What is that creeping into your house, causing a shiver to crawl up your spine? In most cases, it is likely a whole plethora of air leaks. Air leaks are a serious business. If you have allergies, they bring more allergens in. If you are trying to cool the house down or warm it up, they will work against you. They can even let the weather do its worst damage, spreading damp and mold through the home. So, if you want to win control back of the home, what should you do?
A pane in the neck
Where there are potential openings in the home, that is where you are most likely to find those air leaks. In particular, the windows and doors of the home need a lot of focus. You can spend time caulking those gaps or you can get them all fixed at once by getting more efficient window replacement options like Renewal by Andersen windows. Custom fittings also make sure that you are not only creating more air leaks by choosing windows that do not fully fit the dimensions they are supposed to. Unless it is properly measured, a window might not be a proper fit even if it looks like it is.
Keep your chin up
It is not all-horrible news. You can easily find some of the most easily fixed air leaks by starting from the top of the home and working your way down. The roof is the source of some of the most dangerous leaks. As well as the airflow from the outside, a missing or damaged tile can also let in a lot more rain, which causes damp to spread from the top down. It can get so bad that it soaks your insulation, ruining it. However, you can perform a DIY inspection of the roof easily enough as shown by Houselogic. Bear in mind that sometimes roof tiles need to be replaced, too. Nevertheless, once you have replaced them, you are unlikely to have to do it again in your lifetime unless they are damaged.
Closing the gap
Houses age and, as they do, even the strongest parts of them tend to crumble over time. Yet we think they are strong as ever so we tend to neglect the repairs they need. That is most true of the walls more than any other part of the home. However, there is a lot you can do to fix those walls and plug up any holes that have grown in them over time. With polyurethane foam for the bigger cracks and caulk for any under a ¼-inch wide, you can get all the odd leaks and keep it looking at new with a coat of paint.
It is a good idea to check for any major air leaks at least twice a year. You want to make sure that it is good and sealed before the summer so all your fuel bills are not being hiked by inefficient AC. Then you want to make sure that your home is ready to take the brunt of the autumn and winter without letting the cold, wet weather in.
