Winter Tips to Keep Your Home In Check

With the long dark nights and cold temperatures biting, we share a range of seasonal tips to help keep your home on top form until better weather arrives.

Check your home insurance policy
There is no better time to review your current policy. Talk to your adviser today and help make sure that you know what you are covered for and whether that cover is adequate for both the house and your valuables.

If you haven’t already, it might be an option to consider adding Home Emergency cover to your home insurance policy in preparation for any household emergencies.

Check your roof
We have already had some pretty wet and windy weather this year and it can’t have escaped your notice that the weather is becoming more unpredictable. While you can do a visual inspection from ground level, it is advisable to have a professional check your roof for any signs of damage such as missing tiles. At the same time have the chimney stack checked, particularly the flashings to ensure that water is not getting into the roof space.

Gutters
Gutters can become blocked and if they do, it is easy for trapped water to turn to ice in cold weather and create extra weight which can bring down gutters and in turn cause damage to external brickwork.

Time for a loft inspection
If the last time you were in the loft was to put away your summer luggage, it’s probably time to go up and take a look to see if you can see any obvious signs of daylight in the roof, which would tell you that a roof inspection for tile damage is not just an option. Also, look at your insulation in the roof space. Is it still fit for purpose? Heating bills can be significantly reduced with comprehensive roof space insulation.

Header tanks and pipework
The loft also can contain a water header tank depending on your heating system and will certainly have pipework. Insulation is a must, particularly if the water freezes and adds pressure on the tank itself, which could lead to leaks. Pipework needs to be adequately insulated. Check it anyway, it is easy to miss where insulation has been disturbed while moving items in the loft.

Boiler
Now is the time when our need for heat and hot water is going to be at its height, arrange for a boiler service as a priority. Better warm than cold!

Find your stopcock
Make sure you know where your stopcock is. In the event of a water leak, knowing where it is will mean less damage to your property and its contents. Also, ensure that every family member is aware. Check that the stopcock is not stiff to turn. A little lubrication and turning it on and off will make sure that it is ready, should the worst happen.

Open fires and woodburners
We all love an open fire, but don’t forget that your chimney deserves a thorough clean, particularly if a fire has not been lit since earlier in the year. Soot and blockages can have a detrimental effect on the ventilation of your room, as well as running the risk of old soot being dislodged and making your living space unusable.

Smoke and carbon monoxide detectors
Check your detectors work. Whatever happens, if you can’t remember when you last changed the batteries – change them anyway.

Article supplied by SJ Financial Solutions - Stuart Mosley

Stuart Mosley (CeFA, CeMap, CLTM) founded SJ Financial Solutions in June 2005 having spent 12 years with big corporates such as Halifax and Santander. He felt the personal touch and straight speaking was missing from mortgage and protection services and set up SJ Financial Solutions to change this. If you would like to get in touch, please see contact details here.

All the information in this article is correct as of the publish date 26 January 2023. The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors. The information provided in this article, including text, graphics and images does not, and is not intended to, substitute advice; instead, all information, content and materials available in this article are for general informational purposes only. Information in this article may not constitute the most up-to-date legal or other information.

Published: 27 January 2023