Tips for Maintaining Your Charleston Home During This Heavy Winter

After heavy snowfall this winter, you might be wondering about how you should be taking care of your Charleston Home. Here are some tips from our Warranty Manager to keep everything in check.

Today we’re delighted to be joined by assistant warranty manager Todd Hansen. Since it's been a heck of a winter this year with all the snow we’ve gotten, I wanted to talk to him about some of the questions he’s been getting.

As far as snow on the roof is concerned, this is something that’s more of a concern with older homes. In our homes, we use roof trusses that are actually designed for a heavy snow load. Our homeowners don’t have to be concerned about any kind of snow on the roof, unless we have six or eight feet up there. Most have under a foot, which isn’t anything to worry about.

Another thing we’ve noticed a lot is overflowing gutters and downspouts full of ice. Although some of the ice will melt as a result of the dark color of the roof, he recommends using some heat tape in the gutter to keep water from freezing and help it drain to the ground. It’s important to keep the ends of your gutters clear, however, to make sure water flows away from the foundation of the house. If things are backed up and water flows towards the house, that could make things dicey.

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We don’t recommend using any traditional ice melt.

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For ice and snow-packed areas, we still don’t recommend any ice melt. The freezing and thawing will cause driveways and walkways to peel off, which is called spalling. It wears away at the finish a lot faster than it should. Instead, we recommend putting down sand, gravel, or kitty litter to add traction and protect your concrete.

Finally, make sure to keep your garage swept out. You don’t want to spray it out in the winter, so use a broom or shop vac instead. In the spring, we do recommend that you hose out your garage to get any of that salt residue that’s left behind out. We also recommend caulking and sealing your driveway once things warm up.

If you have any questions for us, don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Know anyone who's interested in building a home? 

If you have any friends, family, or co-workers who are looking to own their first or second home - would you forward this message to them? We'll be happy to show them our eleven new construction home plans along with the benefits of owning a Charleston Home so they can make a decision that's right for them.

Tips for Maintaining Your Charleston Home This Winter

If you have a new home, it will start to lose moisture after a few years.
In the cold, you need that moisture to keep your home structurally sound.

When you buy one of our new homes, there is typically a lot of moisture in the home at first and it takes a while for it to dry out. However, by the second or third winter you have in the home, things will start to dry out. It’s important that you are aware of this and that you take steps to control the humidity in your home during the winter. We’ve got some things for you to look out for today that will assist you in the process.

The first thing to look out for is the settling, or drying out, of your drywall, your trim, and your wood floors. When it gets colder, the wood will start to shrink and you might see a little gap in some of the floorboards. If you have a wood floor, you don’t want your moisture reading to be any lower than 45%. If it is, you may have to invest in a humidifier.

Another thing to keep in mind in the winter is to make sure you turn on those exhaust fans when you shower. Their purpose is to help eliminate moisture content in the house. The excess humidity that comes from hot water isn’t good for the materials in your home. Too much humidity can cause damage if it sticks around too long. Let that exhaust fan run for an extra 15 minutes after you turn the shower off.

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Wood tends to dry out

and shrink in the winter.

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As the weather turns colder, you’ll also start to see some shrinkage cracks on your tile and backsplash on the counters. The backsplash has a caulked joint that can separate a bit as things dry out. You might also see some hairline cracks at the top of your ceiling. Doors may stick or rub a bit. The key to combatting this is controlling that humidity level in your home.

Finally, let’s talk about your HVAC system. The warmest areas in your home will be the areas nearest to the furnace, or the upstairs if you have a two-story home. The rooms that are furthest away from the furnace will be cooler in the winter months. As a homeowner, you will need to fine-tune and tweak the system to your liking and needs. You can close vents in some of the warmer areas to allow air to move to other parts of the home.

If you have any questions for us, don’t hesitate to give us a call or send us an email. We would love to hear from you!

Know anyone who's interested in building a home? 

If you have any friends, family, or co-workers who are looking to own their first or second home - would you forward this message to them? We'll be happy to show them our eleven new construction home plans along with the benefits of owning a Charleston Home so they can make a decision that's right for them.

Tips for Snow Removal and How to Treat Your Driveway

Before you salt your driveway and ruin the concrete, I have a few snow removal tips for you today.

I have a few snow removal tips for you today, as well as a few tips on how to salt or treat your driveway.

Hopefully, you all had time to caulk and seal your driveways before the winter weather hit. If you moved into your home in the colder season, you might not have had the opportunity to do so, but make sure that you plan ahead for next year.

Caulking and sealing your driveway helps prevent extra moisture from going down in between the control joints. Sealing also helps protect your driveway from the road salt left on your vehicle as you drive in and out of your driveway and garage.

Now, you may be tempted to use ice melt and salt on your driveway. Don’t do it. You don’t want salt of any kind on your driveway, walkway, or garage floor. Salt is very detrimental to concrete surfaces and will cause spalling on the top layer of concrete.

Instead, sprinkle a pea gravel mix or sand on your driveway and walkways.

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Before you salt your driveway and ruin the concrete, I have a few snow removal tips for you today.

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The most important thing you can do is try and remove that accumulated snow or ice as quickly as possible. Don’t let it sit there.

As the salt trucks or snow plows go up and down your street, you may wind up with some ice melt or snow pushed onto the approach area of your driveway. Remove that as soon as you can using a broom or leaf blower.

Don’t forget to sweep out your garage, too. Ice melt stuck to your vehicle will drip down onto the garage floor, so get your broom or leaf blower to take care of that as well.

If you have any other questions about protecting your home this winter, just give us a call or send us an email. We would be happy to help you!

Know anyone who's interested in building a home? 

If you have any friends, family, or co-workers who are looking to own their first or second home - would you forward this message to them? We'll be happy to show them our eight new construction home plans along with the benefits of owning a Charleston Home so they can make a decision that's right for them.