10 Fall Maintenance Projects to Complete for Your Home

Is your home ready for winter? Farmer’s Almanac is predicting a colder and snowier winter for many areas of the country. With winter claims averaging $1.5 billion a year, it’s time to get your home ready to withstand the cold.
Wondering what you need to do? Get your home ready with these fall maintenance tips.

1. Get Your Furnace Serviced

Check your air filters and replace your filter to keep your furnace running smoothly. Experts recommend changing your filter every 3 months to help your systems run efficiently. A clogged filter will make your unit work harder, so have a look into something like these Honeywell Compatible Air Filter Replacements to ensure your furnace runs as efficiently as possible.

Fall is a great time to get your furnace serviced and inspected to avoid issues. Having a professional tune-up your furnace will help it run at its peak efficiency saving you money on utility bills and avoid unexpected issues.

2. Clean Your Gutters

Falling leaves can block your gutters. If your gutters get blocked with debris such as leaves, branches, or twigs, you can get damage to your roof or foundation because the water will not drain properly. If you are not comfortable on a ladder, hire a professional to clean out the gutters.

3. Check Your Roof

Now is the time to check your roof because a small issue can lead to a bigger problem once snow or rain begins. You should look for any missing shingles, loose shingles, or any damage to the flashing. If you are unsure what to look for or uncomfortable getting on your roof, you can search for something like roofing companies near me and hire a professional to carry out an inspection.

If you need repair, you shouldn’t wait until winter because asphalt shingles require warmer temperatures of about 40 to 85 degrees at installation. Colder temperatures prevent the sealant adhesive from activating.

4. Get Your Fireplace Ready

You should have your chimney cleaned in the fall, especially if you did not have your chimney inspected or cleaned in the past year. Fireplaces can create deposits that are combustible. These deposits can get hot enough to damage your chimney liner and can even catch your house on fire. If you have an artificial fireplace, you’ll want to make sure that it works as it should and, if your home runs on oil or propane, that you have a good supply of fuel from somewhere like fsioilandpropane.com to get you through the upcoming colder months.

5. Shut Off Outdoor Faucets

Prevent freezing in your pipes by shutting off the water to your exterior faucets. You should also drain your hoses and store them inside your garage or shed. Do not leave your hoses attached to your faucets.

You can blast the water out of your hose with an air compressor or stretch it down a hill on your driveway or yard.

If you have a sprinkler system, make sure you have the irrigation company blow out your system or you can do it yourself with an air compressor. You don’t want any water left in your lines or it may freeze over the winter and burst your pipes.

6. Prepare Your Sidewalks and Driveway

Snow, salt, and ice can damage concrete, so it’s important to take care of your driveway and sidewalks. Make sure you repair any cracks in the concrete. Fill these cracks with concrete caulk to prevent the cracks from getting larger.

Clean and seal the surface if you have not already. This will protect your concrete from damage, but be sure you do it before temperatures drop below 40 degrees consistently.

Pull out any weeds or grass that has grown up in the cracks. Make sure you seal these gaps.

7. Seal Your Deck

A good way to tell if your deck needs to be sealed is to look for puddles or beaded up water. This means the deck repels water and is ready for winter. If the deck soaks in the water, it’s time to reseal it.

Before you seal it, check for any loose screws or nails and tighten or replace them as needed. Power wash your deck when it is warmer than 40 degrees.

Fill in any cracks with an epoxy wood filler. Then add a water-repelling stain to help protect your deck from snow and ice.

8. Inspect Safety Devices

Fall is a great time to test your carbon monoxide and smoke detectors. Replace your batteries, so they are ready to go. You should also take a look at your fire extinguisher and make sure it is not expired. Replace it if necessary.

You should check your home for radon before you have the windows shut more often trapping radon inside. High amounts of radon can be harmful to your health, so if your radon level is above 4, you should hire someone to fix the radon issues.

9. Winterize Your Lawn

To get a nice plush lawn in the spring, you should pamper your yard one more time before winter. Rake your leaves and pull leaves. Make sure you remove any debris in your yard or landscaping to prevent pests from creating nests in the colder months.

Give your lawn one last cut and take it down to about 2 inches.

You may want to aerate your lawn to get micronutrients in the soil and feed the lawn over the winter. Put down a pre-emergent to prevent weeds from getting these nutrients out of the soil.

If you want to thicken up your grass in the spring, overseed in the fall. Apply a fall fertilizer about 2-3 weeks before the first big freeze.

10. Insulate Your Home

Getting your furnace ready and checking the heating oil prices near me for winter is not the only thing you should do to help keep your house warm. You should check your windows for drafts.

Add weatherstripping to your doors and windows to help keep the cold outside. Put a door sweep at the bottom of a drafty door for additional protection.

Take a look in your attic to see if you have enough insulation. Poor insulation can increase your home’s utility bills.

Get Your Home Ready with Fall Maintenance

With these fall maintenance tips, you can get your home ready for winter. Make sure all you get rid of all your drafts, take care of your yard, seal your deck, and prep your driveway. You should also hire professionals to inspect your furnace, gutters, roof, and chimney to prevent larger problems down the road.

Keep checking back to get more ideas on how to get yourself ready for winter and the holidays.