Winter Tips for Historic Home Preservation with Glenn Faris

Winter is here, and the cold is settling in. When it comes to working on your historic home during the winter, where should you even start? While some projects should be saved for spring and summer (like painting the exterior of your home or opening walls), some projects are great for the winter, including planning for those big projects you'll do in the warmer months!
 
I talked with Glenn Faris, History and Preservation Coordinator for Franklin Heritage Inc., who has some tips for winterizing and home projects to work on while it's cold outside. Here are a few ideas to get you started.
 
Insulating your home
In the winter, it's easier to know where the gaps are in your home. You can feel the cold air draft around doors and windows. You can also monitor how often your furnace kicks on. If you have an older home, you should evaluate your house’s insulated. Older homes don't always have the best insulation, or sometimes they’re not insulated at all. A quick pop-up in your attic space can tell you a lot. Most homes have cellulose or blown insulation in their attics. Over time, it compresses to where it is not as effective. Visit your attic and see what you have in your rafters and think about adding more if you see any gaps. Just make sure to research the kind of insulation you need. There is faced and unfaced insulation. Faced insulation has a moisture barrier, which can trap unwanted moisture in your insulation and cause problems if not used properly. If you have cellulose or blown-in insulation in your attic, you want to avoid putting down a moisture barrier on top of that.
 
Don't go overboard on insulating, either. In some historic homes, if you add insulation, your house can't breathe, and your siding will rot off. So insulating is good, but knowing your house and what kind of insulation you need is better.
 
You can also work with energy tax credits if you're insulating your house. All those receipts and upgrades can go toward a tax credit and can act as a write-off on your taxes.
 
Looking for drafts
When it is windy and cold outside, you'll notice when door jambs or windows must be resealed. If you notice cold air in places, like underneath a door, this could be a good time to replace the jam. Sometimes, it is as simple as using silicone calk or putting a blanket in front of a drafty spot.

 Ventilation
Another good thing to do is to ensure your house's ventilation is working correctly. Whether it is the range hood above your stove or the vents in your bathroom, knowing where they vent to, and if they are vented correctly, could save you a lot of money and time later. If a bathroom vent is vented into your attic space, you release all that moisture into your attic. Depending on how your attic is ventilated, this could freeze in the winter and then mold, causing a lot of problems in the spring and summer. Ensuring all of your home's vents are clean is another good task to add to your maintenance list.
 
Gutter cleaning
It's no one's favorite, but gutter cleaning is an essential outside project leading into the winter. After the leaves fall, it's critical that all of the debris is removed before the rain, snow, and ice sets in so your roof can drain the water properly. When your gutters are full, they freeze in the winter. When it does warm up, the contents of your gutters thaw and possibly spill over, which can cause that water to run into your home. It can also put more weight on them than necessary, and the gutters won't last as long. You can clean them as you put up or take down your Christmas lights, but make sure that they are clean.
 
Electrical upgrades and basic rewiring
Basic rewiring and electrical upgrades can also be good projects in the winter. Do you have a new light that you'd like to hang in your dining room? Now is a great time to finally put it up. If you have an unmarked breaker box, you could spend an afternoon with a with a friend or an unfriendly teenaged helper getting it labeled correctly.
 
Painting
Winter is a nice time to paint the inside of your home. You'll generally have standard humidity, and it's an inside project that can be completed in a reasonable timeframe.

Planning for the bigger projects
Get a plan together that includes everything from budget to research. Curl up, visit the websites you need, call your contractors for quotes, and look at materials. If you are doing a project yourself, what tools will you need, or what obstacles and roadblocks may pop up? Ripping into a project doesn't always bring the greatest outcomes, so spending time creating a roadmap for the year ahead is a good place to start.
 
Develop a maintenance plan
Similar to planning your future projects, if you don't have a maintenance plan for your house, the colder months are a great time to develop one (or to use someone else's copy). With a maintenance plan, you have a roadmap for where you're going and what areas of your home need upkeep throughout the year. If you need help, let us at FHI know. We'll help you develop one for your home!
 
What to avoid in the winter
It is advised to avoid large projects that will spread or may cause bigger roadblocks later on.
 
"One of the things I have on my to-do list is to re-sand my floors," said Glenn. "That is a spring project, where I can open up all my windows, let that dust roll out, and let the floor cure correctly."
 
Also, avoid opening walls and doing other major renovations that could cause further complications while it's cold outside, especially if you are living in your home while restoring or renovating it.
 
Have you purchased a historic home? Glenn and the team of Franklin Heritage can help you develop a restoration and maintenance plan. Contact Glenn Faris at [email protected] or reach out to us on Facebook.