Winterization

Long Island winters are mostly gentle — until a nor'easter parks over Nassau County and the temperature doesn't clear 20° for a week. Winterizing is cheap insurance for exactly that week.

The one that really bites: outdoor faucets

Water left in an outdoor spigot or the pipe behind it freezes, expands, and splits the pipe — usually inside the wall, and you find out in April when you attach the hose and water pours into the basement. The fix is ten minutes per faucet: shut the interior valve, drain the line, disconnect and drain hoses.

The rest of the fall list

• [✓]Weatherstripping — doors that swelled all summer shrink in dry winter air, opening gaps that leak heat. Old wood doors and original sashes are the usual suspects.
• [✓]Caulk check — around window trim and anywhere pipes or cables enter the house. Small gaps are drafts; they're also how mice come in from the cold.
• [✓]HVAC filter — swap it before the heating season starts working it hard.
• [✓]Final gutter clear — after the last leaf drop, so meltwater has somewhere to go all winter.
• [✓]Door sweeps & thresholds — if you can see daylight under a door, you're heating the outdoors.