St. Tammany Parish

       Even though, with this year's La Nina winter experience that is happening here in St. Tammany Parish, we at Ron Lee Homes would like to show you a way to make sure that you are prepared for any cold snap that we may have for the rest of this winter.  Your home is your biggest and best investment, so follow these tips to make sure that you protect your investment and save yourself any money you could spend in repairs.

       The fall Equinox is a good time of year to start thinking about preparing your home for winter, because as temperatures begin to dip, your home will require maintenance to keep it in tip-top shape through the winter.

       Autumn is invariably a prelude to falling winter temperatures, regardless of where you live. It might rain or snow or, as David Letterman says, "Fall is my favorite season in Los Angeles, watching the birds change color and fall from the trees." Did you know there is only one state in the United States where the temperatures have never dipped below zero? Give up? It's Hawaii.

Here Are Ten Tips to Help You Prepare Your Home for Winter

1) Furnace Inspection

• Call an HVAC professional to inspect your furnace and clean ducts.
• Stock up on furnace filters and change them monthly.
• Consider switching out your thermostat for a programmable thermostat.
• If your home is heated by a hot-water radiator, bleed the valves by opening them slightly and when water appears, close them.
• Remove all flammable material from the area surrounding your furnace.

2) Get the Fireplace Ready

• Cap or screen the top of the chimney to keep out rodents and birds.
• If the chimney hasn't been cleaned for a while, call a chimney sweep to remove soot and creosote.
• Buy firewood or chop wood. Store it in a dry place away from the exterior of your home.
• Inspect the fireplace damper for proper opening and closing.
• Check the mortar between bricks and tuckpoint, if necessary.

3) Check the Exterior, Doors and Windows

• Inspect exterior for crevice cracks and exposed entry points around pipes; seal them.
• Use weatherstripping around doors to prevent cold air from entering the home and caulk windows.
• Replace cracked glass in windows and, if you end up replacing the entire window, prime and paint exposed wood.
• If your home has a basement, consider protecting its window wells by covering them with plastic shields.
• Switch out summer screens with glass replacements from storage. If you have storm windows, install them.

4) Inspect Roof, Gutters & Downspouts

• If your weather temperature will fall below 32 degrees in the winter, adding extra insulation to the attic will prevent warm air from creeping to your roof and causing ice dams.
• Check flashing to ensure water cannot enter the home.
• Replace worn roof shingles or tiles.
• Clean out the gutters and use a hose to spray water down the downspouts to clear away debris.
• Consider installing leaf guards on the gutters or extensions on the downspouts to direct water away from the home.

5) Service Weather-Specific Equipment

• Drain gas from lawnmowers.
• Service or tune-up snow blowers.
• Replace worn rakes and snow shovels.
• Clean, dry and store summer gardening equipment.
• Sharpen ice choppers and buy bags of ice-melt / sand.

6) Check Foundations

• Rake away all debris and edible vegetation from the foundation.
• Seal up entry points to keep small animals from crawling under the house.
• Tuckpoint or seal foundation cracks. Mice can slip through space as thin as a dime.
• Inspect sill plates for dry rot or pest infestation.
• Secure crawlspace entrances.

7) Install Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Detectors

• Some cities require a smoke detector in every room.
• Buy extra smoke detector batteries and change them when daylight savings ends.
• Install a carbon monoxide detector near your furnace and / or water heater.
• Test smoke and carbon monoxide detectors to make sure they work.
• Buy a fire extinguisher or replace an extinguisher older than 10 years.

8) Prevent Plumbing Freezes

• Locate your water main in the event you need to shut it off in an emergency.
• Drain all garden hoses.
• Insulate exposed plumbing pipes.
• Drain air conditioner pipes and, if your AC has a water shut-off valve, turn it off.
• If you go on vacation, leave the heat on, set to at least 55 degrees.

9) Prepare Landscaping & Outdoor Surfaces

• Trim trees if branches hang too close to the house or electrical wires.
• Ask a gardener when your trees should be pruned to prevent winter injury.
• Plant spring flower bulbs and lift bulbs that cannot winter over such as dahlias in areas where the ground freezes.
• Seal driveways, brick patios and wood decks.
• Don't automatically remove dead vegetation from gardens as some provide attractive scenery in an otherwise dreary, snow-drenched yard.
• Move sensitive potted plants indoors or to a sheltered area.

10) Prepare an Emergency Kit

• Buy indoor candles and matches / lighter for use during a power shortage.
• Find the phone numbers for your utility companies and tape them near your phone or inside the phone book.
• Buy a battery back-up to protect your computer and sensitive electronic equipment.
• Store extra bottled water and non-perishable food supplies (including pet food, if you have a pet), blankets and a first-aid kit in a dry and easy-to-access location.
• Prepare an evacuation plan in the event of an emergency.

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       For the second time in as many years, St. Tammany Parish voters will decide a referendum that seeks to double the homestead exemption for veterans who are disabled from their military service.

       Last November, voters in St. Tammany and statewide approved a constitutional amendment that gave parishes the option to hold local elections to ask voters if they want to double the homestead exemption for veterans whose service injuries render them entirely unable to work.

       The issue will come before St. Tammany Parish voters again Oct. 22; passage this time would make it the rule in St. Tammany.

       In the metro area, voters in St. Charles Parish have approved the increased homestead exemption for disabled veterans. Like St. Tammany, voters in Jefferson, St. John the Baptist, Plaquemines and St. Bernard parishes will decide the issue in those parishes Oct. 22.

       The St. Tammany Parish Council, at the urging of Assessor Patricia Schwarz Core and council members Marty Gould, Al Hamauei, Steve Stefancik, Reid Falconer and Gene Bellisario, approved legislation this spring to bring the issue to parish voters.

       The measure only affects veterans considered 100-percent disabled by the U.S. Department of Military Affairs due to service-related injuries. If approved, the homestead exemption for these veterans would increase from the usual $75,000, to $150,000. The benefit would extend to spouses after the disabled veterans die.

      Core, a supporter of the measure, said the tax break would affect a small portion of taxpayers and estimated it would cost the parish around $30,000 annually.

"So it won't really cost that much," she said.

       Robin Keller, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Veterans Affairs, said information on the specific number of disabled veterans in St. Tammany is confidential due to privacy laws. She said there are more than 23,000 veterans living in St. Tammany, but that the number of veterans who would be impacted by the referendum, if approved, is "significantly lower."

       The idea for the increased homestead exemption came from the Baton Rouge chapter of the Military Order of the Purple Heart, where the commander wanted to help disabled veterans and saw that Texas offered a tax break.

       Last fall, the government watchdog group Bureau of Governmental Research estimated that 2,500 veterans statewide would qualify. The BGR opposed the constitutional amendment, in part saying it was the federal government's role to provide benefits to veterans and noting that a provision in the amendment prevents local governments from replacing lost revenue through other measures.

       The Northshore Legislative Alliance, a collaboration of the St. Tammany West and East chambers of commerce and the Northshore Business Council, is set to discuss the measure on Wednesday.

       If the vote on the constitutional amendment last November is any indication, the measure is likely to find a sympathetic electorate in St. Tammany. The constitutional amendment paving the way for the local election passed here by a margin of 64 percent to 36 percent.

Click Here for the Source of the Information.