North Hampshire Lifestyle Nov - Dec 2022

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PREPARE YOUR HOME FOR WINTER Taking on some basic maintenance can help prepare your home for winter as the changing weather conditions can cause costly damage. With a few easy steps you can be winter ready for the long, cold months ahead... 1. SERVICE YOUR BOILER Your boiler should be serviced annually to make sure that it’s still safe to use and works efficiently. Ideally this should be done before the heating season. This will give you some time to make sure everything is still working before the days get too cold! There are other ways to ensure your central heating is efficient. Bleeding radiators, to release trapped air, is a DIY task. While power flushing, a job best left to the plumbers and heating engineers, can ensure a build up of sludge is removed from radiators. 2. INSULATE YOUR LOFT SPACE If you haven’t already insulated this space, or you have poorly performing insulation that has slumped over time, tackling this project will quickly pay dividends over the colder months. 3. CHECK YOUR GUTTERING An essential task when preparing your home for winter — look for leaves, moss and other debris and clear gutters and downpipes to prevent blockages in heavy rain and snow. Cracked, missing or damaged rainwater goods or brackets should ideally be replaced, too. Leaky rainwater goods, can, over a period of time lead to damp, so it’s important to make these cheap fixes now — rather than making costly remedial work at a later date. 4. GET YOUR CHIMNEY SWEPT The winter weather can cause damage to your chimney, so the pre-winter months are a great time to get your chimney professionally swept. Sweeping will improve the efficiency of your chimney by ensuring any potential blockages, such as nests or a build up soot, are removed before you start using your open fire or log burning stove. 5. INSULATE YOUR PIPES Insulating (or lagging) your pipes can reduce the loss of heating and also prevent them freezing and bursting. This is particularly important when plumbing is located in cold areas such as in uninsulated loft spaces and garages. Keep the heating at a low level (above 4°C) even when you’re away from the property, as this will help maintain a consistent temperature around the pipes. Just in case of emergencies, know where your stopcock is to enable you to turn the cold water system off and limit further damage. The stopcock is usually located under your kitchen sink and normally looks like a tap/lever. 6. MAKE SURE YOUR OIL TANK IS TOPPED UP If your property has an oil tank, make sure it’s topped up for winter. Doing so will help you avoid peak winter prices and make sure you don’t run out of oil through the colder months. 7. GET YOUR OUTDOOR SPACE READY Making sure your garden is clear, clean and ready for winter is a good idea. Secure anything that could be swept away by the wind such as greenhouses, plant pots and wheelie bins. 8. GET YOUR ROOF CHECKED Roof slates/tiles can become loose throughout the year and this could lead to leaks through the winter. It may be a good idea to get your roof inspected by a professional to make sure there are no areas that need fixing before the colder months. 9. DRAUGHT PROOF WINDOWS, DOORS AND FLOORS With current energy prices rises, undertaking draught proofing measures can be a relatively simple and costeffective way of improving your home’s thermal performance. Measures include insulating loft hatches, adding draught proofing strips to doors, and blocking up unused chimneys. Some tasks can take minutes — others, such as insulating beneath timber suspended ground floors, are more invasive and will require considerably more work. 10. MAKE SURE YOUR PROPERTY IS INSURED One of the most important things to consider when heading into winter is whether you have home insurance. The winter months bring darker nights which lead to higher crime rates, plus the UK weather obviously starts declining in the winter. Not only will most home insurers provide cover for things like theft, but also fire and flood too. 26 | www.minervamagazines.co.uk
GIVING COUNT With Christmas around the corner, our regular contributor Matt Biggs gives us some tips on what to buy the gardener in your life... Giving gifts at Christmas is always both a pleasure and a puzzlewe want the recipients to enjoy what we give and, perhaps this year more than most, we want the gifts to be both valued and valuable. Thoughtful gardening gifts can fulfil both of these criteria, so here are a few suggestions: A subscription to a gardening magazine is a terrific gift for either a keen gardener or a new gardener – it lasts all year, has seasonal tips and ideas and is something to look forward to each month, what’s not to like! Membership of a local gardening club, or a gardening course or day is a really good idea too – there are lots of options from learning how to prune to a whole bee keeping course, just ensure you know the particular interest of the person concerned and the choice is yours. For people who may be house bound or less mobile, how about giving them a card with a little message in to the effect of –‘ This card entitles you to a day out at a garden centre, perhaps with coffee or lunch added to be taken during the next 6 months, and sign it – that way it can be taken in better weather or when the person is feeling up to going out and gives something to look forward to. Trees – fruit trees, ornamental trees, big trees, little trees – we know how important they are, and we know we need them so either a gardening gift voucher or indeed a tree in a pot to grow on, just ensure the trees eventual size is suitable for the space and give a gift that really will last. Thinking slightly outside of the box but for someone who maybe is having trouble keeping up with the basic garden tasks, how about buying them a few hours of a professional gardener in their area. That way the big tasks such as the autumn clear up, planting up of pots, grass maintenance etc can be done for them, allowing them to do the things that they can do and enjoy. There are magazines, there are books, there are tools, there are trugs and mugs and gloves – the list is endless so enjoy choosing and giving a gardening gift this year. To find out more about Matt visit his website matthewbiggs.com Bourne Buildings Ltd THE LARGEST SHOWSITE IN THE UK WITH OVER 200 BUILDINGS, 5,000 STONE ORNAMENTS & 100 FURNITURE SETS ON DISPLAY Set in a magical landscape of water and wildlife, Bourne Buildings is not your typical garden buildings showsite. Well known for its vast selection of garden buildings and expert advice, Bourne Buildings offer standard, as well as made-to-order designs of varying qualities and styles, fit for all budgets. Our complete range of services include product installation, base laying and a re-felting service. Visit our showsite to see an impressive array of stone ornaments, including eye-catching armillary sphere sundials, and over 100 small garden furniture sets. On display at our showsite in Farnham, we have over: • 60 Sheds • 35 Greenhouses • 60 Summer houses • 20 Garden Offices & Garden Rooms • 35 Playhouses • 8 Garages Opening hours 10AM - 4PM Mon/Thu/Fri/Sat/Sun CLOSED TUESDAY & WEDNESDAYS 01252 718481 sales@bournebuildings.co.uk www.bournebuildings.co.uk Bourne Buildings Ltd, 39-43 Guildford Road, Farnham, Surrey GU9 9PY www.minervamagazines.co.uk | 27
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North Hampshire Lifestyle Nov - Dec 2022

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