A few ways to fix-up your home before stepping into spring

​If you’re a Cape home owner then no doubt there is one word that gives you chills down your spine: winter. Fortunately, you can layer-up and pile-on warm things, but how do you take care of your home during these cold months? We chatted to Roofing specialist company Metro founder Adam Commerford for some advice and this is what he had to say:

Get your leaves out of the gutter
Literally take time to clean leaves and sticks and muck out of your gutters. When winter rains come it can cause your gutters to get blocked messing your home’s drainage system in the process. The thought of having to fish out twigs from an overflowing drain or gutter in the middle of a torrential downpour is no one’s idea of a good time. Fortunately that can be avoided.
 
More than just cleaning your gutters, if they are old or broken in any way, perhaps it’s time to get them replaced. Our services at Metro include guttering – we supply and install guttering to meet design specifications. Click here for more information.
 
Fix your short circuit quickly
Winter is like a small child – it requires a lot of energy. It’s a different kind of energy but it’s requires constant attention nevertheless. That’s why we offer home energy audits, so you can rest assured there won’t be anything that goes flash-bang in the night. All external and internal circuits, plug points, switches and light systems are assessed. From there you can see what needs fixing and what (if anything) needs to be replaced altogether.
 
In fact, if you’ve never had a home energy audit done, it comes highly recommended for full safety all year round. Read all about it here.
 
Take time to trim the trees
With winter comes strong winds, heavy rains and unpredictable weather patterns. The trick is to make sure your home is safe when you are there and when you are not. Take some time to trim any trees that are near your house. Look for branches that hang over or near your roof. Identify and remove any dead branches that might break and fall onto your roof. Even if branches and trees don’t cause actual damage, they could block your gutters or damage other parts of the house.
 
Here are some other easy things to check to make sure you’re really ready for the frost:

• If you have a fireplace, put a screen in front of it to prevent sparks from popping out.
• Check that the cord of your electric blanket isn’t frayed.
• Don’t leave heaters on overnight if they’re unattended.
• Keep any candles or gas lamps and heaters out of the way of children.

 
Stay safe, stay warm!