Fall is a season of change. With the warmer days and cooler nights, we are able to prepare for what winter may bring. As the trees change color giving us one last show of beauty, the animals begin their prep for the long cold winter months, whether it is to prepare for hibernation or migration. We as humans should take a cue from what these animals do naturally and take action. In the pacific northwest, winter can be like a box of chocolates. Some years we have very mild winters and others can be treacherous. In the last few years, the winters in the northwest have leaned a little more to the latter.
Fall into Action
The weather this fall has treated us really well. Although the nights have been cool the days have been sunny and warm. There are always the obvious fall chores. You know the usual end of summer clean up, clear the garden, wash the windows, plant some winter color, and most importantly winterize everything. Thankfully this year we have been able to complete the simple annual tasks as well as some needed home improvement projects that will hopefully prepare us for whatever mother nature throws our way.
Snowmageddon 2019
If you have followed my blog, you may recall the post about Snowmaggedon 2019. It wasn’t until February when winter decided to come on full force and mother nature wasn’t playing. Many people including us were caught off guard. Again since winter in our region is generally mild compared to other parts of the country, there are just things we were not ready for. Excessive amounts of snow to manage to be one of them. We actually had become concerned as to how our structures were managing the snow loads and excessive amounts of water, therefore made a plan to become more prepared.
Recognizing the Challenges
It is not always easy to see the things that may challenge us until it is almost too late. That was our reality last winter. One of our biggest challenges was the snow load on our shop roof. When we had our shop built we added two enclosed lean-tos on the building. This was an inexpensive way to add square footage, so why wouldn’t we. At the time we didn’t in vision the challenges that the valleys would create in the roof. Once we had snow it became
Finding a Solution
In the last few years we have had much harsher winters and last year we became concerned. As the snow slid off the top half of our roof, it added twice the snow and weight to the lower half. After a few melts and refreezes creating twice the snow load on the lower half of our building, we became concerned. We tried raking and heating but nothing really helped. We just waited for warmer days and stayed away from what could have been the danger zone In addition, we began to plan for not being in that situation again. After some research, we decided to try steel building snow breaks.
Well, the snow isn’t our only winter challenge. Our home also has valleys in the roof lines. When the snow melted or when we would get big rains, the water would run off our home like waterfalls. In addition, we would have run off that would drip on our heat pump, then freeze and cause a whole new set of problems. After barely surviving snowmageddon we knew changes were definitely in order.
Time for Gutters
In addition to the snow breaks, we have added gutters to our home. Again, another upgrade that we wish we would have done long ago. Initially, we looked at taking this project on ourselves. Just as we were preparing to buy the materials the installation of seamless gutters was taking place on a new home construction a few houses down from us. We approached the installer to request a quote. For the minimal labor cost, seamless gutters professionally installed was a clear choice. Now maybe we won’t have the waterfall at our front door and a frozen heat pump.
Are you ready for Winter
As the days and nights get cooler we continue in our winter preparations. People always talk about spring cleaning, however, winter preparedness is just as or possibly more important. It is an uncomfortable feeling to be caught off guard and in a situation where it may be too late to take action. Last winter was a good wake up call for us in many ways. We managed to survive with the snow and our structure challenges. With the home improvements, we are hopefully ready for what mother nature brings. In
Other important Winter Readiness Tasks
A few other things to consider when preparing for winter.
- Is your heat source up to date and ready to go to work? Fall is a good time to change your furnace filters, right before you put that furnace to work.
- We all know the changing of the clocks indicate it is time to also change our fire alarm batteries, also fire alarms do have a life cycle, this would be a good time to check the expiration date on yours. If you need a replacement the First Alert Combo Fire Alarm and Carbon Monoxide Detector is a good choice.
- Speaking of batteries, do you have candles and flashlights ready in case of a power outage?
- Make sure all outside hoses are disconnected and any exposed water sources are cold weather ready?
- On the note of water, make sure you have a backup drinking water supply.
- It is also important to have your car cold weather ready. Certain roads require traction devices, so check your route and make certain you are ready for what may come your way. It is also a good idea to have extra water and a blanket or two ready in case you get stranded or get stuck in a road closure. The Pendleton Roll-Up Blanket is very compact and convenient to leave in the car year-round.
In regions where bad weather isn
