Home Maintenance for California Winters

When you live in the Bay Area you know that winter here will be very different from the experience of those who live in the Northeast or Midwest. You might have chosen to live near San Francisco for that very reason. However, california winters do come, even if it might be in a different form. Preparing your home to experience California winters will be important to keeping your sanity and your home and family safe. Here are some things to consider.

What’s a Typical Winter Like?

Anyone who has lived in the Bay Area for a while can tell you exactly what to expect for the winter season. But for newcomers just buying their California home, it can be helpful to understand the climate in the area a little better.

According to the current climate data, the area has an average high of 57 and low of 46 in December. The temperature remains pretty even throughout January and February as well. All three months have an average of about 10 days of precipitation. If temperatures drop, that could mean snow. Of course, we don’t want to get your hopes up, it doesn’t snow that often and most of the time it happens in the hills and mountains.

Worst Case Scenario

Winter storms in San Francisco may look very different from those that happen in places like Portland, Maine or Green Bay, Wisconsin, but that doesn’t minimize the situation if there is an emergency. In the area, it’s more common that a winter storm could cause flooding, downed trees, and landslides.

Like most cities, the San Francisco Public Works department provides instructions for residents to be better prepared in case of a winter storm.

Winter Home Checklist

Just because you don’t have the same winter risks as other areas of the country doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be prepared. If nothing else, the winter could signal a time for you to take care of those annual maintenance items on your list.

Your checklist:  

• Get your furnace serviced
• Clean and maintain your fireplace
• Inspect your water heater
• Change batteries in your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors
• Weatherproof doors and windows
• Check your attic

Caring for Your Yard

This may also be the time of year you want to do some yard maintenance. If you have trees shedding leaves, you can rake those up and add them to your compost pile. Or maybe you need to take another look at your garden.

Of course, there is some wisdom to leaving your garden be for the winter. Did you know that local wildlife, specifically birds and bees, rely on gardens for food and shelter in the wintertime? Those are some pretty compelling reasons to not do any hard labor in your garden before winter sets in.

Do you want to know more about winter in your new California home? Zachery Adam of GoPrime Mortgage of California spent more than 28 years living in the Bay Area and can give you a well-rounded approach to buying your next home.

Contact the team at GoPrime Mortgage of California to learn more about buying your next home in the Bay Area. Contact Zachery Adam and the team at GoPrime.