For better or for worse, we are starting to see the first signs of the weather changing. In Michigan, this means beautiful fall colors, fresh apple cider, and football games. It’s also a great time to prepare for the cold weather that lies ahead by winterizing your business facilities.
Here are a few ideas to get you started:
- Check your roof and drainage. Watch during fall rains to see if there are any places where water is pooling or even leaking. These issues may be minor with rain, but since water expands as it becomes ice, they will get much worse in the winter. Take the time to clear gutters, downspouts, and other areas that may prevent water from draining correctly.
- Create a snow removal plan (or update your current version). Make sure you know where you’ll put removed snow and make sure all your equipment is maintained and working. You don’t want to find out on the day of the first storm that your blower isn’t operational or that your shovels are all broken. This is also the time to research and stock up on deicing chemicals. There are lots of options, but again, waiting until the first storm puts you at a disadvantage.
- Check your building’s exterior. Look for cracks or other damage in masonry, mortar, and weather stripping. Then get it all fixed! Don’t wait until you get moisture in there and then have to deal with the damage that comes when that water freezes. When it’s time to turn on the heat, keep those nasty drafts out and your energy use down.
- Inspect interior windows and doors. Check all seals and weather stripping. The most energy efficient windows will be worthless if there are leaks in the seals! Here are some step by step instructions if you haven’t done this before. Also be sure that you can’t see daylight or feel air movement under and around your doors. Of course, once you’ve checked it all, make the necessary repairs. You can even consider adding an extra layer to internal windows with a special plastic wrap to keep energy use (and bills) down. This is a great option for warehouses and other buildings that don’t need to look polished—inexpensive, too!
- Schedule an inspection of your HVAC system. The changing of the seasons is a great time to tackle this project. This will help identify any potential issues going into colder weather before the problem is expensive or leads to your business shutting down for lack of heat!
Don’t wait. Now is the time to get started so you can be ready when those first flakes fall. Get everything in order before it’s too cold and too late. Good luck!
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