First and Most Important

Clean gutters and downspouts. A clogged gutter or downspout can freeze and wreak havoc on your home. Make a point of checking your gutters and downspouts well before daytime temperatures dip below 32º F.

Test smoke and carbon monoxide detectors using the testing feature on each device. Replace batteries and inoperable units as needed.

Recharge or replace fire extinguishers. Check the gauge on every fire extinguisher to make sure it’s fully charged (arrow pointing to the green area of the gauge). Remove each extinguisher from its mounting bracket and turn upside down to help prevent the dry chemicals inside from caking on the bottom over time. If your fire extinguishers are more than one year old, consider having them inspected by a professional.

Check furnace vents. If your home has a forced air furnace, check to make sure that vents in primary living areas are open and unobstructed. You can partially close vents located in less frequently used rooms, but don’t close them all the way unless you’re sure there is no chance of water pipes freezing as a result. Keep in mind that temperatures inside the walls of your home will be lower than adjacent living areas.

Stock up on furnace filters. Dirty furnace filters waste energy. They also force your furnace to work harder to heat your home. Your owner’s manual should explain what types of filters are best for your furnace, and how often they need to be changed. Keep in mind that a high-efficiency air filter will trap more dirt than a conventional filter and may need to be replaced more frequently to keep your furnace from overheating.

Schedule checkups for all home heating systems. Regular maintenance can helps keep furnaces, wood stoves, chimneys and other home heating components in top working order. Experts recommend that you schedule an annual inspection by a qualified professional for each system, but service intervals may vary from one system or manufacturer to another, so play it safe and check your owner’s manual or contact heating system manufacturer for guidance.

Replacing worn out weather stripping around windows and doors can dramatically decrease your home heating costs. Weather strips are easy to replace, and should pay for themselves in a very short time.

Inspect the insulation in attics and crawl spaces. Over time, fiberglass insulation panels sagging away from rafters, joists and wall cavities, allows cold air to penetrate your home. Duct tape can be used to reseat a small problem area, but extensive sagging may indicate a moisture problem. Try to determine the source of this problem before you replace large areas of insulation. And, if you decide to replace the insulation yourself, make sure you follow manufacturer guidelines for personal protective equipment.

Protect exterior water valves. Hose bibs located in an unheated garage or on the outside of your home may need to be covered to prevent freezing damage. Inexpensive insulating covers work well, but it’s still a good idea to shut off and drain the water supply.

Stock up on ice melt products to keep walks and driveways clear. Supplies often become depleted during snowstorms.

New flashlight batteries, a battery operated weather radio, and a portable heat source are a good idea.

Finally, don’t overlook the need for water during extreme weather related emergencies. One five gallon jug of water could mean the difference between relative comfort and “hazardous” living conditions.

Debbie Zimmer, of the Rohm and Haas Paint Quality Institute, offers suggestions on how to create a festive atmosphere to each room of your home.

Add a glossy frame. With busy holiday schedules, a homeowner’s time may be limited. A quick room update can be accomplished by adding color and shine to trim work and doors. Highlight these areas with semi-gloss or gloss paint in a complementary hue to the wall color. Glossy finishes add sparkle and interest and assist in differentiating one space from another. They also provide the added benefit of durability and long-lasting wear especially in busy family gathering spaces.

Artwork is always improved with the addition of a beautiful frame and your wall space is no different. Allow baseboards, crown moldings and other trim work to provide the “frame” around your room.

Take a color cue from holiday gift bags. Incorporating several colors into a space is often a stumbling block for many do-it-yourselfers. By simply perusing the gift bag aisle, you’ll find exciting and unusual combinations that are often easily transferable to your space. This tip works especially well when contemplating hues for tweens and teens.

Look up and celebrate your ceilings. This holiday season let your ceilings and chandeliers sparkle. Add shine and sophistication to dining spaces by painting these often bland areas with a high sheen product. If you are not quite ready to change your entire ceiling add a stencil pattern in a glossy hue for a touch of high style.

Texture, texture, texture. Take a cue from this season’s fashion runway and integrate texture into your space for added interest and appeal. “When working with a monochromatic or single color scheme, wall texture will provide depth and warmth”, states Zimmer. The addition of bead board, paintable wall coverings or glazing over an already painted surface will provide subtle interest and a three dimensional appearance.

Save on energy costs by securing doors and windows: If you add up all the gaps and cracks in the average home, the space can equal as much as a three-foot open window. Imagine that window being left open all winter long, and that’s the amount of heat and energy lost. Save on utility bills and keep your home warmer by starting with the doors in your home. If you can feel cool air coming through the bottom of the door, you’ll need to replace the weather stripping and the door sweeps. Weather stripping and air sealing can save you about $350 in energy costs or one-third of your average annual heating and cooling costs. Caulking drafty windows and applying weather stripping to doors are both inexpensive strategies that will keep heat in the home. Pillar To Post recommends replacing old single-pane windows with thicker, more modern versions, and also installing storm windows, which add an extra layer of protection from the elements. You can also extend the life of your fuel supply by insulating walls and attics.

Have your chimney and flue inspected: Pillar To Post recommends that all homeowners have their chimney or flue inspected annually to minimize the threat of chimney fires. The inspection should be completed before you use your fireplace each season. Chimney fires are usually caused by a bird’s nest or other built-up debris stuck in the chimney. In addition to an annual inspection, Pillar To Post recommends homeowners follow these tips for reducing the threat of a chimney fire: 1. Add a chimney cap to the top of your chimney. A cap can keep out damaging moisture, which wears away masonry and other metal components within a chimney. 2. Ensure that your chimney has an appropriate liner. Chimney liners are required in new construction to separate system emissions from the structure of your home. 3. Have chimney flashing (the seal between the chimney and the roof) inspected and maintained. Flashing prevents rain water and snow melt from entering a house and causing costly damage to walls and ceilings.

Secure outdoor areas of the home: Ice, moisture and high winds can strip off outside elements easily. Before the cold hits, check shutters, siding, and other exterior materials to make sure they’re secure. Make sure your gutters and downspouts are clean and flowing free before the first freezing temperature arrives. A clogged downspout or gutter can cause water to come into contact with the foundation walls of your home and creep under your roofing. Also inspect your home’s foundations for cracks that could potentially allow water to seep into the home. Seal any cracks to prevent moisture intrusion, and also seal decks and fences to prevent the wood from rotting.

Since the roof takes the brunt of the cold weather, make sure yours is secure by repairing any leakers, even minor ones, and replacing any loose shingles. Consider installing roof heating cables to prevent ice dams from forming on roofs and in gutters. Roof heating cables emit a low level of electric-powered heat and will prevent ice from blocking gutters and downspouts. These cables also help melt snow to prevent it from accumulating on your roof, which can cause damage, and in some cases cave-ins.

Pillar To Post recommends winterizing your pipes by wrapping them in insulation to prevent freezing and bursting. They can be insulated with materials found around the home like newspapers and plastic, which will help save on costs. It is especially important to insulate pipes that are exposed to the elements or located in unheated areas like crawl spaces. Pillar To Post also recommends that homeowners learn where their water shut-off valves are located so they can be turned off in case of a pipe leak.

Cut away tree branches that could potentially fall onto your home. Branches that hang over your roof or driveway present a risk. Make sure your trees are neatly trimmed, and cut away any dead or dying branches and limbs. Check with your local municipality about any regulations regarding tree trimming.

Install a programmable thermostat: Programmable thermostats can cut your energy bills by $100 or more each year. For every degree your thermostat is adjusted (One degree lower in the winter months and one degree higher in the summer months) you can save up to one percent on your energy bills—both heating and cooling.

Fix in-home leaks and consider low-flow devices: It has been shown that leaking faucets and toilets account for 14 percent of all indoor water use, which can add up to 20 gallons of water per person per day. Check all faucets for leaks and get them repaired ASAP. Another way to conserve water is to look into low-flush toilets and showerheads. Low-flush toilets use less than 1.6 gallons of water per flush. Check with your local water department for rebates that can run up to $150 for upgrades to low-flush toilets. Likewise, low-flow showerheads use up to 36 percent less water than

If you don’t have the time to inspect your home for problem areas yourself, certified home inspectors can be hired to quickly check all areas of your home, and will give you a report of your home’s condition. Pillar To Post home inspection reports details up to 1,600 key components of a home’s condition, making sure you’re not left in the dark about anything, and that you can take a preventative approach to problems before they start.

For more information about home inspections, visit http://www.pillartopost.com or call (800) 294-5591. Founded in 1994, Pillar To Post is North America’s leading home inspection company with more than 400 franchise locations in 44 states and eight Canadian provinces.

“While grass is a remarkable plant and can handle weather extremes with the best of them, sometimes the pressure is just too great,” says Harold Enger, director of education of Spring-Green Lawn Care, a lawn and tree care service franchise.

Summer puts stress on lawns in most parts of the country. It’s important to follow correct mowing, water and fertilization practices to keep lawns green and healthy. Be sure to monitor the lawn for disease development and insect infestation.

“When temperatures exceed 80 degrees for over a month straight, as it did in July, cool season grasses just can’t cope,” says Enger. “Worse yet, during the same period of time, many areas across the country experienced record rainfall and elevated humidity levels which led to increased disease activity.

When heat, humidity and excessive moisture levels are added together, it often leads to an increase in disease activity. Diseases such as Brown Patch and Dollar Spot, normally only seen on golf courses or on lawns in the southern part of the country, were, and continue to be, a common occurrence.

As the weather cools, lawns will begin to recover on their own. However, with a little work, damaged lawns can mend more quickly. Here are some tips from Enger on the best way to revive a damaged lawn:

Aerate Away: One of the best ways to revive an existing lawn is to first core aerate the lawn. Your lawn care professional will use a machine to remove plugs of soil and thatch and deposit them back on top of the lawn to allow for more air, water and nutrients to penetrate into the root zone to help develop a stronger root system. The cores that are left behind will dissolve back into the lawn and help breakdown any thatch that has developed. For maximum effectiveness, the lawn should have adequate moisture to allow the aeration machine to penetrate the soil more easily.

Seed, Seed and More Seed: For the best results, invest in a good quality blend of grasses because when choosing seed, you tend to get what you pay for. Because seed needs contact with soil to germinate, just spreading seed over a non-aerated lawn will not produce the desired results. Broadcasting seed over a newly aerated lawn, however, allows for better soil-seed contact and better germination. One key advantage of seeding after core aerating is that the seed that falls into the holes will be protected and remain moist longer and provide better germination. As the soil collapses within the hole, the new plants will rise to ground level with a stronger, deeper root system.

Water, Water Everywhere: Aeration and seeding alone won’t repair a lawn; in fact, one of the main reasons seed doesn’t germinate is due to inadequate watering. Depending on the variety of seed being used, germination rates can vary. For example, it can take anywhere from five to seven days for Perennial Ryegrass or Tall Fescue and up to three weeks for Bluegrass. Keeping the lawn frequently watered for two to four weeks or longer will ensure the new seed becomes well established. Be careful, though, because watering just enough to get the seed to germinate and then stopping will only result in the death of the new grass plants.

Don’t Forget Food Before A Long Winter’s Nap: Fall fertilization is critical to help a lawn recover from summer stresses. The lawn’s top growth has slowed so these nutrients go straight to the roots for a strong start next spring. Your turf actually converts the fertilizer into food reserves and loads up its root system so it’s ready, willing and able to get a quick (and healthy) start in spring. Lawns should be fertilized two or three times during the fall. Most fertilizer bags have instructions on the amount of product to apply per 1,000 square feet. General rule of thumb is to apply no more than one pound of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet.

Lower The Height Of Your Mower: Your lawn should enter winter without any young, tender growth that could make it more appealing to winter diseases, like snow mold. New, soft growth on the lawn is also more prone to dry out after the first winter winds come through, leaving you with a tan or brown lawn all winter. So as late fall approaches, bring the cutting height down on your mower a notch or two.

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