Fall is one of the best times to give your home a little attention. The weather is cooling down, winter is around the corner, and there are plenty of small problems that are much easier to deal with now than in the middle of January.
You don’t need to be particularly handy, either. A lot of fall home maintenance simply involves looking for changes, cleaning things up, and catching problems early.
At Barringer Brothers Roofing, we’ve served homeowners throughout Southern Illinois and the Metro East since 2004, earning 200+ five-star reviews. While roofing, siding, and gutters are our specialties, protecting your home involves more than what’s on top of it.
Here are 10 things worth checking around your house this fall.
1. Clean Out Your Gutters
Let’s start with the obvious fall chore.
As leaves begin dropping, gutters can quickly fill with leaves, sticks, and other debris. When gutters become clogged, rainwater can’t move through the system as intended.
Take a look at your gutters throughout the fall, especially if your house is surrounded by mature trees.
Don’t forget the downspouts, either. Water needs a clear path through the entire system—not just the gutters along the roofline.
While you’re checking them, look for gutters that appear loose, damaged, separated, or noticeably tilted.
2. Look at Your Roof From the Ground
You don’t need to climb onto your roof to give it a quick fall check.
In fact, we’d rather homeowners stay safely on the ground.
Walk around your house and look at the roof from several angles. You’re not trying to perform your own professional inspection. You’re simply looking for anything noticeably different.
Pay attention to areas that appear damaged, shingles that look out of place or missing, debris sitting on the roof, and anything else that has changed since the last time you looked.
Fall is a particularly good time to notice these things because winter weather is right around the corner.
If something doesn’t look right, have a professional take a closer look rather than climbing up yourself.
3. Check Trees and Branches Around the House
Those beautiful trees around your house deserve some attention too.
Look for dead, damaged, or questionable branches—particularly anything hanging over the roof, driveway, vehicles, or other structures.
Fall and winter weather can bring wind, storms, ice, and snow. A branch that seems harmless on a calm afternoon may become a much bigger problem during severe weather.
You should also keep an eye on leaves and small branches accumulating on lower sections of the roof.
If tree work is necessary, consider hiring a qualified tree professional rather than attempting to remove large or dangerous branches yourself.
4. Walk Around and Look at Your Siding
When was the last time you actually walked around your entire house and looked at the siding?
Fall is a good excuse.
Check for anything that appears loose, damaged, cracked, warped, or noticeably different from surrounding areas.
Pay particular attention after severe summer storms.
You don’t need to know exactly why something looks wrong. The goal of your seasonal walk-around is simply to notice changes before they become easy to forget.
If your siding does need attention, Barringer Brothers Roofing installs Royal siding throughout the Metro East and can help you determine your options.
5. Check Around Windows and Doors
Stand near your exterior doors and windows and pay attention to what you feel.
Do you notice a draft?
Look at weatherstripping and visible seals around doors and windows. Small gaps can become much more noticeable once cold weather arrives.
This is also a good time to make sure exterior doors close and latch properly.
If you’ve ever discovered a freezing draft on the first truly cold night of winter, you already know why this task belongs on the fall list.
6. Get Your Heating System Ready
Don’t wait until the first freezing morning to discover that something isn’t working correctly.
Fall is a good time to replace or clean HVAC filters as appropriate for your system and make sure your heating equipment is ready for colder weather.
If your system requires professional seasonal maintenance, schedule it before heating companies hit their busiest part of the year.
Also make sure vents and registers inside the home aren’t accidentally blocked by furniture, rugs, or other items.
7. Test Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Detectors
This one takes only a few minutes and is worth doing.
Test the smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors throughout your home according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Replace batteries when necessary and check the age/replacement guidance for the devices themselves.
While you’re doing it, check your fire extinguishers and make sure everyone in the household knows where they are.
It’s not the most exciting fall project.
It’s one of the most important.
8. Prepare Outdoor Faucets and Hoses
Before freezing temperatures arrive, take care of outdoor water sources.
Disconnect garden hoses and store them for the winter. Follow the appropriate winterization steps for your home’s outdoor faucets, irrigation systems, or other exterior plumbing.
The exact process depends on your home and equipment, so follow the manufacturer’s guidance or consult a plumbing professional if you’re unsure.
This is one of those chores that’s extremely easy to forget until the first freeze is already in the forecast.
9. Check Your Attic
If your attic is safely accessible, fall is a useful time to take a look around.
You don’t need to start tearing anything apart.
Look for anything obviously unusual, such as signs of moisture or water staining, and pay attention to changes you haven’t noticed before.
If you see something concerning, don’t automatically assume you know the cause. Moisture issues can have different sources, and determining what’s actually happening may require a professional evaluation.
The important part is noticing the change.
10. Do One Full Walk Around Your Property
Finish your fall maintenance with one simple task:
Walk around your entire property slowly.
Not while you’re mowing. Not while you’re bringing groceries inside.
Actually look.
Check the roof, gutters, siding, foundation, windows, doors, driveway, walkways, outdoor structures, trees, and drainage around the property.
Look for things that are cracked, loose, leaning, clogged, damaged, or simply different than you remember.
You don’t need to turn every imperfection into an immediate home improvement project.
The purpose is to know what’s going on with your house.
Taking a few photos can be helpful, too. If you notice something six months from now, you’ll have an older photo to compare it with.
Why Fall Home Maintenance Matters
A lot happens to a house throughout the year.
Spring brings storms and heavy rain. Summer brings heat, humidity, and more storms. Then fall arrives just before freezing temperatures and winter weather.
Doing a basic seasonal check gives you an opportunity to catch things you may not notice during everyday life.
And there’s another benefit: you learn what’s normal for your house.
If you look at your roof, siding, gutters, foundation, and exterior a few times throughout the year, you’re more likely to notice when something actually changes.
That can be much more useful than waiting until an obvious problem gets your attention.
Do You Need to Do All of This in One Day?
Definitely not.
Make it easy on yourself.
Clean the gutters one weekend. Walk around the exterior another afternoon. Test your detectors when you’re already inside cleaning.
A fall home maintenance checklist isn’t about making your house perfect before winter.
It’s about getting ahead of the things that are easiest to address before cold weather arrives.
Frequently Asked Questions
Early to mid-fall is a good time to begin. Some tasks, particularly outdoor plumbing and winter preparation, should be completed before freezing temperatures arrive.
It’s a good idea to visually check your roof periodically and after significant storms. You can do a basic visual check from the ground and contact a roofing professional if you notice something concerning.
You may need to, especially if there are several mature trees around your home. Cleaning them too early can mean they’re full again by the time most leaves have fallen.
You don’t need to climb onto your roof to perform a basic homeowner check. Look from the ground and leave closer inspections to someone who has the appropriate experience and safety equipment.
Pay attention to the roof, gutters, siding, trees, windows, doors, exterior faucets, drainage, walkways, and other areas exposed to winter weather.
Outdoor faucets and hoses, smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, gutters, HVAC filters, and checking around windows and doors are all easy tasks to overlook.
If you’re unsure what you’re seeing, having a professional look at it can help determine whether anything needs to be repaired or replaced.
Need Help Getting Your Home Ready for the Seasons?
You can handle plenty of fall maintenance yourself—but you don’t have to diagnose a roofing, siding, or gutter problem on your own.
Barringer Brothers Roofing has served homeowners throughout Southern Illinois and the Metro East since 2004.
If you notice something concerning with your roof, siding, or gutters, call Barringer Brothers Roofing at (618) 703-3036 or fill out our online contact form for more information, to have your home evaluated, or to request an estimate.
