Winter Is Coming (and It’s Not Messing Around): How to Get Your Home Ready Before the Frost Bites Back

David Cousins
Nov 17
2 min read

If you’ve ever had your furnace quit on a January night in Iowa, you already know — winter doesn’t play fair. Before Mother Nature starts throwing snowballs and ice daggers at your gutters, let’s give your home the TLC it deserves.

Here’s your no-nonsense, laugh-through-the-cold guide from One Vision Inspections LLC — where we help you see your investment clearly… even through frost-covered windows.

1. Seal It Up Like Grandma’s Jam Jars

Drafty windows? Gaps under doors? That’s basically your hard-earned heat paying rent outside. Grab a candle or an incense stick — if the smoke wiggles near a window, you’ve found an air leak. Seal it up with weather-stripping, caulk, or pure determination. Bonus: your heating bill won’t look like it’s been possessed by a poltergeist.

2. Furnace Check: Because “Heat” Is Not Optional

Imagine waking up to 40°F inside. Your coffee won’t fix that kind of trauma. Change the filter, vacuum vents, and call in a pro for a quick tune-up. Treat your furnace like a VIP — after all, it’s working harder than Santa’s reindeer come December.

3. Frozen Pipes: The Winter Horror Movie No One Asked For

Water expands when it freezes — science! — which means your pipes can burst faster than a shaken soda can. Insulate pipes in crawlspaces, garages, and basements. Disconnect hoses outside, shut outdoor valves, and let a trickle of water run on bitter nights. It’s cheaper than an indoor swimming pool… that you never wanted.

4. Gutter Gunk: Don’t Let Ice Dams Crash Your Party

Leaves, twigs, and mysterious sludge love to clog gutters. Clean them now or risk building your own personal glacier over the porch. Pro tip: extend downspouts 4–6 feet from the house to keep meltwater out of the basement. (Waterproof boots not included.)

5. Roof Check: Your First Line of Defense

Before the snow hides everything, eyeball your roof — missing shingles, sagging gutters, or flashing that’s trying to escape. Better yet, let One Vision Inspections LLC fly a drone up there. We’ll spot issues without you risking a ladder acrobatics routine worthy of a YouTube fail video.

6. Safety Stuff: Test, Don’t Guess

Swap batteries in smoke and CO detectors. Test GFCI outlets. Make sure your fire extinguisher isn’t older than your car. And if you’ve got a gas fireplace, double-check that it vents properly. “Cozy fire” is great; “carbon monoxide” is not.

8. Bonus Round: Get a Pre-Winter Home Maintenance Inspection

Think of it like a physical for your house — except we bring gadgets. Our thermal imaging, moisture detection, and drone roof scans catch problems before the cold does. Whether it’s insulation gaps, minor leaks, or furnace hiccups, we’ll help you fix it before you’re bundled up in five blankets googling “why is my house so cold.”

Final Thoughts

Winter in Iowa doesn’t ask for permission — it just shows up, boots on, with snow in its hair. But with a little preparation (and maybe some humor), your home will survive just fine.

One Vision Inspections LLC — helping homeowners stay warm, safe, and one step ahead of Jack Frost.