Prepare your home for cooler weather

With autumn’s arrival, it’s time to prepare your new home for winter before the inclement weather arrives.

All new homes in Ontario come with a warranty provided by the builder and guaranteed by Tarion Warranty Corporation. This warranty is comprehensive and lasts up to seven years from the date of the first owner’s possession. It covers a lot of things inside and out, from shoddy workmanship to major structural defects. But note that if issues arise in your home in those first seven years that can be traced back to a lack of proper homeowner maintenance, they won’t be covered.

Here are some fall maintenance tips to keep your new home healthy and ensure that your warranty rights are protected:

•Check your windows and doors, inside and out, for any cracks or separations around the frames. Apply caulking to any damaged areas. This will prevent water penetration or heat loss.

Look for damage or wear to the weather-stripping on your exterior doors and replace if necessary. This keeps warm air from seeping from your home.

Inspect eavestroughs and downspouts. Remove any leaves and debris that can create messy, smelly blockages that could build up over winter. If you see cracks or seam separations in your eavestroughs, fix with caulking.

Shut off your home’s exterior water supply and drain all exterior water lines and hoses. You should leave the taps open a bit – this will prevent any remaining water in the lines from freezing and damaging the water supply line.

Have a professional roofing company inspect the roof to ensure that shingles, flashing and chimney caps are all in place and properly sealed.

Clean and test all your exhaust fans, including dryer vents, stove vents and furnace vents. Clean or replace your furnace filter and consider having your furnace serviced to prepare it for winter.

Inspect your gas or wood-burning fireplace and chimney dampers and have them serviced or cleaned if necessary.

Test all smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors to make sure they are in good working order. (NC)