Fall & Winter Maintenance Guide for the Home

Certain home maintenance tasks should be completed each season to prevent structural damage, save energy, and keep all your home’s systems running properly. These maintenance tasks are most important for the South in fall and winter. For a comprehensive list of tasks by season, refer to the to-do lists at the end of this article.
Fall and winter conditions in the South vary dramatically from the northern part of the region to the southern coastline. But basic maintenance tips apply no matter where you live.

Key maintenance tasks to perform

• Get your heating system in order. Heating systems in the South vary—there are generally more gas furnaces in the northern areas, and more electric heat pump systems toward the coastal South. Programmable thermostats are important for both kinds of heating systems, as they can help save around $180 a year on your energy bills.

If you have a heat pump, make sure you install a programmable thermostat especially designed for heat pumps, says home inspector Bill Loden of Insight Home Inspection in Madison, Ala. Programmable thermostats for heat pumps are specially designed to keep these systems working at peak efficiency.

Schedule your fall HVAC checkup promptly; you can expect to pay $50 to $100 for a heating tune-up. Make sure your HVAC professional checks all electrical connections, lubricates any moving parts if necessary, and inspects the condensate drain and trap. If you have a gas furnace, make sure he also checks gas connections and pressure, burner combustion, and the heat exchanger.

Inspect your furnace filters monthly and change them whenever they are dirty. Inspect floor grates and return ducts regularly and clean them out with a vacuum cleaner brush.

• Clean your gutters. In the South, you’re less likely to have ice form in your gutters than in other parts of the country. Nevertheless, debris in your gutters can easily divert water onto the roof or siding, setting the stage for mold and rot and dramatically shortening the lifespan of shingles and paint. Inspect and clean your gutters in the late fall after leaves have dropped.

• Put away lawn and garden equipment. Pick up anything in the yard that could be damaged by cold or snow, such as garden tools, hoses and nozzles, and patio furniture and accessories. Run your lawn mower until it’s out of gas, if possible; if you leave gas in the tank over the winter, it can degrade and lose some of its combustion ability. Worse, gas can react with the air in the tank and oxidize, forming deposits that affect the machine’s performance; worse still, moisture can   condense inside the tank and cause rust that blocks the fuel lines.

If you know you’re going to leave gas in the tank over the winter, add a stabilizer to the last gallon of gas you put in (mix it in the gas can, not the mower tank, so that you get the mixing ratio correct).

• Trim back vegetation. In some areas of the South plants grow year-round, so it’s important to keep an eye on whether they’re encroaching on the roof and walls. Trim trees so that branches don’t hang over the roof, and keep heavy, dense growth away from siding. A good rule of thumb is to trim back bushes and shrubs so that there’s enough room to walk easily between plantings and your house.

• Pick up a paintbrush. Fall is a great time to paint your house’s exterior if necessary, sealing all surfaces before winter’s moisture has a chance to do damage. It’s possible to touch up small areas only, but note two things: 1) odds are you’ll end up with a slightly different color than the rest of the house, so don’t do it in a prominent spot; and 2) if you have a small area that’s consistently peeling or losing paint, you likely have a moisture issue that needs to be addressed first. Look for signs of leaky gutters, crumbling caulk, and loose siding that can trap moisture underneath.

• Check weatherstripping and caulk. Open all your exterior doors and check the weatherstripping; if yours is crumbly or has gaps, replace it. Remove the old weatherstripping with a utility knife and clean the surface with household cleaner, getting as much of the old debris and adhesive off as possible. When the surface is dry, apply peel-and-stick foam weatherstripping. Start at the top of the door frame and work your way down, being careful not to stretch the foam strip, which can weaken the adhesive.


Inspect windows and doors for any gaps between the trim and the exterior siding that allow air to penetrate from the outside; these gaps should be caulked. Be sure to scrape out any crumbling old caulk or paint — applying new caulk over old is fine, but first get rid of loose chunks and remove any grit with household cleaner.

Spending a few hours here and there on home maintenance tasks helps you spot developing problems quickly and prevent costly repairs. For best results, complete the tasks described above as well as those on the to-do list following this article.


Read more: http://www.houselogic.com/articles/fall-winter-seasonal-maintenance-guide-south/#ixzz0vprh0y8r

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Finding Local Officials When You Need Help

From getting a pothole filled on your street to finding out code requirements for your new bathroom, there’s a local government official who can help. The thought of calling around, though, trying to get someone’s attention at City Hall, can seem like a good way to drive yourself crazy. But it doesn’t have to be.



More and more cities, counties, and townships are making it easier to find what you need and to monitor how well they’re responding to requests. And whether you’re a community organizer or a concerned homeowner, you shouldn’t feel like you’re heading into uncharted waters. More than half of citizens had contact with local government within the last year, according to Tom Miller, president of the National Research Center.

Getting Started

Every city and town is unique, of course, but basic services for the community and homeowners tend to be similar. Local governments typically have a version of these agencies:

Code Enforcement: Also known in some places as the Department of Buildings, this is where you call about the neighbor with 100 cats or a back porch that’s falling down.


Parks and Recreation: Typically responsible for maintaining and developing local playgrounds, parks, and other recreational amenities.
Gulf Shores: 251-968-1420

Police: If the party down the block is still going strong at 3 a.m., dial the non-emergency number for your local law enforcement.
Gulf Shores: 251-968-2431    Orange Beach: 251-981-9777

Public Works: When you need a dangling tree limb removed after a big storm or the street repaved, call here. In a bigger city, this may be broken into specific entities: streets, sanitation, sewers, forestry, and so on.
Gulf Shores: 251-968-1156   Orange Beach: 251-974-5681

Recorder of Deeds: The county is usually responsible for housing deeds, and this is the place for a copy of yours or any related questions.

Orange Beach: 251-981-6779

Read more: http://www.houselogic.com/articles/finding-local-officials-when-you-need-help/#ixzz0vk0BGVZg

Outdoor Lighting for Curb Appeal & Safety

Think about it: Most of your guests (and if your home is on the market, many would-be buyers) see your home only in the evening, when its best features may be lost in the shadows. Well-executed outdoor lighting enhances architectural detail and plays up landscape features, casting your home in the best possible light and adding an abundance of curb appeal

Outdoor lighting also adds value. Judith Patriski, an appraiser and owner of Quad Realty Co. near Cleveland, estimates that for upper-bracket homes, an investment in outdoor lighting can yield a 50% return. “When you pull into a driveway and see a gorgeous home, you’re going to pay more for it,” says Patriski.

And she emphasizes that it’s not only about aesthetics: “In all price ranges, lighting for security is important”—both to protect against intruders and falls. Here are the elements of successful outdoor lighting.

Mimicking Moonlight

Much of the success of exterior lighting hinges on its design. Hang around lighting designers long enough and you’ll hear a lot of talk about “moonlight effect.” That’s a naturalistic look that features light no more intense than that of a full moon, but still strong enough to make beautiful shadows and intense highlights.

Other Techniques Outdoor Lighting Designers Use

Highlight trees: Whether illumined from below or given presence by a light mounted in the tree itself, trees make stunning features.

Use uplights: Uplighting is dramatic because we expect light to shine downward. Used in moderation, it’s a great way to highlight architectural and landscaping features.

Have a focus: The entryway is often center stage, a way of saying, “Welcome, this way in.”

Combine beauty and function: For example, adding lighting to plantings along a pathway breaks up the “runway” look of too many lights strung alongside a walk.

Vary the fixtures: While the workhorses are spots and floods, designers turn to a wide range of fixtures, area lights, step lights, and bollards or post lights.

Stick to warm light: A rainbow of colors are possible, but most designers avoid anything but warm white light, preferring to showcase the house and its landscape rather than create a light show.

Orchestrate A Timer: with confirmation from a photocell, brings the display to life as the sun sets. At midnight it shuts down everything but security lighting. Some homeowners even set the timer to light things up an hour or so before dawn.

Adding Safety & Lamp Security

Falls are the foremost cause of home injury, according to the Home Safety Council. Outdoors, stair and pathway lighting help eliminate such hazards.

Often safety and security can be combined. For example, motion-detecting security lighting mounted near the garage provides illumination when you get out of your car at night; the same function deters intruders. Motion detecting switches can also be applied to landscape lighting to illuminate shadowy areas should anyone walk nearby.

Even the moonlight effect has a security function: Soft, overall landscape lighting eliminates dark areas that might hide an intruder, exposing any movement on your property. Overly bright lights actually have a negative effect, creating undesirable pockets of deep shadow.

Read more: http://www.houselogic.com/articles/outdoor-lighting-curb-appeal-and-safety/#ixzz0veeT9VHv

Just Listed Behind the Gates at The Peninsula