Posts in category 'Helpful Home Ideas'
Subscribe and receive email notifications of new blog posts.
RSS Feed
- 2026 | 24 Posts
- 2025 | 103 Posts
- 2024 | 110 Posts
- 2023 | 72 Posts
- 2022 | 52 Posts
- 2021 | 70 Posts
- 2020 | 84 Posts
- 2019 | 38 Posts
- 2018 | 48 Posts
- 2017 | 39 Posts
- 2016 | 31 Posts
- 2015 | 10 Posts
20
Tips to Get Your Bend Home Ready for Winter
Is Your Bend Oregon Home Ready for Winter?
For those of us who lived through the winter of 2017 in Central Oregon, we remember how winter weather can be hazardous to your home. When the temperature drops and snow accumulates, having prepared your home can ensure you and your property remain safe and warm throughout the winter.
Here are some of the best tips to get your home ready for winter:
- Blow out sprinklers and turn the system off.
- Store hoses in the garage and install covers over your outdoor faucets.
- Store patio furniture in dry location.
- Seal cracks around doors and windows.
- Clean your rain gutters and ensure they are working well.
- Have your roof and chimney inspected by a professional and the chimney cleaned.
- Make sure your attic space is sufficiently insulated to help avoid heat loss and ice dams.
- Have your furnace serviced.
- Prune your bushes and trees and clean up any yard debris.
- Drain and refill your hot water heater.
- Install foundation vent covers and keep them on throughout the winter.
- Lube your garage door moving parts.
- Tune up your electrical panel.
- Clean your dryer vents.
- If your property has been prone to ice dams in the past, consider installing heating strips on the roof eaves.
- Line up snow shovels and snow blowers early.
- Have window scrapers, gloves and snow boots ready to go.
- Make sure you have sufficient batteries, flashlights and lanterns in the event of a prolonged power outage.
- When the snow starts falling, keep your roof from accumulating too much snow which can result in ice dams.
Although heavy snow accumulation in Bend is not a normal occurrence, we have had a couple of exceptional winters in the last few years. Heavy snow can happen again. But by preparing for it ahead of time, the need to mitigate its impact on your home can be greatly diminished and your enjoyment of winter significantly increased.
7
Going Back To Work Soon? Training Tips For Handling Dog Separation Anxiety
Bend Oregon Residents Love Their Dogs
As more and more states are beginning the reopening process after the initial COVID-19 pandemic shut downs, many of you may be finally getting ready to go back to work after months in quarantine. Being dog lovers ourselves, we know how much people love their furry companions and we are sure the dogs have enjoyed having you all home during this time (we're sure the cats have been just waiting for you to finally leave!). However, with your pets being so used to you being around all the time during these last few months, the change to a work schedule may get very tough on them and separation anxiety may begin to show. We love our pets and want them to be confident, happy, well adjusted animals and that includes when you are away. Wondering how to start getting them ready for your upcoming work schedule? Here are some step by step training tips...
10
What You Can Do go Get Your Central Oregon House Ready to Sell
Thinking of Selling Your Bend Oregon Home?
Some Highlights:
- Believe it or not, there are lots of things you can do to prep your house for a sale without even going to the store.
- Your real estate plans don't have to be completely on hold even while we've hit the pause button on other parts of daily life.
- Tackling small projects from cleaning the corners you may normally skip to tidying up your yard are easy and necessary wins if you're thinking of listing your house and making a move.
12
What is Snow Load and How Can You Keep Your Bend Home Safe?
In light of the collapse of the Highland school gym roof last night, the concerns regarding snow load have really hit home. So what is snow load and what can a Bend homeowner do about it? According to AccuWeather, a cubic foot of dry snow weights about 6 to 8 pounds, while one cubic foot of packed snow could weigh up to 20 pounds. The same volume of ice can weigh three times this amount. Roofs are engineered to handle a certain amount of weight based on their pitch (inches the roof rises vertically for every 12 inches it extends horizontally). The steeper the pitch, the less likely snow will accumulate on the roof. Homes with low pitch or flat roofs are at increased risk to accumulate snow and collapse under the snow's weight. The average Bend residential roof is engineered to handle 25 pounds per square foot - which is typically about 20 inches of snow. Older homes, built before building codes were incorporated in Bend in the late 1960's may not meet this minimum standard. When w...