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?

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Highly recommended. Our heating usage is now less than half what it was before we had our roof insulated. Evergreen was knowledgeable, friendly, and left no trace they were ever in our house. Not only is our heating bill much lower now, but our home is generally more comfortable year-round with less temperature fluctuations. Money well spent.

RC Lations

This team of individuals was professional at all times. They set up barriers that kept the dust at a minimum. They conducted an air flow audit and cut the draft circulation from the outside in half by sealing cracks. They hauled out the old insulation and replaced it with blown in insulation with an R - 60 Value. They also did the rebate paperwork so that I could get my $1500.00 rebate from the state of Maine. I highly recommend Evergreen Home Performance!

Daniel B.

Rockland

My husband and I bought a home on the water in Owls Head and decided to make the investment in Evergreen's recommendations for insulation. Brian Robinson spent 3 hours examining every nook and cranny before he made practical suggestions and explained them thoroughly to us.

Marie McNeely

Owls Head

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

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

Evergreen completed the work at my home thoroughly and professionally. An inspector from Efficiency Maine came to inspect afterwards and described it as "state of the art" and "outstanding". The crew was very pleasant and considerate during the project. Their cleanup each day was perfect. Communications with the office were easy and reliable. I am very satisfied.

Catherine H.

South Portland

Working with Evergreen was a dream! Professional, knowledgeable, and super clean work. Communication was fast and service impeccable. The bedroom floors in our 1960's split ranch will be warm with the new insulation between them and the garage. Bring on the snow! (not really, but sort of)

Jess Dee Proctor

Awesome company. It was a few years ago that they did the audit and then we commissioned them to do the work. We subsequently sold our house and moved to South Africa, but their level of service and expertise will live on.

Odette Brown

"Working with Evergreen from start to finish was a great experience." See what our customers have to say about their experience with Evergreen Home Performance. 

Jeff L.

Thanks Evergreen Home Performance for helping to make our home more efficient. Many thanks as well to Bryan for the initial walk through and recommendations to make our home more efficient and to Dave, Roland, and Jacob for a job that was done professionally and courteous.  We were amazed at the level of efficiency and everyday they made sure to protect our floors, carpets, and furniture. We had daily discussions with Dave about progress and what was being done and where they were at in the project.

Carol Fink

From start to finish, our experience was incredible. Justin was extremely helpful. The crew was fast, friendly, and efficient. And most importantly, our home is WAY warmer and our heating is less costly. I'd highly recommend evergreen to anyone looking to upgrade their home!

John S.

South Portland

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

Very Satisfied with the work performed by Evergreen. Professional employees, high quality work done in a timely manner. My sales rep was Justin, and he was phenomenal During the initial walk around my house, he gave me great ideas for how to improve the efficiency of our home. We will consult with Evergreen for our future home projects.

Adam G.

Westbrook

I was extremely pleased with the professionalism and quality of service that I received from the Evergreen team. I met Richard to discuss options for insulation. I knew immediately that I wanted to do business with them because he did not try to over-sell extra services that I did not need. Dave was the project manager. He was not only kind, but very respectful of my home. I would highly recommend this company.

Darlyann M

Bath

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