Ice
Advice
living
Winterizing your home
takes the chills out
of your bills
T
By Nathan Walls
imothy Gallant knows a
thing or two about winterizing
16 | January/February ��� 2013
Photograph by Byron Jones
Windows are the focus of sales this time
of year at Parks Building Supply.
homes in our area. He is the sales
manager at Massey Hill Hardware, where he has worked for 30 years.
���There are simple things you can do in the
summer, or before the winter, when the cold really sets in,��� Gallant said.
Gallant makes recommendations and sells a
plethora of items to his customers to help them
winterize their homes. From insulating pipes, repairing PVC pipes, caulking windows, installing
storm window kits, wrapping up outside faucets,
insulating hot water heater copper pipes, using
the right heating air pipes and changing wicks in
kerosene heaters, to simply not heating unused
rooms, can equal a savings to homeowners.
���Caulking is very essential because of moisture getting into cracks and making things brittle,��� Gallant said. He has helped many customers, and himself, with avoiding and repairing
water problems.
���The biggest problem in the winter is water
problems,��� he said. ���Make sure your lines are
properly connected. Last summer I had a line
underneath my toilet that busted. I had to replace the part on it, but I would have had to have
paid $154 to PWC before they readjusted the water bill, and I didn���t know I had lost nearly 10,000
gallons of water.���
Massey Hill Hardware sells pieces of pipe
insulation for as little as $3.25, typically in 3/8inch to ��-inch in diameter. The insulation splits
