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Old Man Winter
How to Prepare Your Home for Cold Weather By Mark Stackpole
Berman, the father of two, also makes sure the kids get involved in prepping for winter. "The kids help us pack up the yard by putting away summer toys," he says. "I have two very small shovels for our two young children who always want to help Daddy, but then somehow always get distracted into making snow angels or snow forts. I relish getting out in the weather and doing some hard labor if only for an hour or two on the occasional snowy day."
Getting the children to pitch in is also important for Paul Johnson of St. Paul, Minn., the stay-at-home dad of two sons. "I have my boys chip in for as many of the house projects as possible, particularly the raking," he says. "We especially enjoy the leaf piles, of course. The boys did some monster leaps into the pile, and I had to keep refreshing it after every few jumps."
Of course, it's not all fun and games. For Johnson, getting his house ready for winter actually begins in the
summer, when he checks the caulk around doors, windows, pipe openings and any other place where cracks might have developed. Johnson spent a lot of time insulating his attic and added a lot of ventilation chutes to help keep the roof cold, which helps prevent melting snow from turning into ice dams. Replacing single-pane windows with double-pane instead is an on-going process, as is adding cold air return vents. Storm windows are installed where needed and closed everywhere else.
Since the days are so short, light is crucial to the safety of his family. "We make sure that we have motion lights outside both doors and on our front porch," Johnson says. "I wanted to make sure that my wife always came home to plenty of light."
Taking the necessary preparations can help a family not only survive the winter, but actually have some fun with it as well. "We don't see winter as a time for slowing down and missing the fun," Johnson says. "But it is definitely nice to come home to a warm and cozy house."
