Still … right now .. I’m freezing … I’m eying some american eagle flannel shirts and seriously considering buying them and having them shipped next day. LOL Of course I could also just wrap myself up in my snuggie and see if I warm up that way too. Yeah .. that might work.

So what kind of winter are you having? Is it warmer than normal in your area too or is it cold and snowy?

Filed Under: Home and family Tagged With: cold, complain, flannel, freezing, no snow, record, shirt, snuggie, Toronto, warmer, winter

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