Key takeaways
- Clean gutters before winter: about a hundred dollars now can prevent water damage worth far more.
- Service the HVAC in October: a tune-up is about $150, while a new unit in January can be about $6,000.
- Check the crawl space vapor barrier for tears or pulled-up plastic.
- Disconnect hoses and shut off outdoor spigots before the first hard freeze.
February is the month I get the calls. A pipe burst. Water is in the crawl space. The HVAC stopped and the house is 48 degrees. The seller is frantic.
I would say 80% of those calls come from a handful of things that could have been handled in October. Here are four of them.
Clean Your Gutters
East Tennessee has trees. Trees drop leaves. Leaves plug gutters. Water backs up under the roof line and finds a way inside. It does not take much. One clogged downspout can send water into a basement or crawl space for a whole season.
Go look at your gutters right now. If you see dirt and leaves up there, get a ladder or call somebody. It costs a hundred bucks and saves you ten thousand.
Service Your HVAC Before the First Freeze
Heat pumps take a beating in this climate. They run in the summer and they run in the winter. The thing you do not want is for it to quit on the coldest night of the year when every service company is booked three weeks out.
Get the annual tune-up done now. Change the filter. Make sure the emergency heat strips work. A service call in October is a hundred fifty dollars. A new unit in January is six thousand.
Check Your Crawl Space Vapor Barrier
This is the one nobody thinks about. Anderson County has a lot of houses on crawl spaces. If the vapor barrier on the ground has pulled up or has holes in it, moisture comes up from the ground. That moisture turns into condensation in the winter. Condensation turns into mold and rot and musty smells that show up on every home inspection.
Go down there with a flashlight. If the plastic is torn or pulled away from the piers, tape it back down or call a handyman. It is cheap and it stops a lot of problems.
Shut Off Your Outdoor Spigots
Disconnect the garden hoses and shut off the water to the outside faucets before the first hard freeze. A hose left attached can trap water in the pipe. When that water freezes it can split the pipe inside the wall, and you will not know until the thaw. It takes five minutes.
Do these four things and I promise you will not be the one calling me in February.
Common questions
When should I winterize my house in East Tennessee?
In October, before the first hard freeze. Clean the gutters, get the HVAC serviced, check the crawl space vapor barrier and shut off outdoor spigots.
Why service the HVAC before winter?
So it does not quit on the coldest night, when service companies can be booked about three weeks out.
What should I check in an Anderson County crawl space?
Look at the vapor barrier on the ground. If it is torn or pulled away from the piers, moisture can come up and turn into condensation, mold and rot. Tape it down or call a handyman.
How do I stop outdoor faucets from freezing?
Disconnect garden hoses and shut off the water to the outside faucets before the first hard freeze. A hose left on can trap water that freezes and splits the pipe.