First Winter in Maine? Here’s What You Need To Know About Preparing Your New Maine Home

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Whether it was your family, your new neighbors, your realtor, or someone you barely know who saw your Facebook post about “moving to Maine”, someone probably warned you about your first winter in the Pine Tree State. The classic phrases usually go something like “Well, I hope you like snow!” or, “The Pine Tree State? More like the snow plow state!” or, “I hope your new home has off-street parking and a warm fireplace…”

The Maine lifestyle takes some work, but the rewards make it all worth it. Here are some of the things you will need to know about keeping your home comfortable and efficient through our bitter cold, snowy, and icy winters, complete with a new Homeowner Checklist you can use to keep track of your new-home weatherization tasks. 

Prepare Yourself for the Snow

…and lots of it. Snow can fall in heaps here in Maine (especially during a Nor’easter), and those heaps will stick around for a while with cold temps and short daylight hours. 

Snow is also going to pile up on your roof, which can eventually lead to a homeowner’s insurance claim nightmare: ice dams. 

Ice dams form when poor attic insulation and high amounts of air leakage allow the heat from your furnace or boiler to escape into the attic, warming up the underside of your roof. This melts some of the snow accumulation which will then drain down your roof, where it can re-freeze and create a barrier, or a “dam,” that will prevent future moisture from properly draining. This moisture buildup can cause damage to your roof, and can even seep down into your attic where it can wreak havoc in rooms below.

Your attic is one of the most important parts of the house to insulate, and adding air sealing for your home can help prevent the nightmare of ice dams while also keeping your house warm in the winter and stabilizing indoor temperatures. Not sure what type of home insulation is best for your house? We can help there, too!

Prepare Yourself for Ice and Power Outages

It won’t take long after moving to Maine to hear someone reference the great Ice Storm of 1998. Ice storms of this magnitude do not happen often, but storms are increasing in frequency and even smaller ice storms can cause power outages that last for days. It may be worth considering a backup-power system, like a generator or a solar battery storage system designed for off-grid operation. 

If the power does go out, you will not have access to your home heating system. Upgrading how your home performs can help reduce the sting of a winter power outage or make a generator-powered back-up heating/cooling unit far more effective by helping the home retain its ambient temperature while you wait for the power to return.

How You Can Prepare Your Home

Here are some other ways in which you can prepare your home for winter comfort and energy savings:

Basement Upgrades

Similar to how the attic can have an effect on how your home handles the challenges of winter, your basement can have an effect on your overall comfort throughout the colder months. Air cracks in the foundation or deficiencies in insulation allow the cold outside air to infiltrate your home, displacing the conditioned air from your furnace and creating cold main floors and reducing the effectiveness of your home heating system. 

Depending on the type of foundation and design of your basement or crawl space, the Evergreen Home Performance team can customize a plan to upgrade the insulation in your basement, or encapsulate it entirely. This will prevent moisture and cold air from causing problems like indoor drafts, mold growth, musty smells, and high heating costs. 

Upgrade Your Windows & Doors

The historic homes of Maine often come with historic windows and doors. However, even when old, historic windows made with the best of materials are properly maintained, they won’t be as efficient as new replacement windows that are properly installed. Give your home a curb appeal “facelift”, and increase your efficiency and comfort in the process with Maine’s first Marvin Windows Authorized replacement contractor, Evergreen Home Performance. 

Homeowner Maintenance Checklist

For other upgrades you might not be able to accomplish in the thick of winter, we have created a Home Maintenance Checklist so you can prepare your home for whatever the weather might throw at you and your family throughout the year.

new home checklist evergreen infographic

(View as a downloadable PDF version)

Need Help for your New Home? Evergreen Your Home!

Evergreen Home Performance is standing by. We’re ready to get started on developing a customized plan to “Evergreen your home”. We know that no two homes will ever be exactly alike, so we often start with a thorough visual inspection or an energy audit to get a sense for the challenges your home is presenting to your overall comfort. We’ll also explain to you how Maine Efficiency Maine rebate and financing programs help make your project even more affordable. Then, we will work with you to implement the most beneficial solutions. Our team is at the ready, so what are you waiting for? 

Welcome to Maine, we’re here to help keep your new home comfortable and efficient! Evergreen your home today—call Evergreen Home Performance at 207-594-2244> or get in touch here.

Is your new Maine home not as comfortable as you had hoped?

We’re here to help!

We are thrilled with the job Evergreen did to transform our 213 year old home into a warm, draft-free, cozy space. The entire team led by Bruce was prompt, courteous, knowledgeable, and hard working. If Evergreen could transform our home in this way, we are sure they would make a comparable difference in YOUR home!

Jonathan M.

Bridgton

We had Evergreen energy do blow-in cellulose. I was very happy with the result. They tested with blower-door before and after. House is now MUCH warmer. Also, in the time since when I've had to open walls for various access, I've been impressed with how they got the insulation packed in everywhere. I'd use them again.

Noah

Peaks Island

Nothing but good things to say. The guys that came and did the actual work were extremely nice and did a great job. The energy audit was thorough and I was presented with multiple improvement options, I was even given ideas for improvement that Evergreen didn't offer. I never felt like I was being "sold".

Ryan Adams

I am very pleased with my experience with Evergreen Home Performance. I met several times with Richard Burbank and he was very detailed in his explanations to all of my questions. He provided me with several options for improving the insulation to our home. The team of installers were very professional and respectful of our home. They did a great job of cleaning up every day after the days work and they were also very responsive to all my questions as well as we collaborated to get our home better insulated. It was a pleasure to work with Richard and…

Brian C.

Falmouth

I cannot say enough great things about working with Evergreen Home Performance. Everything including the initial consultation, the fabulous work crew, the office support and the final resolution was handled in a caring and professional manner. My only regret is that I did not know about them earlier. I enthusiastically recommend Evergreen to anyone with concerns about home energy use.

Darlene R

Bath

The Evergreen Team did a fabulous job and was very tuned and responsive to the particular needs we had. The job was done right on budget and we are thrilled with the improved warmth and energy efficiency.

Ira M.

Rockland

Greetings one and all! I am writing to express my gratitude to all involved in my insulation project.  From start to finish, I appreciate the universal theme which was maintained by each and every one of you, to ensure that my home was insulated and protected from freezing pipes as if it was your home. Andrea, thanks for helping me navigate my way to the project. Nate, thanks for the thorough initial assessment and the time you took to explain this project to me, step by step. Brian, thanks for setting up my project - so happy

Michele

Evergreen is a terrific company to deal with. Polite and efficient crews, meeting deadlines and major reduction in our heat bills. They corrected a lot of issues we suffered from doing work with a shoddy building contractor. We would recommend them to anyone.

Mary Carey

Evergreen was so helpful in securing us Efficiency Maine funding for a big attic insulation project early this winter. They did all of the paperwork, and totally guided us through a vermiculite removal process that included a payment from a trust for the procedure. I could instantly feel the second floor being so much warmer than before. The boiler does not kick on nearly as frequently since they completed the job. It was worth every penny! Brian Robinson was so thorough throughout the whole process including a full walk through after the job had been completed.

Todd W.

Camden

I have always been impressed by the high level of service, quality of work, and excellent follow-through provided by Evergreen Home Performance in the three projects that they completed at the Wells Reserve at Laudholm over the past several years.

Paul D.

Wells

First we have Evergreen do a BIG project worth about $20K (windows, basement, insulate & rebuild an entire wall, a door, attics, and air sealing). They were so great we had them come back later when we decided we did want to do our other door. They are professional and do great work. They take care of your home and are trustworthy, and on top of all that friendly! I highly recommend you call them!

Garreth C Debiegun

The Evergreen team was amazing from initial assessment and planning to the crew that came to complete the work. Our basement encapsulation is the best money we've spent on our house by far. The work was thorough and high quality. And what a wonderful group of people to work with. I highly recommend Evergreen!

Martha Bracy

The Evergreen crew from initial inception to installation were professional, on time, and left our place spotless. The end result was exceptional.

John Brown

I had gotten estimates from several other companies, but Evergreen was in another league entirely with their professionalism. If you want the job done correctly, I couldn't recommend this company enough.

Rayna Mayo

Freeport

Evergreen did everything they said they would and more. I actually don't mind going into the basement now since they sealed it. The air quality in the house is noticeably better and it's warmer in the winter. We can even store clothing down there where before, whatever was in there would mildew. Even the spider population declined! I used to vacuum so many of them from the corners of the ceilings in the house. Not any more!

Loriel Van Dusen

Portland Buy Local
Efficiency Maine
EPA Lead-Safe Certified
Building Performance Association
BPI Certified