Winterizing Tips From The Big Apple Courtesy of Just Venting

Welcome to winter 2010! Sure, it’s only October, but the leaves are changing, the temperature is dropping and you can be sure that snow is on the way. In honor of the coming season, Just Venting brings you this advice on how to winterize your buildings, courtesy of a group that probably knows more about buildings than anyone else – the government of the City of New York.

The Big Apple’s Department of Buildings suggests a number of things every building owner can do to make sure tenants and building occupants are comfortable and utility bills are as low as possible. Here’s a summary of their recommendations:

Insulate attics, windows and doors. Heat escapes through every part of a building but especially through the roof of a building. Insulate between your roof and ceiling to keep the cold out and the heat in. Seal and weatherproof doors and windows to eliminate cold drafts. Heat escapes even through closed doors and windows (okay, not as much as when they are open, but still — it escapes).

Maintain your heating equipment. Make sure that it is cleaned and any needed repairs done by qualified, licensed professionals. Always be proactive about repairs and replace worn or broken parts immediately, before the cold and snow come. Clean boilers, chillers and any rooftop equipment before it gets so cold people will tend to stay indoors.

Install carbon monoxide detectors to augment your smoke detectors and make sure they have fresh batteries. A good rule of thumb is to replace batteries every time you change to and from daylight savings time.

Clear snow from your roof to keep accumulated weight from causing structural damage to both the roof and the building below it. Be especially vigilant if you have a flat roof, because snow won’t slide off of it as it would on a pitched roof. Make sure your gutters and downspouts are clear and free of leaves and debris so water will flow freely from your roof when it does melt.

Protect your pipes and water meters from freezing. In many places building owners are responsible for keeping their utility meters from freezing, so if pipes and meters are against an outside wall, insulate that area. The same applies to water pipes, which often run in basements and crawl spaces. Since most people don’t keep a close eye on them, they can damaged by the cold and leak for days or even weeks before being discovered. Leaking water can lead to mold and other damage which can cause tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages or lost revenue.

Rich Silverman
Goodway Blogging Team

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons under a GNU Free documentation license

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