The Fall Months are upon us and it's time to start getting our houses ready for the winter. Even though we don't get the Hard winters that other places on the East coast do, it is still wise to get your make sure your house is properly insulated, gutters are cleaned, Oil or Gas tank is filled, and have some snow shovels on hand just in case..

OK let's look at what you should be aware of before the cold gets here. Fist lets check the windows, are they single pane or double pane? Do you feel drafts around them? How about when you put your hand right on the glass, is it the same temperature as out side? If so you may want to see about getting an estimate for more energy efficient windows. With the technology that goes into the Vinyl replacement windows today like Triple Pane glass, Argon and Krypton Gases, and insulated frames, you can get some very high energy efficient windows.

Insulation. Check around every receptacle and outlet in the house, you wouldn't believe the drafts that come in around them. To fix this they sell insulated gaskets for the specific plugs and receptacle that you have, your local hardware store should have these in stock. Next check the insulation in your Attic and Crawl space if you have one. This is not really a concern in newer homes, but in older ones it can be a big problem. If you need to have your Attic insulated you might want to check into the new Spray Foam insulation, it is far superior to standard Fiberglass insulation. Let us know if you need a hand finding a Maryland Contractor.

Gutters- Make sure they are thoroughly cleaned before winter gets here, you should probably wait until all the leaves have fallen. If your gutters aren't clean and we get a few days of snow and ice, they will get ice built up in them and then water will wick under the shingles and you will have a major problem.