Are you ready for fall?

Greetings and salutations!

I apologize in advance for deviating from my remodeling tips for this post, but I thought I might cover an important seasonal subject that many of us may tend to overlook.

With summer just a memory and fall upon us, most of us look forward to the change. I mean really, you can put away the bikinis and the sandals and actually eat again, at least until next spring.

As you day dream about pumpkin pies, turkey sandwiches, and football games, don't forget to get your place ready for the return of the cold weather.

Do you have a fireplace? Get the chimney cleaned! If you use your fireplace with any regularity at all, creosote and soot will build up in the chimney and could cause a chimney fire. A cleaning by a professional usually includes an inspection as well ,which can reveal any possible defects or degradation in the components, which could also lead to dangerous conditions. For your safety as well as the safety of your family and neighbors this should be done each year prior to lighting your first fire in the fire place. Mrs. Claus will thank you as well, as her laundry load on December 26th will be much lighter!

Often overlooked as well are the furnace filters. Depending on the filter type and media, they require replacement as often as once a month in some cases. A clean filter will improve the performance of your heating system and ultimately save you money on utility consumption while making the indoor air cleaner and easier to breath.

If you have exposed pipes out doors, this is the time to insulate! The materials and the time it takes you to do it now is far less than the cost of one emergency plumber call! Save that money for something you really need, like bail money for your crazy nephew, or cat food.

Do you have rain gutters and down spouts? (I believe doctors are working on a vaccination for that) Seriously though, blocked down spouts means rain water wont drain from the gutters. This is problematic not just because the rain will fill up the gutters and run over the edges, but the extra weight of all of that water can actually bring the gutters down. They may be easier to clean if that happens, but where will you hang your Christmas lights?

Now is a good time for a visual roof inspection as well. Take a quick look and make sure all of your shingles, tiles or other roofing material is completely intact and in good condition. If you find missing or damaged components, take care of it now before the weather gets bad.

And finally, possibly the most important thing you can do to get ready for the colder weather is to maintain and upgrade your smoke detectors. Maintaining is simple enough, change the batteries and test each unit. Whats that you say? Your smoke detector doesn't have a place for batteries? That calls for an upgrade. Some early models of smoke detectors did not have a battery back up option. If that's true of yours, what do you think will happen if a fire should start in your home during a power outage? Scary, huh? Some smoke detectors operate on battery power alone, some use alternating current from your homes electrical system and also have a battery back up, and some detect carbon monoxide as well. (If your home has even a single gas consuming appliance, at least one carbon monoxide detector should be installed near the bedrooms) Determine which kind you will need and swap out any older non-functioning or non battery back up units before its too late. Smoke detectors are required by law in most (if not all) states in each bedroom, and in the hall way areas where bedrooms are located. If so equipped, be sure you turn off the electricity to the units you may be replacing prior to the job and be sure to conform to all of your local, state and federal codes on the subject. If there is any doubt in your mind about your ability to follow those guidelines, hire a professional electrical contractor to do the job right, and sleep well knowing that you and your family are well protected.

Thats all for now, Rob