It’s time to get your home and yard ready for fall and winter. Use this handy fall maintenance checklist to tackle all the essentials.
Fall Exterior Maintenance Checklist
Exterior maintenance focuses on sealing your home to prevent air leaks and increase your comfort during winter. Remove screens from windows, then clean and store them. Put storm windows on next.
Walk around the exterior of your home, inspecting for peeling paint and cracks in the foundation. Caulk cracks in the foundation, around windows, and around doors to stop air from getting into your home.
Paint over peeling paint to protect your siding from exposure to the elements. Once the paint starts to chip, wood siding is unprotected and can age.
Climb up on the roof to inspect the shingles for signs of damage. By fixing damaged shingles before winter comes, you can prevent rain, snow, and ice from leaking into the home.
The last exterior task is gutter cleaning. Remove fall leaves from gutters, so they can drain properly. Check the gutter joints and brackets; fix gutters if they are in poor shape.
Fall Interior Maintenance
Have your heating system tuned up so it’s working efficiently. This reduces your utility spend. Seal windows with weatherstripping and caulk to reduce air leaks and further insulate your home.
If you have a fireplace or wood stove, call a chimney sweep to perform annual maintenance.
Turn over blades on interior ceiling fans. When you run fans in the winter, they can push warm air down to improve comfort, so you won’t have to turn up the heat so high.
Fall Yard & Garden Maintenance Checklist
Start by organizing the garage so you can access the rakes and snow shovels, while storing the summer yard tools out of sight. Clean the lawnmower and store it for winter.
Plant spring-flowering bulbs, such as daffodils or tulips.
Drain and store garden hoses. Drain exterior faucets then shut them off for the season. Water left inside exterior faucets can freeze, which leads to burst pipes.
Fall Porch & Deck Maintenance Checklist
Clean and store deck and porch furniture to preserve items for the next season. If you’re leaving items outside, cover them with a tarp.
Look over the porch and deck. Replace any worn or rotted boards to preserve the decking. Make sure the handrails are securely attached, so they can support you in the event you slip and fall.
Contact us for a free estimate for roof repair: 513.713.0418!
