How to Winterize a Mountain Home
Mountain weather can be severe and unpredictable, particularly in the winter. Temperatures can drop well below zero, causing pipes to freeze and burst. Violent storms can seep through old, leaky windows, making your house cold and miserable. If you are going to be living in the mountains over the winter, you need to make sure your home is comfortable, well-insulated, and safe. If you plan on spending the winter in a warmer clime, you need to prepare it carefully to prevent the pipes freezing and bursting or the gas leaking. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- HVAC tape
- Shop-vac
- Caulking gun
- Caulk
- Plastic wrap
- Canned food
- Can opener
- Candles
- Flashlight
- First-aid gear
- Insulation
- Storm windows
- Shutters
Instructions
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1
Have a professional check the furnace. Make sure that the burners are in good operating condition and install new filters. Have the vents cleaned out professionally, or vacuum them yourself with a large shop-vac.
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2
Inspect your ducts. Check the joints between ducts for obvious gaps. If you find any, push the ducts back together and use professional HVAC tape such as the type linked to below to seal the connection.
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3
Install storm windows. Thick, double-paned glass will provide a much better heat seal than single-paned windows. You can also put a layer of plastic wrap on top of your windows to increase insulation.
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4
Patch up your window casements. Fill any gaps with caulk. Feel around for drafts to make sure you haven't missed any gaps.
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5
Consider installing shutters. A sturdy pair of shutters will protect your windows from violent winter storms. They are especially important if you won't be in the house over winter, since you won't be able to make repairs if your windows do break.
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6
Make sure your attic has sufficient insulation. There should be at least a foot of insulation. If there isn't roll out some more directly on top of the old insulation.
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7
Stockpile food and supplies. If you are going to be staying over winter, you need to have enough canned food to survive if you get snowed in. You should also have plenty of blankets, candles, first-aid gear and other survival essentials. Check out the survival checklist for more ideas.
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8
Turn off water, electricity and gas. If you are going to be leaving your house in the winter, make sure to shut off water and gas at the main valve and electricity at the circuit breaker. Open all your water faucets to drain water out of the system.
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Tips & Warnings
Talk with locals. Your neighbors will have plenty of good tips about how to prepare for the winter.
Although so-called duct tape can be used to form a temporary seal, it won't work as well as HVAC tape.
