Winter home maintenance often less expensive than repairs

An unpleasant winter day can be the perfect time for a stroll around the house.

On a cold day, take a walk around the house and look at the windows and doors, said Jeff Moeslein of Legacy Remodeling in Dormont. They can tell you a lot about how well they are working.

A step outside can reveal small problems that are on their way to becoming big issues, home maintenance experts say.

Nearly everyone mentions the issue of ice dams in gutters.

Naturally, there are problems with roofs. When ice freezes in gutters and water creeps under shingles, the shingles, subroofs and even support beams can be damaged. The leaking also can ruin walls inside the home.

Tom Gallagher of Aqua-Guard Systems in Forest Hills noted that ice dam problems can result in overflows that cause wet areas around foundations. Ground-swelling from freezing combines with heaving foundations to cause bowing and cracks in walls.

Gallagher, whose company deals with those water issues, pointed out that winter is a good time to check the bottom of downspouts.

If a drain from a downspout is clogged, it will freeze at ground level because the water is not passing through it.

Freezing during the winter can be a giveaway for that issue, he says, and warrant more examination in warmer weather. One easy way to check is to put a hose at the drain and run a steady stream of water into it. If the drain is clogged, it will back up.

A better but more expensive way is to have a plumber run a camera into the water route, he says.

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Winter home maintenance often less expensive than repairs