The Home Year

Mid-winter is peak runtime and a loaded filter starves airflow, stresses the blower, and can trip the furnace on its high limit.

Ice dams build where attic heat meets snow at the cold eave. Pulling that band after big snowfalls removes the raw material.

A midwinter melt runs off frozen ground straight to the weeping tile. Confirm the pump kicks in and the discharge is not iced shut.

Winter is peak dryer season and lint fires peak with it. Clear the duct from drum to hood, and drying times drop too.

Lines in exterior walls and under sinks freeze first. In a hard snap, open cabinet doors and let the far tap run a pencil-thin stream.

Coastal systems arrive back to back in January. One blocked downspout sends a storm's worth of water straight to the foundation.

Short cycling, rattles, or rooms going cold are early warnings. A service call now beats an emergency one at minus 30.

Thick ice at the roof edge backs meltwater under the shingles. Inside, watch top-floor ceilings and exterior wall corners for stains.

Bare stripes on a snowy roof map your heat loss. If the attic has less than about 35 cm of insulation, topping up pays fast.

Dust on elements and grilles chokes heat output when you need it most. Ten minutes with the vacuum buys real warmth back.

CO risk peaks in heating season. Press the test button on each unit and vacuum the vents so the sensors read clean air.

Roofers, pavers, and landscapers fill up by April. Quotes come faster, and often cheaper, before the spring rush.

Half a metre of dense snow is a structural load. New ceiling cracks or doors that suddenly stick are signals to clear it.

Late winter is the coast's pruning window, before buds break. Treat moss on the roof now so spring rain rinses it clean.

Pour a bucket of water into the pit until the float trips. Check the discharge line is clear and throws water well away from the wall.

Daylight time starts the second Sunday of March. Put fresh batteries in every alarm and replace any unit older than ten years.

Banked snow against the wall becomes a week of standing water in the melt. Shovel it downslope and chip downspout outlets clear.

A seized main valve turns a burst pipe into a flooded floor. Close it fully and reopen it twice so it moves when it matters.

Scale and standing water foul the pad by spring. Clean it now and close the damper once overnight lows hold above freezing.

Coastal lawns wake in March. Set the blade high for the first pass and rake out moss while it lifts easily.

Scan with binoculars for lifted tabs, missing shingles, and granules at the downspouts. Small flashing gaps now are ceiling stains by June.

Ground should fall away from the house, and downspouts should discharge two metres out. Most wet basements start right here.

A bib that froze over winter sprays inside the wall the first time it runs. Open the valve slowly with eyes on the line below.

Cooling techs book out after the first 30 degree day. A spring service catches low refrigerant while it is still cheap to fix.

Once the lawn firms up and starts growing, rake out winter kill and overseed thin spots. Seed thrown on mud just feeds the birds.

Fresh oil, a clean plug, and a sharp edge before first cut. A dull blade tears grass and browns the lawn within days.

Freeze-thaw widens hairline cracks in walks, steps, and parging. Seal the small ones and get stepped foundation cracks assessed.

Test it on a mild day. Weak airflow, warm air, or ice on the line gets fixed in days in May and in weeks in July.

Hard freezes linger into May on the prairies and later up north. Open bibs slowly and check interior lines for winter damage.

Heads knocked askew water the sidewalk and a cracked line runs up the bill all season. Watch each zone run before trusting the timer.

In by late May beats the first heat wave rush. Tilt the unit slightly out so condensate drains, and seal the side wings.

Push a screwdriver into posts, stair stringers, and ledger trim. Soft wood and wobbly rails are cheap fixes before the season starts.

Prairie and northern lawns green up in May. Rake out winter kill, overseed bare patches, and feed once growth is clearly moving.

Wash the core and filters, then set the unit for the open-window season. A clogged HRV moves no air and wastes the heat it recovers.

If water no longer beads, the wood is drinking. You need two dry days and mild temperatures, easiest to find in June.

Asphalt wants sealing every three or four years, above 10 degrees with no rain for two days. Fill the cracks first or it is cosmetic.

A dusty fan moves half the air it should. Wash the grilles and the range hood filter so cooking smoke and shower steam leave the house.

Below-grade air turns damp as humidity arrives. Hold 50 percent or lower to keep mould, dust mites, and that basement smell away.

Insulation pushed over the soffits blocks airflow, cooks shingles, and loads the AC. From inside, daylight at the eaves means air moves.

Carpenter ants, wasp starts, and soft trim all show up in June. Knock down nests while they are small and pull mulch off the siding.

An annual flush clears sediment that steals efficiency and shortens tank life. Lift the relief lever briefly and confirm it reseats.

Wood needs a summer stacked off the ground, top covered, sides open. Green wood burned in January means creosote and weak heat.

Poplar fluff and clippings blanket the coil by July. Cut power at the disconnect, rinse gently from the inside out, keep a metre clear.

July and August are the coast's reliable dry weeks and the north's only warm ones. Scrape, prime, and paint while the wood is dry.

One slow weekly soak beats daily sprinkling. Mature trees shading the house are worth more than anything else growing on the lot.

Warm air condenses on cool concrete. A musty smell, white mineral bloom, or damp corners point to ventilation or drainage work.

Lubricate rollers, hinges, and the spring, then test reverse with a board under the door. It is the heaviest moving thing you own.

Summer cloudbursts flood more basements than spring melt in many cities. Pull the pump's plug to prove the battery backup works.

Central air pushes the whole summer through the same furnace filter. A loaded filter ices the coil and drives up the power bill.

Heating techs are quiet in August and slammed by October. Annual service is also the condition most warranties quietly hinge on.

Last winter's creosote is fuel for a chimney fire. Sweeps book out weeks before burning season, and insurers ask for the paperwork.

Warm soil and cooling nights from late August to mid September grow grass better than any other weeks of the Canadian year.

Rodents head indoors as nights cool. Stuff steel wool and seal anything a pencil fits through, especially where lines enter the wall.

Freeze-up arrives in September. Caulking and paint need warm, dry days to cure, and those days are already running out.

A burst supply hose floods at full mains pressure and is one of the most common water claims. Braided stainless costs about twenty dollars.

Limbs over the roof drop the leaves you will dig from the gutters in October, and they hand squirrels a bridge to the attic.

Run heat for ten minutes. A brief burning-dust smell is normal, anything more gets fixed while the weather is still kind.

Prairie and northern hard freezes land in September. A compressed-air blowout protects buried lines that draining alone misses.

Close the interior valves, open the bibs to drain, and bring hoses inside. The first hard freeze finds any line left charged.

September rain wakes coastal lawns from summer dormancy. Seed and feed now and skip the spring scramble entirely.

Fertilize about three weeks before the ground usually freezes. The fall feed builds roots and buys next spring's green-up.

Close each door on a strip of paper. If it slides out, the seal is flat. Foam and sweeps are cheap and the furnace notices.

Wash the core, fit clean filters, and set the winter humidity level. Tight modern houses depend on it running right all season.

A unit left in past the first frost leaks heat all winter. Clean the filter and coil and store it upright and dry.

Wait for most leaves, not all of them. Full troughs overflow at the foundation and freeze into ice shelves with the first snap.

The coast's wet season opens in October before leaf drop ends. Clear everything now, test the sump, and plan one more pass in December.

Done before Halloween in the temperate belt, this is a five minute job. A split bib hides all winter and floods the wall in spring.

Book the blowout before the first minus 5 night. The backflow preventer sits above grade, freezes first, and costs the most.

Fresh fuel, a test start, and spare shear pins in October beat a pull-cord fight in the dark during the first real storm.

Prairie and northern winter air is desert dry. Clean the unit, fit a new pad, and start near 35 percent before static and cracked trim.

Drop the blade for the final cuts and fertilize while the grass is still green. This feeding does more than any spring one will.

Leaves and the first wet snow pool in the wells and find the sill. Clear the gravel, check the drain, and cover before winter.

Clocks fall back the first Sunday of November. Fresh batteries in every smoke and CO alarm, and check the replace-by dates.

Health Canada recommends a three month test in the closed-house season. Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in Canada.

Oaks and coastal maples drop late. One last clearing before freeze-up means January meltwater has somewhere to go.

The coast only freezes a few nights a year, and that is enough. The December 2022 cold snap burst pipes across the Lower Mainland.

Once the furnace runs daily, dry air follows. Start near 35 percent and turn it down whenever windows begin to fog.

Markers go in before the ground freezes solid. Buy ice melt now, the first storm clears every shelf in town by noon.

Run the mower's carb dry or stabilize the fuel, and bring batteries indoors. Ethanol gas left sitting is a guaranteed spring no-start.

Coastal windstorms and prairie cold snaps both cut power. Check flashlights and water, and know how you would keep one room warm.

High-efficiency furnaces and dryers vent at the sidewall. Drifts can shut the furnace down or push carbon monoxide back inside.

Frost on nail tips or sheathing marks warm moist air leaking up from the house. Find the leaks now, before a thaw turns them to stains.

December and January lead the year in home fires. A metre of clearance around heaters, candles attended, and the tree never dry.

Aim near 35 percent and go lower in deep cold. Persistent condensation rots sills and feeds mould behind curtains and blinds.

Southeasters peel shingles and lift flashing. After each big blow, check from the ground for lifted tabs and hanging branches.

The hatch is often a bare square in an insulated ceiling, leaking warm moist air. Weatherstrip the lip and fasten batts on top.

Heat trace fails silently. Check the indicator light or feel for warmth along the run before the deepest cold tests every line.