The Local Life – Fall Fix-up: Plum ProExteriors

Well, we have Patrick's meeting from Plum Pro Exteriors here today to help us make really good decisions this fall to avoid problems this winter when it comes to the home. Patrick, I see a window and I have a feeling this is a great place for us to start around the house. Yeah, absolutely. In New England, one of the things we hate in the winter is high energy bills and feeling cold in our own homes. Yes. And so the windows, that represents the most openings in the house and typically the ones that we pay the least attention to. Okay. So when you're in your home, if you want to check your windows, walk Walk around, make sure they all operate properly. Can you open them? Can you close them? Do they lock? If those things aren't happening, you already know your window is not working properly and you're definitely paying more for energy than you should. All right. Beyond that, there's a couple closer things to look at. So with windows, they all have what's called weather stripping. The weather stripping is what helps weatherproof and seal where the window opens and closes and where the two sashes, the two pieces of the window, meet. So if you look at your windows and they don't have weather stripping, that's obviously a red flag. But a good way to test it is called the dollar bill test. So when you close the window, if you pinch a dollar bill between these two sashes, the two pieces that open and close, lock your window. If you lock that window and you can pull this dollar bill out, your windows are drafty. Okay, that's great. And I like that it's an easy visual cue to alert you you're losing money. Real simple. Almost as easy as, you know, if you see the curtains moving, feel the draft sitting there. Right, right. Okay, so what else on the exterior of the house are warning signs we may have some bigger problems? Yeah, so when you're walking around the outside of your house, one, make sure your gutters and your downspouts are attached properly, water's flowing properly. You know, with all the snow, especially this past winter we had, we got a lot of phone calls from people with big ice dams. They get even bigger and really start to break that roof down if the gutters are already clogged. So preventing ice dams starts with keeping clean gutters and making sure the Make sure the downspouts are getting water away from the foundation. From siding, take a look at if there's any breaks in seams, if panels are pulling away. Just think to yourself, if I sprayed this with a hose, would water be getting in behind? It's really the easiest way to think about it and if the answer is yes, you probably should address it. Immediately, right? The clock is ticking and that's a great opportunity to give you guys the call. Yep. Yeah, absolutely. What's the best way to get in touch with you? PlumProExteriors.com, our website. You can literally go on, put in what your project is, and we can schedule a consultant to come out. Or on social media, you can message us as well. Plum Pro Exteriors. Amazing. Thank you so much. This is a great tip. Yeah, it makes things easy. Awesome, Patrick. Thanks. Thank you. The Local Life is brought to you by Plum Pro Exteriors. If you want to be featured on The Local Life, head to our website, boston25news.com slash thelocallife.