Protecting Your Home from Freezing Temps
By Chris Petry
The weekend before last, most of us woke up to find anywhere between one and 2.5 feet of snow on the ground. Now, if you’re like me, you were jumping up and down excitedly remembering childhood snow days. You know, when they’d cancel school and you’d spend the day hanging with your friends attempting to build an igloo in the middle of the street obstructing traffic. What were cars doing out on a day like that anyway? Then it hit me: it’s 2026. The snow day is as dead as the dinosaur. We have Zoom, right? These poor kids will never know the excitement of building a weekday snowman that your friend Adam dropkicks three minutes later and blames on the dog.
The downside of snow days? Well, being an adult and realizing that responsibility is rarely deferred for the elements. Someone has to dig out the car and clear the walkway for the Amazon driver. Oh, and there’s all the preplanning one has to do. Yes, it’s not as simple as tossing some salt day of and done. Snow is the least of your worries. It’s really those Arctic temperatures that cause all the problems. So take the time to prepare for extreme weather by inspecting your home and its systems to make sure they’ll hold up. That means paying attention to roofs, gutters, downspouts, pipes, window and door seams and outdoor spickets. So, let’s get into the minutiae, shall we?
Make sure your pipes are as bundled up and cozy as you are- The first protective measure you should take to prepare your home for cold weather is to ensure that your water pipes are protected from below freezing temperatures. Your 4th grade science teacher called. She’d like to remind you that water freezes at 32 degrees Fahrenheit (that’s 0 degrees Celsius for our friends up North). The water in your pipes won’t freeze immediately when external temperatures drop below 32 because, of course. It’s inside a pipe somewhat insulated from the outside. Plus, if water keeps moving through the pipe, it doesn’t really have time to freeze. When temperatures in the pipe drop into the low 20s and remain that way for a sustained period of time without movement, however, the water begins to freeze from the outside in. The ice then begins to expand against the walls of the pipe causing fissures and an eventual rupture. How does one prevent their pipes from freezing? Here’s a few things you can try:
Seal those doors and windows- The major concern with doors and windows in the dead of winter is a draft or the permittance of cold air from outside. That’s why you should check all seals and provide extra protection with caulking, weathering strips, or vinyl or foam insulation. If the cold air’s getting in then you can bet the warm air is escaping. Which, of course, drives up your heating bills by making your furnace work less-effectively.
How much can your roof even lift, brah- Ignore my sad attempt at sounding hip and ask yourself this, is your roof in good enough shape to handle between 6,000 and 12,000 pounds of snow? No? Then I hope you’ve got extra wood for the fireplace because Old Man Winter’s coming on in. When it’s not actively dumping mounds of the cold wet stuff on your ridges and valleys, it’s a good idea to inspect (or hire a professional to inspect) your roof for dips, lags, missing shingles or other signs of damage and wear and tear. It’s better, and more cost-effective, to address roof issues before they become critical.
Outdoor faucets need a jacket too- People seem to forget that if you have a spicket on the outside of your home, the pipe runs inward. An open faucet will have no trouble taking in cold air from outside, expediting the rate of freezing. It’s crucial that you remove your hose come Fall and cover that faucet until Springtime.
Since the current forecast indicates we’re not done with the white fluffy stuff just yet, it’s probably a good idea to address some of these issues. Temperatures may be currently on the rise but we all know that February has its own mind and you might not like what it's thinking.
