Oklahoma Winter Freeze Prep: A Homeowner's Checklist

Plumbing: the expensive failure

• Insulate any supply line running through an unconditioned garage, crawl space, or exterior wall.
• Install foam covers on every hose bib and disconnect hoses — a connected hose is the most common burst-pipe cause in the metro.
• Locate and label your main shutoff, and make sure the valve actually turns. A seized shutoff during a burst is a disaster.
• Add cabinet-door hooks or reminders for sinks on exterior walls so they can be opened on freeze nights.

Envelope and drafts

• Replace failed weatherstripping and door sweeps, especially on the garage entry door.
• Seal attic penetrations around can lights, bath fans, and top plates.
• Caulk gaps where siding meets trim and where brick meets window frames.
• Check that crawl space vents and access doors close and latch.

Ice storm damage prevention

Ice storms in central Oklahoma break limbs, and broken limbs take out fences, gutters, patio covers, and siding. Trim what overhangs the roof and the fence line before the ice arrives, and secure anything in the yard that will become a projectile in the wind that follows.

The garage nobody thinks about

• Insulate and drywall an unfinished garage wall shared with living space — it changes the comfort of the adjoining rooms.
• Adjust and lubricate the garage door; cold weather is when weak springs and misaligned tracks fail.
• Replace the bottom seal so wind and water stop coming under the door.

After the freeze

When temperatures come back up, walk the house again. Look for new drywall cracks, doors that suddenly stick, water staining on ceilings near exterior walls, and any damp spot in a cabinet. Catching a slow leak in week one instead of month three is the difference between a repair and a remodel.