Fall Maintenance Guide: Our Top Tips for Preparing Your Home for Fall

Before our calendars inevitably fill up with exciting seasonal activities to explore, it's important to take some time to prepare our homes for the upcoming winter weather. Whether you recently moved into your new construction Homes by Taber home, or you’re a seasoned homeowner, it’s never a bad idea to think about preventative maintenance measures to ensure your home will feel just like new with each passing year. Explore our fall maintenance guide to learn more about our top tips for preparing your home for fall.

Keep the cold air out

Making sure your exterior is sealed and ready to keep out the cold winter winds is a great place to start. Adding some weather stripping or sealing exterior caulk to problem areas will ensure that you won’t have to worry about any unnecessary heating costs during the winter and ensure that no moisture gets into your home as well. Using interior “door snakes” at the bottom of interior doors, and insulated window treatments or hangings can also help keep the heat in and cold out. 

Look at your landscaping

Your trees and landscaping could also use some extra attention during this time, especially if any winter storms make their way through the area. See if you can spot any noticeable differences in leaf colors or any dead branches, and if the answer is yes, you’ll want to either get them pruned or removed as soon as you can so they don’t cause any damage to your home. For the rest of your yard, it’s important to consistently rake as the leaves continue to fall to ensure that your grass stays as healthy as possible throughout the winter season. While this activity isn’t always the most fun, it is a great way to create some entertainment for the kids as they can spend the days jumping in all of the leaf piles you’ve built up around the yard—and maybe helping you rake them up again once they’re done!

Inspect your roof and gutters

Another exterior home item you’ll want to have checked is your roof. If you’re not comfortable checking your roof tiles yourself or you don’t quite know what to look for, you’ll want to call a professional to come take a look for any roof tiles that are cracked, curled or missing so they can replace them immediately. Before you head back into the warmth of your home, there’s also no better time to clean out your gutters as well. If you go too long without cleaning them out as the fall season progresses, you could potentially begin to see drainage problems arising, so you’ll want to keep checking them consistently. 

Check your HVAC system

When you’ve finished checking the exterior of your home, the next thing you’ll want to inspect is your HVAC system. Take a minute to clear away any fallen leaves or branches and look for any signs of physical damage. If you see anything out of the ordinary, have a professional come by and take a look to ensure that everything is in working order. 

Replace batteries in detectors

Checking your carbon monoxide and smoke detectors is next up on the list, and as it’s usually suggested to always replace the batteries in all of these detectors two times every year—this is the perfect time to make a note to yourself to change them again in another six months. 

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