10 Effective Ways to Prepare the Attic for Winter
When winter approaches, different families expect high levels of spending to maintain the warmth of the house.
Besides the walls of your home, the attic is an essential element determining the amount of heat lost versus what is maintained within the home.
Let’s dive in and see how you should prepare the attic for the winter:
1. Conduct Regular Visual Inspection
You will not identify a problem if you are not present –don’t let your attic be an area you’d prefer to close so that you don’t witness what’s up there.
Do not ignore the attic until the roof starts falling off to realize there is a problem.
Through inspection, you’ll be able to realize any issue with your roof and prevent it beforehand: That way, you won’t wait for the embarrassment to catch you off-guard during winter.
Having a regular inspection will also keep you at ease, knowing that you are safe in the house even with winter winds.
So, if you haven’t undertaken an inspection on your attic, try doing it today –you might be surprised.
2. Make Immediate Repair
Any small crack or hole inside the attic is an indication of further trouble coming –all the big cracks you see did not just start big; they started like that small crack or hole in your home.
If you note any hole or crack within the attic during your inspection, take immediate action to ensure it is repaired.
Apart from ensuring no further damage to your home, an immediate repair will save on costs. If you wait for a giant crack or hole that seems serious for you to repair, the cost of hiring a professional will be higher compared to what you can pay if you fix immediately after noting the crack or hole.
So, why not solve the current issue now, instead of postponing it to the future and increasing the same problem.
Another essence for immediate action is that costs of different services are subject to inflation and deflation rates, and seasons too –you might pay more for a hole in your attic if you wait for winter than you would have paid for the same hole in summer.
3. Cover any Crack using Caulk
As long as the attic’s interior is essential, the exterior section is equally fundamental when undertaking inspection.
The most recommended material in sealing the holes, crevices, and cracks is using caulk.
If there is a crack in your home’s exterior, heat will be lost during the winter season from your home to the outer environment.
Hence, to be safe, you should close any cracks, crevices, or holes in your attic exterior and increase the heat maintained within your home during winter.
Other than maintaining your home’s ventilation, covering the cracks, holes, or crevices will also ensure efficient cooling (HVAC) system.
4. Control Molds Immediately
Do not ignore any Mold Issue in the attic –if you note any- because mold can cause severe damage.
Molds do cause serious harm, especially to the attic, which endangers your life and your family.
The hypothetically harmful mold spores can penetrate through your ceiling and into your home, causing diseases.
Small as they might be, molds have numerous dangers associated with them, making the preventive and early elimination options most recommended.
So, what should you do if you notice molds in your attic?
The answer is to eliminate them immediately- there are several elimination options available for molds.
Seek professional cleaning by seeking an appointment with an expert on mold cleaning and control (experts ensure all the molds are eliminated from your home).
5. Hire an Auditor to Inspect on Energy Consumption
The same way you would need auditing for your financial matters, so would you need it on your attic and the rest of your home –unless you are personally an expert.
Numerous electric organizations can conduct the energy audit for your home at no cost –yes, absolutely free.
Research shows that in the U.S alone, approximately 46 million houses are insulated below the recommended standards.
So, why not take advantage of the professional services provided and save on heating bills?
The majority of the auditors will rank you’re your repairs to enable you to maximize your return on investment.
6. Undertake Regular Inspection on the Insulation
Insulation is among the most critical determinants of the quantity of heat your home will maintain during winter; therefore, you should prepare your attic to perform this function.
Inspect whether the attic insulation is wet, damaged, torn, or too old; the best idea is to replace it.
When you note any of the 4 mentioned issues above in the attic, don’t hesitate to call an Attic Guy to remove the insulation immediately.
With the old or damaged insulation removed, you can undertake the installation of new, heat-sufficient insulation.
So, how do you determine the best insulation for your attic?
The answer is that you should look at the R-value of the insulation- efficiency and effectiveness of insulations increase with an increase in the R-value. Therefore, the higher the R-value, the more effective and energy-efficiency the insulation becomes.
Choose insulation with an R-value of 30 or more to increase the efficiency of your home –you can choose the insulation based on numerous factors such as the climate of your region (cold or warm-weathered)
7. Using Cheap DIY products
You don’t have to spend tons of money on your attic when you realize a problem.
DIY products are relatively cheap, and they will minimize the cost of repair and maintenance on your attic.
You can even create your DIY product instead of buying them.
2 Simple Steps to Create a DIY Product
What you need to do is to sew along a draft snake tube and fill it with rice and beans.
Put it along a door or window seal to block the draft.
Another way to create your cheap DIY product is through enfolding an older water heater in a blanket for insulation.
8. Window Treatment
People would make layers of heavy fabrics like curtains on doors and windows to maintain containing the draft of homes in the past.
Yes, this method can be useful in draft containment, but what about the need for light energy within the home?
For the home’s energy needs during winter, window treatment will solve such issues- there is a range of cellular shades that you can have customized based on the measurements of your window.
Apart from allowing light penetration into the house, the customized window treatment protects your attic against drafts.
9. Get a Programmable Thermostat
You can save money up to $180 annually on fuel usage when installing a programmable thermostat in your home.
The thermostat functions by spontaneously reducing (or increasing) the temperature of your home in your absence.
Therefore, when you have the thermostat, you don’t have to put up with the harsh environment in your own home or manually keep regulating it, which is difficult when you are not in the house.
Also, you will save on the costs of heating due to energy-saving characteristics when you are away.
Programmable thermostats vary in cost, but you can get one from as low as $50 at Lowes.
10. Sealing Furnace Ducts
It is estimated that there is usually a 20% -30% loss of heat energy through heating ducts? The loss is generally due to leaks and inefficient conductors in homes.
Hence, if you have a leaky heating duct, you possibly incur higher expenses on electricity than you would spend in the absence of leaks-a leaky heating duct means that you will have to use more energy to maintain the warmth of your home.
Equipment such as furnaces and water heater may build up to hazardous gases like carbon monoxide by the backdrafting process. We all know that carbon monoxide can be dangerous, and in severe cases, it causes death.
So, how do you protect yourself from such misfortunes during winter?
Ensure that you seal any leaks in your home; before you begin the sealing task, consult a heating contract, and ask if your home requires a combustion safety process undertaken before sealing them.
While conducting the sealing process, it is expected that there are some ducts you may not reach due to their positioning –some could be positioned in the ceilings, floors, or even concealed in walls.
Concentrate on regions where vents, ducts, and registers connect with floors, ceilings, and walls. You can use metal tape or mastic sealing tape to seal connections and seams in your home because they are more durable than duct tape.
Conclusion
You will save more money on your energy bill this winter if you focus on identifying where you are losing the heat –loss of heat means loss of money from your pocket
You don’t have to have cash on the spot to undertake attic maintenance because there are other improvised repairing ways.
In doing all these, remember that expert consultation is fundamental.
