Autumn Home Maintenance Tips
Happy First Day of Fall! To be honest, it has been feeling a bit “autumnal” around here for awhile. The days are getting shorter, the kids are back in school, and the leaves are starting to turn gold. And if fall is here, that means winter is close behind! This is a great time of year to prepare your home for the cold and snowy days to come, when the weather is still nice enough to do your final exterior maintenance of the year.
Exterior Maintenance & Weatherproofing
- Inspect your roof, and get it ready for the coming snow. Look for damage to shingles and ensure they are secure and in good condition. You can do this from the ground if you aren’t comfortable getting up on your roof – just grab a pair of binoculars!
- Inspect the condition of the flashing around your chimney, plumbing vent stacks, and in the valleys (where the sections of the roof join).
- Check eaves troughs to ensure they are securely fastened to the house, and are clean of leaves and other debris. Continue to leave your down spouts in the down position until the first snow fall.
- Disconnect water hoses from the exterior hose bib, drain, and put into storage. Drain and turn off your underground sprinkler system.
- 10Clean air intake vents and ensure they aren’t obstructed by any landscaping or other items.
General Interior Maintenance
- Check the teleposts in your basement and adjust if required.
- Replace your carbon monoxide (CO) and smoke detector batteries.
- Check your fire extinguishers and get them recharged as required.
- Clean your range hood filters and dryer vent.
- Change your furnace & humidifier filters, and schedule a service appointment with your HVAC supplier. Taking care of this early means you won’t have any emergency calls to make on the coldest winter nights!
Safety First! Please take all necessary safety precautions when doing any work or inspections on your roof. And if you ever come across a maintenance requirement that you are not comfortable completing on your own you have a few courses of action to take:
- Contact the manufacturer or supplier of the product and ask if they can perform the maintenance for you.
- Contact Kimberley Homes and we can recommend a company to assist you!
Further Reading
For a complete list of all the recommended – and required – homeowner maintenance for any time of year, please review The Alberta New Home Warranty Program’s “Guide to the Care and Maintenance of Your New Home” online at ANHWP.com.
To download a PDF of the information included in this blog post, please click here.