Seasonal checklists

Fall Home Maintenance Checklist

Get your home ready for cooler weather with this checklist for leaves, gutters, caulk, outdoor faucets and more.

Fall is a good time to get your home ready for cooler weather. Summer heat, humidity and storms leave their mark, and catching small problems now keeps them from turning into bigger ones over winter. Use this fall home maintenance checklist as you walk around your house and yard.

Outside the House

Gutters and drainage

• Clean gutters after most of the leaves have dropped. Pine needles and oak leaves clog them fast. Use a sturdy ladder and a helper, or hire it out.
• Make sure downspouts carry water away from the foundation.
• Look for spots where water pooled during summer storms.

Roof and chimney

• Look at the roof from the ground for damaged or missing shingles after summer storms. Call a licensed roofer for any repairs.
• If you use a fireplace, have the chimney inspected and cleaned by a chimney professional before the first fire.

Caulk, weatherstripping and paint

• Check caulk around windows, doors and where trim meets siding. Fall is a good time to recaulk while it's still mild out.
• Check weatherstripping and door sweeps on exterior doors. If you can see daylight around a closed door, it's leaking air.
• Touch up any bare wood on trim before winter rain.

Decks and porches

• Sweep off leaves often. Wet leaves sitting on boards speed up rot and get slippery.
• Check for soft boards, loose railings and wobbly steps.
• Move planters off deck boards or put them on stands.

Outdoor faucets and hoses

1. Disconnect garden hoses from spigots.
2. Drain the hoses and store them.
3. If you have an inside shutoff valve for an outdoor spigot, close it, then open the outside spigot to drain the line.
4. Put insulated covers on spigots before freezing nights.

Lawn and Yard

• Keep up with leaf cleanup so leaves don't smother the grass. See our fall leaf cleanup guide.
• Mow warm-season grass as it slows down and goes dormant, keeping the height steady.
• Clean up fallen limbs and storm debris.
• Trim back shrubs touching the house so air can move and siding stays dry. Hold off on heavy pruning of spring-flowering shrubs until after they bloom.
• Clean and store summer tools and furniture.
• Before storing the mower for winter, follow the owner's manual for fuel and maintenance.

Inside the House

Heating

• Change your HVAC filter.
• Schedule heating service with a licensed HVAC company.
• Make sure vents and returns aren't blocked by furniture or rugs.
• If you have gas appliances, make sure a working carbon monoxide detector is installed.

Ceiling fans

• Switch ceiling fans to spin clockwise on low for winter. The slow updraft moves warm air off the ceiling without a chilly breeze.

Plumbing fixtures

• Check under sinks for drips and stains.
• Make sure toilets aren't running.
• Know where your main water shutoff is, and make sure it turns. If a pipe freezes and breaks, you'll need it fast.

Walls, floors and doors

• Look for new cracks or ceiling stains that showed up over the summer.
• Notice whether doors that stuck in summer now close easily. That's normal humidity movement.

Safety

• Test smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.
• Check stair railings inside and out.
• Make sure outdoor lights work, since it gets dark earlier.

Getting Ready for the Holidays

If you're hosting this year, fall is the time to get those small projects done: a guest room touch-up, a loose railing, a closet that needs shelving, or new furniture to put together. Our furniture assembly service can help with that last one.

How HLM Can Help

We can take a lot of this list off your plate, including yard cleanup, leaf and debris removal, deck and porch fixes, caulking, door adjustments and fixture-level plumbing repairs. We don't do roofing, HVAC, chimney or gas line work. Those need licensed specialists, and we'll tell you if we spot something along the way.

When spring comes around, our spring home maintenance checklist is ready for you.

Send Us Your List

Call or text (706) 594-5049 with your fall list, or fill out the free estimate form. Pricing depends on the job, and estimates are free.