Keep Your Beavercreek Home Warm This Winter

Ohio can get pretty chilly this time of year. Icy winds and sub-zero temperatures can easily foil your plans to tour Beavercreek homes for sale. You'd probably rather go home and stay out of the winter weather. That's a great idea. And if your home needs a little work to make it a bit more warm and cozy, there are plenty of projects to keep you busy. Most of them don't require you to go outside.

Our REALTORS® live and work in the Beavercreek area. We love Ohio, but we also appreciate the warmth of home. If you want to keep busy and stay warm, check out our 5 Home Improvement Projects to Warm Up Your Ohio Home.

1. Insulate from the top-down

There's nothing exciting about insulation unless you consider the money you can save on energy costs. You'll get pretty excited about your DPL bill when you eliminate the insulation gaps throughout your home.

• Attic: Think about all that heated air, rising up through your ceiling and exiting through your roof. You can change that with enough rolls of insulation.
• Insulate closed spaces: Use a cavity filler foam in spaces behind brick walls, and inside exterior walls and columns.
• Basement: Insulating an unfinished basement can reduce the cold air beneath your feet.

2. Make quick cold air fixes

If you already know those places where cold air enters and warm air escapes, that's the hard part. If you don't, just follow the stream of icy air to the source.

• Seal drafty gaps - Use expanding foam to seal slight openings or gaps in walls and around pipes.
• Secure dryer vents: Install a closing vent seal to keep cold air out when you're not using your dryer.
• Insulate pipes: Install rubber, polyethylene, or fiberglass pipe insulation to prevent water pipes from freezing when they run near or through outside walls.

3. Keep your heat going strong

DIY a furnace check-up with Home Advisor's Maintenance and Check Up tips. If you're not comfortable with tasks like checking the heat exchanger for cracks, call a professional to do it. You can still perform basic home heating maintenance tasks.

• Replace dirty air filters to enhance airflow.
• Relocate flammables away from heating units.
• Install radiator reflectors to reflect heat away from walls and into your room.

4. Improve your windows and doors

When icy air enters your home and warm air exits, the heat exchange can increase your utility bills. In the spring, consider getting professionally-installed insulated glass units. In the meantime, here are a few things you can do right now

• Seal out drafts: Caulks and sealants work efficiently to eliminate narrow gaps.
• Replace IGU panes only: Install replacement double or triple panes when you notice condensation or cracked seals.
• Replace weather stripping to prevent cold air from seeping in.

5. Decorate for a warm cozy feel

Redecorating can give you a warm and cozy sensation when you step in from the cold.

• Move your furniture: Pull heavy sofas and chairs away from windows and heating vents and out of the way of warming streams of air.
• Buy insulating curtains: Keep them closed to keep out those Ohio chills.
• Choose warm colors: Decorate with reds, oranges, and yellows. You'll feel a sensation of warmth, but remember these are the same colors the Zillow Color Study says decreased home sale values.

It's Cold Outside!

We know it's cold, but our professionals are always ready when you are. Contact Wright-Patt Realty if you're buying or selling a home, or if you just want to know more about our community.