Home Maintenance Checklist for Fall and Winter

!±8± Home Maintenance Checklist for Fall and Winter

This morning, we were surprised to find seven inches of fresh snow. It is much too early for all of this, and my heart rate is still coming down from the struggle of finding hats, snowpants, and matching mittens for each of my children before sending them out the door for school. As much as I would like to deny it, winter is on its way.

Here is a checklist of fall and winter home maintenance tasks to prepare your home (and your family) for the colder temperatures ahead.

Outdoors:

Scrape peeling paint, and apply touch up paint to your siding, trim, and fences.

Check the condition of your deck and apply a waterproofing sealer if necessary.

Check weatherstripping on doors. Repair.

Check caulk on windows. Repair.

Clean and store patio furniture.

Clean and store bicycles, tricycles, and outdoor toys.

Wash all windows, inside and out.

Remove, clean, and store summertime screens.

Install storm windows and doors.

Check roof for damaged or missing shingles or problems with flashing. Repair.

Clear gutters and inspect downspouts.

Check sidewalks and driveways for cracks or other damage. Repair.

Locate your snow removal tools: snow shovel, plows, and snow blowers. Make sure they are ready to go.

Lawn and Garden:

Blow out sprinkler systems and winterize or insulate exterior faucets and water lines.

Drain and store garden hoses.

Fertilize and reseed your lawn.

Prune trees and shrubs.

Remove annuals.

Cut back perennials.

Rake leaves.

Indoors:

Schedule a cleaning and inspection of your heating system.

Inspect your fireplace and chimney. Call a professional chimney sweep if necessary.

Perform seasonal maintenance on your hot water heater.

Schedule a professional carpet cleaning.

Clean and inspect dryer hoses and exterior dryer vents.

Change furnace filter, and plan to change your filter every month during the winter. Monthly filter changes can really help reduce energy costs.

Check your air ducts. Call a duct cleaning service if it has been a few years since your ducts have been professionally cleaned. If you have been changing your furnace filter frequently and your ducts have been cleaned recently, simply take off the register covers and vacuum inside.

Switch to warmer bedding. Replace cotton sheets with flannels. Add warmer layers to beds.

Make sure your family members are outfitted with everything they need for the cold winter months: Gloves, hats, boots, snowpants, warm socks, and coats.

Check the batteries in your carbon monoxide detectors and smoke detectors.

Check your fire extinguishers.

Talk about family safety plans and escape routes. Review your "meeting place" in the event of a home fire to ensure that everyone knows what to do and where to go.

Inspect your attic to make sure it is getting cool, fresh air and that there is no evidence of condensation.

Check attic fans.

Prepare your home for a power outage. Check the batteries in your flashlights and make sure they are easily accessible. Also, make sure to have a supply of nonperishable foods, a manual can opener, and a traditional corded phone or cell phone available.

Automobile:

Make sure your tires are adequate for the winter weather in your area.

Check your car battery.

Check antifreeze levels.

Make sure you have extra windshield wiper fluid in your car, as well as a brush and ice scraper, blanket, jumper cables, and first aid kit. If you live in an area where you expect extreme winter conditions, you will also want to keep a tow rope, shovel, and a bag of sand or kitty litter to help your tires gain traction on icy roads.

Home Maintenance Checklist for Fall and Winter

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Installing Irrigation Valve Drains

!±8± Installing Irrigation Valve Drains

Okay, it’s time to put our drains in. Each year, most people want to put some sort of winterizing drain so that they don’t leave their system water filled over the winter. In this particular case, we’re going to put in some automatic drain. There’s pluses and negativities to automatic drains versus manual drains, but we’re going to let ours drain automatically. So, I’m going to cut each valve after the valve. I’m going to cut the line and I’m going to put in a 1 inch to a � inch, female T. Of course, just like any other PVC fitting, you just want to clean your pipe real good and then glue it well. So that’sa 1 inch to a � inch female, because that is what our automatic drains fit into. You can get these at any Lowe’s or irrigation supply places, just a pressure drain that close off when the system is pressurized and they release when the system releases its pressure and they allow the system to drain. So you just stick one of these in. You don’t want to put them facing up. You generally want to put them in either facing down or sideways so that the water will be able to drain according to gravity. You also want to put them in the lowest part of the system. It just so happens that the lowest part of our system is in the valve box. The valve box is low. So now we’re going to go ahead and install our automatic drain valves. You can replace this with a manual valve. You can do it the same way ...

Installing Irrigation Valve Drains

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Types of Bamboo Fencing

!±8± Types of Bamboo Fencing

There are a lot of different styles of bamboo fencing, and choosing the right one for your back yard depends on your taste and the kind of décor you're looking to achieve. Almost all commercially available bamboo fencing will come in either rolls or panels. The most common kind will be made of long poles with a diameter of approximately 1" or of thinner canes about ½" in diameter. These poles or canes will be held together by heavy-duty galvanized wire.

This kind of framework, rolls and panels come in woven bamboo also. These consist of smaller canes held (usually also by wire) in bundles. Another style of bamboo fencing is called split bamboo fencing, made of the outer half of the bamboo cane and held together by wire. Bamboo fencing made of woven or split bamboo, however does not last as long as fencing made of sturdier poles or canes.

Now, these are just the basic styles of bamboo fencing, the ones most commonly available commercially. But bamboo fences have been fundamental components of Asian and Asian style courtyards and gardens for hundreds of years. There is a plethora of more specific styles, some which are simple and some which can be enormously intricate. Here are a few popular ones that come from the Japanese architectural tradition. All of them use a dark twine called shuro nawa to hold small bamboo poles together.

Misu - This is a kind of screening fence that uses horizontal bamboo poles like slats, installed on a vertical support structure of posts on either side of the fence.

Kenninji - This style is a classic screening fence style with no gaps between panels or poles. The bamboo panels are supported by half-round rails attached with dark twine.

Twig fence - This is a much less traditional and simple bamboo fencing style. It is basically bundles of bamboo twigs attached to horizontal or vertical support posts. A casual, tropical look.

Yotsume - Yotsume is an open-style fence consisting of broad horizontal rails supported by pickets. Its surface appearance shifts depending on the angle from which you look at it.

Royanji - This is a shorter fence suited especially for gardens. It consists of a lattice of narrow bamboo shoots connected to top and bottom rails, which are supported by posts on either side of the fence.

Types of Bamboo Fencing

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Tips for Winterizing an Irrigation Sprinkler System

!±8± Tips for Winterizing an Irrigation Sprinkler System

Irrigation services gurus note that, since water expands as it freezes, the PVC and polyethylene piping in irrigation systems can easily crack if water freezes inside them. In other words, if you fail to drain all water before winter hits, your irrigation system could be destroyed. To avoid unnecessary (and costly) repairs, follow the directions below to winterize your irrigation sprinkler system.

Step 1: Turn off the irrigation system's water source.

The main valve to an irrigation system is usually located below the frost line, in a heated room. Otherwise, the sprinkler system's valve may be located above ground and wrapped in protective insulation. You will need to turn off this valve first. Some irrigation systems lack a separate water valve; if this is the case, call an irrigation services company to install one for you.

Step 2: Use the controller to deactivate the system.

There are two main varieties of irrigation controllers: digital and analog. If your irrigation sprinkler system includes a digital controller, turn it to the rain setting. (This will preserve all of your automatic settings so you won't have to reprogram the system the following year.) Dial/analog irrigation controllers should be completely turned off during the winter.

Step 3: Remove water from any parts that could freeze.

In general, there are three ways to remove lingering water from irrigation systems:

Automatic draining. Some sprinkler systems automatically drain out water when pressure in the system drops below 10 PSI. If you are lucky enough to own such a system, look for a separate control station for automated draining. Follow the manufacturer's recommendations to remove water between the backflow device and the shutoff valve, and for eliminating water from sprinkler heads.

Manual draining. This method of draining irrigation systems is not recommended for inexperienced homeowners, since any water left in the structure could cause significant damage. If you are well versed in draining your irrigation sprinkler system, you'll begin manual draining by turning off all valves and shaking sprinkler parts to remove any extra water. Typically, manual valves are placed at low points of irrigation systems. After opening all valves to drain excess water, ensure that you also remove any remaining water between the shut off valve and the backflow device. Open the cocks on the backflow device as well as on individual sprinkler valves. If your sprinklers lack individual valves, you may need to physically shake each sprinkler until all the water comes out.

Blow-out draining. Professional irrigation services use the blow-out method to winterize irrigation systems. This approach entails using compressed air to blow all remaining water out of irrigation systems. If done correctly, the blow-out technique is extremely effective and is recommended for all systems. However, as the blow-out method can cause damage if done the wrong way, you should absolutely call in an irrigation services professional to blow-out your irrigation systems for you.

Tips for Winterizing an Irrigation Sprinkler System

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