Simple Winter Home Improvement Tips

Spring, fall, and summer have pleasant weather for tackling upgrades and renovations. While it may be too cold to get things done on the exterior of your home during winter, there are plenty of winter home improvement projects you can complete indoors. Here are a few easy tasks and tips to help you upgrade your home when it’s cold outside.

Seal Cracks and Gaps Around Your Home

Air leaks are one of the biggest causes of high heating bills in the winter. Cracks and crevices around your home allow warm air to escape and cold air to get indoors. Spend the afternoon checking areas around your windows, doors, and vents for cracks and gaps. Install new weather weatherstripping, caulk around windows, and seal air leaks that make your home less energy-efficient.

Insulate the Attic as Part of Your Winter Home Improvement

Heat rises and can escape your home if there’s not enough insulation in the attic. There are plenty of affordable and effective ways to boost energy efficiency with better insulation. Sufficient insulation will help to reduce your heating bills by 15 – 20%. If your attic is already insulated, make sure the type is adequate for your local climate.

Test Smoke Detectors

In the winter, house fires and carbon monoxide poisoning cases increase due to more time spent inside and the use of candles, space heaters, fireplaces, and generators. Your smoke alarm and carbon monoxide detectors are important safety devices. Test the smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors in your home and change the batteries if they are older than 6 months.

Swap Out the HVAC Air Filter

The filters on your HVAC system become clogged with dust, dirt, hair, and debris over time. When this happens, the air circulating in your home is polluted with contaminants and your furnace has to work harder to heat the living spaces. If you have pets, experience allergies, or use a fireplace, change your filter once a month. Otherwise, follow the manufacturer’s recommendations regarding when you should change your filter.

Winter Home Improvement: Declutter

When you’re cooped up indoors, spend the time decluttering your living spaces. This is a task that will engage the entire family. Choose an area to begin and sort through your belongings stored there. Donate unwanted, gently used items to get them out of your home. After you’ve decluttered, reorganize your space to make it more functional and tidy.

Attic to Foundation offers home inspection services to home buyers and sellers in the Greater Atlanta area of Georgia. Contact us to request an appointment.