Residents of Washington are gearing up for a La Nina winter with weekend storms possibly producing snow. In 2008, Washington was engulfed by a winter storm that lasted weeks that rivaled the big snow storm of 1996 – 1997. The storm incoming winter blast, as the news stations label it as, will start late this evening and coninue into the weekend and hopefully, yes that is the skier in me coming out, there will be 5-6 inches on accumilation (depends on what part of Snohomish County you lived in).
Darrington and east Snohomish County has been getting an early does of snow and the view of White Horse should be specatular if you are up that direction picking up a Christmas tree or just playing in the snow. This weekend I plan on getting out and playing the snow just for kicks and may even purchase and Advantage Pass for Stevens Pass.
With the continuing cold there are risks to homeowners. Roofs, water pipes, driveways, and even back yards all take a beating during long durations of cold wet weather. If you live on a shared road, with a road maintenance aggreement, this posses particular issues.
Most people do not think about their roof until a problem arises and ever growing repairs can amount to thousands. But when the weather is bad, snowing, raining and the wind blowing is not the time to think about roof integrity or to make repairs. Start out in the spring time by clearing the roof of debris, cleaning the gutters and looking for possible damaged areas. Pressure washing, repairing shingles or tiles and staining can all keep a roof looking good while keeping costly repairs down and even make a difference when it comes to selling.
The underside of the home needs as much looking over as at the topside. Protecting the water pipes is a must because broken water pipes raise stress levels and drain bank accounts of valuable resources. Insulating water pipes take a little bit of time and money. Wrap the pipes in a insulating material like styrofoam covers and cover outside faucets with styrofoam covers. Insulating materials and can be found at the local hardware store or Home Depot/Lowes.
How about the front side of the home? Initially the driveway doesn’t seem like an area that would need protecting from the elements but like any other part of the home it can be affected. As the weather turns bad and the rain and snow begins to fall, concrete and asphalt driveways take constant punishment. Concrete and asphalt need to be sealed to prevent moisture from absorbing. Absorbed moisture can freeze and expand causing cracking. Sealing a driveway can save a lot of money in the long term and make your driveway look good for years to come.
Now venture out to the back side of a home. The yard is greatly affected by winter weather. Yards all around Snohomish County are collecting rain water which poses drainage problems. Soil composition around the county makes it difficult to drain water due to its clay-ish composition. Water tends to stay on the surface forming puddles that then seeps into the home’s foundation. In the summer time, installing a French drain to a yard can dramatically reduce the amount of surface water allowing grass to grow and protecting a foundation from water damage.
The roof, water pipes, driveway and the yard play a pivotal roll in the life cycle of a home. These 4 areas can improve or degrade the living conditions of a home, the comfort and appeal of a home and even make or break a sale of home. Using simple steps and actions will keep stress levels down and make things much easier long into the future.
this is one thing i’m glad we don;t have to worry about in our market. It doesn’t get cold enough
I can imagine not but you have a lot of humidity right? How does that affect molding and other home issues.?
The snow just cleared up here and it is starting up again tonight. Brrrr.
I’m in PA and we get plenty of bad cold weather (a good 6 months of it sometimes!) It really can do a lot of damage to a house, so taking care of these things is very important. We can’t stress to our sellers enough the importance of winterizing their home (especially if vacant!) and sadly come March or April when things start thawing out a lot of problems like septic issues or roofing issues come to light.
While out showing yesterday, most of the homes where vacant and the listing agents had winterization notes on the house. Very helpful, in my opinion, for the piece of mind of buyers (so they know the house is being maintained even though it is vacant) and the buyer’s agent as not to run around the house testing everything to make sure it works.
One of the frustrating things about WA state is that some winters are so very cold, and others are mild and sometimes all of these precautions don’t seem completely necessary. What do you think?
Necessary is a relative term in my opinion. I personally like to limit frustration while maintaining my home, truck, and other toys so they do not break down nor fail at a time of need. In the long run, regular maintenance is less expensive than catastrophic failures.