Freezing weather can not only damage your home but also you and other inhabitants. Winter brings bitter temperatures, ice, and snow. Add strong winds to that and the already freezing weather becomes too much to bare. Freezing rain is another winter danger that can wreak havoc on your home.
However, if you prepare beforehand, you can protect your home from these harsh winter conditions and keep yourself warm and safe. Still, preparation is only one part – you will also need to check your home regularly to ensure everything stays intact once the temperature drops.
That said, here’s how the freeze damage can affect your home and what you can do about it, so read on and stay warm.
How Freezing Temperatures Affect Your Home
Freeze damage is real, and it can damage your home in more than one way. That’s why it’s vital to maintain and protect your house before freezing temperatures arrive along with ice and snow.
Ice and snow accumulation can make trees break and fall onto your and other homes or even power lines. Moreover, heavy ice and snow can cause structural damage, which can destroy your roof.
What’s more, ice barriers can provoke interior water damage in case a storm occurs. Note that ice barriers happen when heavy snow thaws and refreezes because of the wrong attic insulation. The refreezing ice will creep under your home’s shingles and melt thanks to the warm air, causing water damage inside your house.
Freezing temperatures can also cause your interior and exterior pipes, like garden hoses and irrigation lines, to freeze and break. Pay special attention to this if you live in a generally warmer area because your pipes are likely not insulated enough and may not be able to withstand unexpected freezing weather conditions.
8 Ways to Protect Your Home from Freeze Damage
Now that you understand how freezing weather can affect your home, let’s discover how you can protect it and prevent all potential damages that can occur.
1. Protect Your Water Pipes
To prevent the freezing of your plumbing fixtures, detach and store the garden hoses once the temperatures start to drop. Next, you will want to shut the water off to your outdoor taps, drain the pipes, and insulate your hose bibs.
If your indoor plumbing lines run via outdoor walls, observe them in cold weather and ensure your walls are well-insulated.
2. Watch Ice Dams on Roofs
Ice dams refer to the layers of ice and snow building up in your roof’s eaves or guttering. These ice barriers block the natural water flow off your roof, causing the water to flow down the indoor walls.
If the snow on your roof constantly increases, it can cause structure and water damage to your house. To prevent these types of damage, remove the snow from your home’s roof using a rake. However, make sure to do this only once the storm ends and it’s safe. Also, make sure your gutters and downspouts are clean to prevent a flood.
If you want a more permanent prevention, you can install a water-repellent membrane under the shingles of your roof to place an additional barrier that will help prevent water from entering your home.
3. Seal Cracks and Holes
Even tiny holes where phone lines or cable wires enter your property can be an entrance for cold winter air. To prevent your home from cooling down, use foam insulation to close them. You can also buy weather-stripping foam insulation to fix the cracks around the windows and doors.
4. Let the Water Flow
If your exterior walls aren’t properly insulated and your indoor faucets sit on them, you will need to set your taps to drip slowly during freezing temperatures. Pipes and faucets located on exterior walls are particularly susceptible to freezing.
Since both cold and hot lines are vulnerable, you will want to ensure they are slightly open. You can also open your cabinet doors to allow the pipes to warm up by the room air.
5. Protect Your Green Space
Frost can destroy your plants, so make sure to bring them inside. Moreover, you should mulch your outdoor plants before clearing away garden furniture, hoses, and toys to avoid any obstacles in case of heavy snow.
You may also want to prune back overhanging branches as these are likely to gather snow. The added weight might cause them to snap off, damaging other parts of your home.
6. Insulate Your Home
By ensuring your house is properly insulated, you can keep your home warmer and prevent the pipes from freezing. The areas that need insulation include exterior walls, the attic, the basement, and the pipes.
7. Ensure You Can Access Your Water Shut-Off
If a water line freezes or bursts, you need to close the property’s water supply. However, you need to ensure your water shut-off is easily accessible as this needs to be done immediately upon freezing. Moreover, you need to ensure your shut-off valve is functioning well.
If you turn the valve handle all the way left, you will shut off the water supply to your home. If you notice the valve closes partially or is open, you will have to replace it with a new one as soon as possible. However, you may want to call a professional plumber to get this job done.
8. Close Your Garage Doors
If you have a garage attached to your house, you will want to close its doors to prevent freezing air from entering your home and protect the plumbing fixtures located in your garage.
Keep Your Home Warm and Protected
Freezing weather is no joke, and that’s especially true when it comes to your home. After reading this article, you understand how extreme temperatures can affect your property and what damages they can cause.
However, by following our advice on how to protect your home from winter weather, you will ensure your house stays intact while keeping you warm until the sun takes the wheel.