Orchards ACE Hardware

The Orchards ACE Hardware Home Winterizing Checklist

We recommend you think about each of the following as we head into winter to prepare your home and avoid problems come spring time.

1. Check the attic, walls, and basement for adequate insulation
2. Insulate any electrical outlets or switches where cold air is coming in using wall plate insulation backing
3. Check doors and windows for gaps where cold air may enter. Use new door bottoms and weatherstrip to prevent warm from escaping.
4. If you don't have high-end double or triple paned windows, purchase and apply clear window insulation to all windows
5. Clean your gutters and downspouts in the fall and apply gutter protection screens in order to prevent plugged drains that may freeze and break in winter
6. Consider sealing all gutter joints with silicone to prevent leaks
7. Buy adequate downspout to ensure all water is carried a minimum of six feet from the house, remember that water frezzing near the house is what causes cracks in the foundation
8. Replace the filter in your furnace, consider a pleated filter to improve dust control
9. Clean chimneys and wood stoves to reduce risk of chimney fire. There are now some great chimney cleaning logs that can be burned to do this job quickly and easily
10. Check th flue in each fireplace for a tight seal when closed to prevent cold air from entering
11. Disconnenct hoses from outside faucets and make sure all outdoor fauctes are freeze proof type faucets
12. Pools, fountains, and the sprinkler system all need to be closed and winterized - all water should blown out of the sprinkler system to prevent broken sprinkler heads and pipes
13. Apply pipe insulation and heat tape to all water pipes exposed to the cold. Buy a foam faucet cover to insulate your outdoor faucets and an insulation jacket for your sprinkler valve (which are VERY expensive to replace)
14. Buy a snow shovel or snow blower and some ice melt to have on hand for that first big snow
15. Buy a case of fireplace logs or adequate firewood prior to winter, remember that the wood pile should be 3 feet from the house to prevent unwanted guests
16. Fill the cracks in all concrete areas such as driveways and patios as water freezing in these cracks will cause further cracking and damage
17. Drain all of the gasoline from mowers, weed eaters, etc. and use Stabil to stabilize the gasoline in your gas can over the winter
18. Clean debris from window wells and apply some type window well cover to prevent from filling with snow
19. Remove or cover your window air conditioner and cover your central air conditioning unit to prevent dmamage and cold air seepage
20. Consider adding a programmable thermostat to save energy during the winter
21. Over-seed the lawn and apply winterizing fertilizer to dramatically improve the quality of the lawn come spring time
22. Check the gasket on the bottom of the garage door that prevent air leakage, replace if damaged or not ocmpletely sealing garage door bottom
23. Ensure all garage door parts (tracks, rollers, drives, etc.) are clean and well lubricated prior to winter as the cold weather often causes parts to stick

We have the products you need for all 23 steps in the checklist above and are of course happy to help explain the porcess for completing each.

Department Location

Winterizing items are generally located throughout the store depending on what you need. Shovels are in the front foyer, pipe heating in aisle 20, weatherstrip in aisle 24, etc. You may also get an idea where your items are before you come in by checking the Store Map