As summer quickly transitions to fall, you begin to realize that winter will soon be here. And, in order to ensure that you and your home make it through the winter successfully, you will need to start getting ready sooner rather than later. The backyard is one of the best places to start this transition toward winterizing. After all, your kids are in school all day long and likely will have limited time to play in the backyard anymore, allowing you to get all of your needed work done without complaint or interruption. Get to know some of the ways that you can get your backyard ready for winter this year. Then, you can be sure you are completely prepared when fall becomes winter.

Swimming Pool Repairs and Winterizing

Your inground pool will need to be repaired and winterized before the cold weather rolls around again. Leaving cracks or other damage in your pool until next spring or summer when you plan on using your pool could potentially lead to disaster.

A small crack now can become exponentially larger after your pool surfaces expand and contract with the change in weather and become harder (and more brittle) when the ground freezes during the winter. So, the first thing you want to do is get your pool inspected and have any swimming pool repairs performed early in the fall.

The same pool contractor can then winterize your pool. This involves draining out all of the water from the pool itself, but also shutting down pumps and electrical systems and ensuring water does not remain in the pipes, filters, or other peripheral equipment during the winter months, causing damage from the freezing process. Finally, they will place a protective cover over your pool and secure it so that your pool remains insulated and free of snow and other debris during the winter months.

Shut Off Outdoor Faucets

Along the same lines, you do not want to leave your outdoor faucets (both in the front and backyard) on and filled with water during the winter months. If you do not turn off the water supply to those outdoor faucets, you run a higher risk of having the pipes that run to the inside of your home freeze during the winter.

When pipes freeze, not only is your access to running water cut off, but the pipes may burst later from the pressure created as water expands into ice, causing flooding and water damage in your home. As such, you need to find the shut-off valve for each of your outdoor faucets and turn the water supply off to those fixtures.

Allow any remaining water to drain out of the faucet over the course of a few days. Then, if you want to be extra careful to prevent freezing, you can place a simple faucet cover over those outdoor fixtures and they will be ready to last through the winter.

Now that you know where to start in getting your backyard ready for winter, you can begin the process as soon as possible. The sooner you get started, the more likely your projects will be complete before the first freeze and/or the first snowfall of the year.