Winterizing your home is an important part of yearly property maintenance.
Extreme conditions during the winter months can damage your home more than any other time of the year.
Each fall you should look for a few key things to protect your most valuable asset: your home.
First, the roof is going to take a lot of abuse during the winter as water melts and then freezes again.
If your roof has not been properly maintained, then you may need to re-shingle the roof before the snow starts to fly.
Any roofing contractor in Oakland will be able to give you an estimate on how much repairing your roof will cost, and although it can get expensive at times, it will be far less expensive than correcting internal water damage.
The next thing to do is trim all the trees so that snow accumulation doesn't result in broken branches.
This can be especially dangerous if you are prone to parking your car under trees or if the tree is next to the home.
Related to this is cleaning leaves out of the gutter so that as the snow melts your gutter system is free and clear to drain water as it should.
Another good idea is to drain and put away all hoses before the first freeze.
If water is allowed to freeze in pipes or hoses they will burst and require replacement the following year.
If you must leave a hose out during the winter, make sure that it is appropriately drained every time you use it.