Visit the Great Sacandaga Lake - The Best Kept Secret in the Adirondacks

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Fall Home Maintenance

Early Fall Gardening

Late Fall Gardening

Getting Your Snowmobile Ready for the Season

Pet Tips or Fall

Apple Picking/Cider

Pumpkins

The Great Sacandaga Ride

Golf

Hunting

Fishing

Birding

Hiking

Canoeing/Kayaking

Wineries/Breweries

Museums

Libraries

Autumnal Equinox
September 22, 10:49 AM EDT

Halloween
by L.L. Decker

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CURRENT MOON

moon cycle

Fall Home Maintenance on the Great Sacandaga Lake

Energy Audits - A home energy assessment, also known as a home energy audit, is the first step to assess how much energy your home consumes and to evaluate what measures you can take to make your home more energy efficient. An assessment will show you problems that may, when corrected, save you significant amounts of money over time. An energy audit can show you where leaks are, where insulation is missiong and where pipes are blocked. We also offer Infrared Inspections using a Flir Infrared camera

from State Farm Insurance

Check all window and door locks for proper operation.

Windows that can be opened by breaking the glass and unlocking them, are less effective deterrents to criminals. Check with the hardware store for window lock alternatives.
All exterior doors should have deadbolt locks.

Check your home for water leaks. Read more at Preventing water damage at your house.

Make sure there are working night lights at the top and bottom of all stairs. Other safety ideas for stairs:

Tile and painted wood or concrete stairs can be slippery when wet or when a person's shoes are wet. Resurface the treads with slip-resistant strips near the stair nosing.
All stairs of at least three risers should have a handrail.
Do not store items on the stairs.

Have a heating professional check your heating system every year. Wood burning stove connector pipes and chimneys should be inspected by a certified chimney sweep at least annually.

Protect your home from frozen pipes. Read more at No Frozen Pipes.

Replace your furnace filter. Furnace filters need to be replaced frequently to allow your heating and cooling systems to operate properly.

Run all gas-powered lawn equipment until the fuel tank is empty. By doing this, you are removing flammable liquid storage from your garage. At the same time, make sure you aren't storing dirty, oily rags in a pile. They can ignite spontaneously.

Have a certified chimney sweep inspect and clean the flues and check your fireplace damper. Soot and creosote, which build up inside the chimney, can ignite when a fire is lit in the fireplace.

Remove bird nests from chimney flues and outdoor electrical fixtures. Bird nests on top of light fixtures are a fire hazard. Bird nests in chimney flues can prevent a proper venting of combustion gases and can catch fire from sparks. You should exercise great caution when working on your roof or consider hiring a qualified professional to take care of any work that needs to be done.

Inspect and clean dust from the covers of your smoke and carbon monoxide alarms.

Make sure the caulking around doors and windows is adequate to reduce heat/cooling loss. Check glazing for loose or missing putty or glazing compound. This will also help reduce water damage to the windows and door frames.

Make sure that the caulking around your bathroom fixtures is adequate to prevent water from seeping into the sub-flooring. Check for cracked or missing caulk around the base of your toilet, bath tub, and bathroom cabinets. Properly sealing gaps between your bathroom fixtures and flooring material can prevent damage.