While many people try to predict what any given season will bring you in terms of weather, there is never a surefire way to predict whether winter will be heavy, light, or normal. And because of that, you can only prepare your home so much for the season ahead of time. If you have recently experienced a winter that is much heavier than usual, you may be wondering what you can or should do to ensure your home is in the best shape possible as spring approaches. Get to know some of the home maintenance tasks that you may want to focus on when you have experienced such a heavy winter.

Get Your Heating and Cooling System Checked Out

Most of the time, spring maintenance guidelines recommend that you get your cooling system checked out around the turn of the seasons. However, it is not just your cooling system that should be checked over after a heavy winter. You also want to have your entire heating system and furnace checked over and attended to.

In a heavy winter, you may have had to put your heating system into overdrive just to keep up with the demand. This is especially true of winter with extreme cold snaps. Schedule an HVAC appointment toward the end of winter, preferably when the snow and ice have mostly melted.

Make sure you ask for a full system workup for both your heating and cooling system. This will help to ensure that your furnace and the rest of your heating system is in top shape going into the off-season, as well as ensuring that you will have a working air conditioner when the temperatures soar again.

Have Your Roof Inspected and Repaired

Winter weather, especially winter weather that is heavy in precipitation, can be quite tough on your home's roofing system. The roof takes the brunt of the force of winter storms. Ice and snow accumulate on the roof and that weight alone can cause damage. And if there was any pre-existing issue with your roof that you did not know about, there could be more serious and extensive damage to your roofing structure.

The first step toward addressing those issues is to have your roof inspected by a roofing contractor. They will be able to get up on your roof and take a good, close look at everything going on with your roof.

The roofing contractor will determine if any shingles are missing, broken, warped, or missing some of the granules that coat the surface of your roof. They will also look for any underlying structural problems. Once they have completed this inspection, the contractor will let you know what, if any, work needs to be done on your roof, and you can act accordingly.

Now that you know a few of the home maintenance steps to take when you have experienced a heavier than usual winter, you can get started as soon as the snow melts away.