If you live in a place where the weather is harsh, you know that it doesn’t just affect you. Extreme weather and extreme temperatures, hot or cold, take a toll on your home as well. Here are a few things you can do to protect your home from the elements.
Inside Your Home
Extreme temperatures can make your home miserable to be in and strain your heating and cooling appliances. You can alleviate some of the burden with a few little tricks.
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Flip the Blades on Your Ceiling Fan
As we all learned in grade school, heat rises. You can use this simple fact to your advantage. If you are dealing with hot weather, turn on your ceiling fan to help push the heat up and out. If it is cold and you want to keep the heat in, reverse the blades on the ceiling fan so they will push the warm air back down into the house.
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Insulate Your Home
Keeping your home well-insulated is important for hot and cold weather. Insulation keeps the heat inside in the winter and outside in the summer. In addition to the regular insulation in your walls and ceilings, make sure your doors and windows are sealed well and insulated. Cover your windows with heavy drapes, blinds, or shutters—especially in the summertime—to keep the sunlight from heating up your home. In the winter, the same heavy drapes will add an extra layer of insulation.
Outside Your Home
The outside of your home is your first defense against the elements. Make sure your home’s exterior is well maintained so it can withstand whatever nature throws at it.
Know Your Environment
It is important to know what kind of environment you live in so you can make the best choices when it comes to protecting your home. Find out if you live in an area that is prone to a specific natural disaster. It may change what you need to do with your landscaping. Knowing what kind of dangers are common to your area also gives you the chance to make improvements to your home before disaster strikes. If you live in an area prone to earthquakes, bolt your house to the foundation. If hurricanes are common, make sure you have storm shutters or plywood to cover your windows.
Choose the Right Materials for Your Home
The materials you choose for your home will vary depending on where you live. You will need different materials for roofing in Edmonton than you will in Dubai. If you live somewhere with heavy winters, you need to protect your roof from ice dams and heavy snow. If you live somewhere very hot, you may want to consider adding a reflective coating to your shingles or planting trees that will shade your roof.
Extreme weather, particularly extreme heat, also affects your paint. Lots of direct sunlight can break down the chemical components of paint, causing peeling and blistering. To prevent this, make sure you prime well when you are painting and choose the appropriate kind of paint. If you live somewhere that is exposed to a lot of sunlight, consider investing in paint that has been designed to resist UV rays.
Following these tips can help you protect your home, no matter the environment you live in.
Author Byline
Michael David is a freelance blogger who writes about a variety of topics including home improvement. For more home maintenance tips, check out Great Canadian.
