Fall Home Improvement Tips from the Pros
F
all is the perfect time to refresh your home by tackling your home maintenance to-do list. To help you get started, we have consulted with some of our favorite home service companies asking them to share their expert tips.
Article and Photos by Rindy O’Brien moved, when the winter rains and snow come, the weight can crack the gutters. Then you could have leaks into the roof area or spills down the side of your home, causing damage to the house.
to make sure they are properly sealed before the winter sets in.
Change Your Filters
When the temperatures start dipping, heating systems begin to fire up. Most Capitol Hill homes and apartment buildings use a combined air conditionClean or Replace Your Gutters Many homes, condos, and apartment buildings on ing and heating unit (HVAC). The lucky thing is the The violent summer storms have left a lot of debris Capitol Hill have flat roofs. heating unit is usually easier to maintain and there in our gutters. Broken branches, sticks, and leaves A fall inspection of the condition of the roof is is far less that can go wrong than with the AC side may have clogged up narrower downspouts. Add of things. There are the falling leaves of autumn and it is imperative security features that that you get gutters cleaned out. Kevin MacKshould be checked ay of MacKay Roofing (202-210-2179) suggests before heating syswaiting until later in the fall to schedule a gutter tems start up. Zoe of cleanout, since in our area the leaves tend to keep Polar Bear Air Confalling for quite a while. If the leaves are not redition and Heating (www.polarbearairconditioning.com) says her company Fragers’ basement has a full array of HVAC filters from large to small. and many others offer a one-time maintenance pre-winter checkup or homeowners can important to spot cracks or holes. sign up for a year-round maintenance schedule. Flat roofs are coated with liquid Sila (https://sila.com), a 30-year HVAC and waterproofing, single-ply membrane plumbing company in our area, encourages homeor reenforced bitumen membrane. owners to regularly change the filter in their HVAC The heat and UV rays can cause the unit. “It ensures you get the best indoor air qualcoating to blister and peel. Shingle roofs can lose shingles over time, ity throughout the year.” A tip they suggest is to causing a gap in the roof. Experts say buy two or three filters at a time, so you always have a flat roof coating should last two to one handy the next time you need one. Also, if you four years. have a furry pet, changing the filter monthly is highFlat roofs are also problematic ly recommended. during winter if we have a lot of snow and ice. The snow accumulates and Smoke Detectors can add weight to the roof. Of course, The National Fire Protection Association suggests one solution is going up and shovelthat smoke detectors be tested and, if necessary, bating excess snow off the roof, which can teries changed every six months. Steve Wilcox of be dangerous. Another option is to use Wilcox Electric( https://www.wilcox-electric.com) what Kevin MacKay suggests – heat reminds homeowners that if their smoke detector tape. It is applied in the fall and helps and carbon monoxide alarms are not the wired type the snow melt off by running an elecwith backup batteries, your system is out of date trical cable (tape) that melts the snow. and out of code. As we begin to shut windows and If you have had snow accumulation isturn inward this fall, it is a matter of life and death to make sure your house is safe from carbon monsues in the past, it may be worth inoxide known as the silent killer because it is odorvesting in. Fall is the perfect time to prep your home and garden for the less, tasteless and invisible. And have your skylights checked upcoming winter.
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Check and Repair Your Roof and Skylights
