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 absolutely loved our experience with Evergreen. The team was incredibly kind, professional and great to work with. We're very impressed with the quality of work of the Evergreen team and how easy they made everything! Our house had barely any insulation ahead of this project and the results are amazing. Insulating the attic, walls and basement with Evergreen allowed us to tear a 50-year-old furnace, ductwork and oil tank out of the basement and now heat the home with new heat pumps. Evergreen also added 100 sq ft of clean, new storage space to the attic!

Nick S.

South Portland

We needed basement encapsulation to stop moisture coming up into the house from our regularly flooding basement. We had mold growing on windowsills and furniture. All the staff were friendly, respectful of our home, and easy to work with. Humidity has gone from 70% down to 40% and mold has not grown back after two months. Very grateful.

Sarah C.

Belfast

We had a fantastic experience working with Evergreen to insulate our roof this winter. Everyone was extremely friendly throughout the process - the crew at our home worked hard, were approachable with questions, and the team leader even showed me around the project to point out specific areas they were working to improve.

Joel Wentz

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

Several years ago Brian Robinson evaluated the crawl space at my summer home on Islesboro where I knew moisture was becoming a problem. I had done quite a bit of work in the space many years prior with mixed results. When Brian offered some suggestions, they were ideas that incorporated work previously done, and would be a relatively low cost effort to improve the situation. He offered this advice over several phone conversations of some length, informally, and at no charge.

Cliff R.

Islesboro

My experience with Evergreen was excellent. From their thorough and thoughtful initial consultation to their detailed post-work visit, the team was professional, knowledgeable, and responsive. Their workmanship was top notch. Our home is now much warmer and more efficient. I highly recommend their services!

Douglas R.

Edgecomb

Evergreen did an amazing job insulating our historic home. Their professional staff worked hard to ensure the tough areas in the attic were covered, and clearly communicated their progress. We are seeing the results with our discounted heating bills. Thank you, Evergreen!

Melissa Knoll

Portland

Great team!

George S.

Bath

Bryan, Dave and the entire Evergreen team are wonderfully professional, prompt and thorough. I enjoyed working with them and look forward to continued work as we upgrade our home! Thank you so much for your professionalism, fairness, time and diligence.

Cait

Yarmouth

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

John Brown

Great job installing windows and insulation.

Bob S.

Rockland

Update 12/2018: Evergreen has completed Phase II of my house (insulating and installing air/moisture barrier on exterior walls, replacing old windows) and now that heating season is upon us, the difference is astonishing. The house is tight as a drum and so easy to keep warm. Worth every penny. Thank you all! Working with Evergreen was a positive experience from start (no charge energy audit) to finish (a MUCH more comfortable home). Brian Robinson spent a lot of time with me on the audit, explaining clearly what he was finding in my ca.

Rebekah W.

Rockport

Professional, friendly and hard-working staff. The product/approach they use for insulation is top notch. We felt the difference immediately, both from added warmth and eliminating drafts. The team and management were easily available to answer our questions or coordinate meeting times. Highly recommended.

Kevin J.

Yarmouth

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

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

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