Before You Turn the Heat On: 9 Things to Check in Your Old House, by Lyle Danforth on YouTube. 16 min 27 s.
- Video length
- 16 min 27 s
- Time to do it
- About 1 hour
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Steps
- 10
What you need
Steps
Walk each room and make sure no furniture, rugs or curtains block the registers, radiators and cold-air returns. Move anything sitting in front of them and vacuum off dust and pet hair.
Set ceiling fans to spin clockwise for winter, which pushes warm air down from the ceiling. Look for a small switch on the motor housing and run the fan on low speed.
Close an exterior door on a sheet of paper and pull. If the paper slides out easily, the seal is worn. Fit new weatherstripping or add a door sweep.
Stand back on the ground and look at the roof, ideally with binoculars. Note missing shingles, sagging lines or dark staining that could mean a leak before snow arrives.
In the attic, check for gaps around the hatch, chimney, pipes and top plates, and look for bare patches in the insulation. Leave unfamiliar insulation undisturbed.
From outside, confirm the dryer, bathroom and range exhaust flaps open freely and are clear of nests, lint and screens. Have a blocked dryer vent assessed before running the dryer again.
Open the basement windows and check that they latch shut and the glass is intact. Clear leaves, debris and standing water from the window wells so water drains away from the sill.
Read the manufacture date on every smoke and carbon monoxide alarm. Replace any unit older than 10 years and fit fresh batteries in the rest.
On a mild day, turn the heat on and let it run for 20 to 30 minutes. Walk the house and check every radiator or vent heats up, with no odd noises or smells.
Write down what you found and rank the jobs by cost and risk. Book a qualified technician for anything involving gas, wiring or a blocked exhaust.
Tips and common mistakes
Use a sturdy step ladder and keep three points of contact when you reach the attic hatch.
Photograph the attic gaps and vent flaps so a contractor can quote from the pictures.
A radiator that is hot at the top and cold at the bottom usually just needs bleeding.
Never block a cold-air return or seal a combustion vent to stop a draught.
Questions
How do I know if my attic door needs air sealing?
Feel around the frame on a windy day and look for gaps between the hatch and the trim. Weatherstripping plus a rigid insulated cover will cut most of the leak.
When should I turn the heating on?
There is no fixed date. Switch it on when rooms drop below about 18°C (65°F), or earlier if the house feels damp and cold.
How often do smoke alarms need replacing?
Replace the whole unit every 10 years from the date on the label, and change the batteries once a year or when the alarm chirps.
This guide was drafted from the video's details and general task knowledge. It has not been checked against the full video. Check the video and relevant product instructions before following a procedure. Report a correction.
