Autumn is once again here. The leaves are changing, the NHL season is here, and you will probably be spending a little less time outside. There are several important tasks that all homeowners should do before winter:

1. Have your heating system professionally serviced – this helps ensure your heating system (furnace, boiler, or heat pump) is ready to keep your home warm throughout the winter. This should be done by a qualified HVAC professional. This will entail inspecting the system’s operation and exhaust method, its wiring connections, its fuel (natural gas, LP, or fuel oil) and combustion system, replacing the air filter, etc. This task helps prevent premature breakdowns, helps keep it running at peak efficiency, and can help prolong its life. If your home has upper and lower return louvers, open the bottom louvers and close the upper louvers for heating season. Also, make sure you change your programmable thermostat’s clock back to standard time (when the clocks change from daylight saving time) or your pre-programmed settings will be off an hour.

If your home has electric baseboard heat, use a vacuum cleaner with a hose attachment to clean the dust out of them so they don’t give off a burning smell when you first turn them on in the fall. The burning smell is often related due to accumulated dust that has fallen into them since spring.

2. Inspect your roof and have your gutters/downspouts cleaned – fallen leaves, twigs, and branches can cause damage to roofs, flashing, and gutters. This can lead to roof leaks, wet basements, etc. afterwards. A frozen clogged gutter can be heavy enough to also fall of the home in the winter. A gutter covering material can be installed once the gutters are clean to help them stay clear in the future. Make sure downspouts discharge, at least, 4’ from the home’s foundation to help prevent a wet basement or foundation issues. If uncomfortable on a ladder, please call in a professional.

3. Have your fireplace/stove and chimney inspected/cleaned – for homes with a fireplace, whether it burns wood, natural gas, propane (LP), or pellets, these systems should be cleaned and inspected annually by a qualified fireplace/chimney professional. For homes with a masonry chimney, even those without a fireplace or stove, that is venting a furnace, boiler, or water heater, this task often gets overlooked and homeowners assume chimney maintenance is only needed if there’s a fireplace venting into it. An annual inspection of the chimney helps ensure proper function of whatever is venting into the chimney and helps prevent a potential fire or carbon monoxide (CO) hazard. Chimney flues should also have a rain cap installed. Burn only seasoned dry wood and keep wood piles well away (at least 20′) from your home covered with a tarp. This helps prevent bringing insects (such as termites or carpenter ants) into your home.

4. Disconnect hoses from exterior hose bibs (aka spigots or hydrants) – a garden hose connected to a hose bib in cold weather can lead to freeze damage of the hose and possibly to the hose bib (even a frost-free hose bib in some cases) and interior pipe feeding it. Many homes have an interior shutoff valve in the basement near the exterior hose bib. Turning this interior valve off and draining the exterior hose bib is wise before exterior freezing temperatures occur.

5. Inspect your windows and doors – Check around all exterior doors and windows (triple, double, or single pane) on a windy day to see if you can feel any drafts coming in around them. You can use your hand or a smoke generator (such as a blown-out candle). If you do, repair the weather-stripping around them. You may need a new rubber sweep under your exterior doors, too. Storm doors can help as long as they are properly installed and seal along all edges. Storm windows are a must if your home has single pane windows. If you do feel cold air drafts in any area, this means that your home is leaking warm air outside which increases your heating (and cooling) costs. Also, check the home’s exterior caulking (at doors, windows, siding junctions, wiring/pipe siding penetrations, etc.) and touch up as needed as cold air, insects, water, etc. can enter your home in these locations.

6. Check your home’s insulation – Insufficiently and/or improperly insulated homes are a very common flaw. This can lead to high heating and cooling costs. Insulation works by slowing the rate of (but not totally stopping) heat transfer through it. For insulation to work its best and more efficiently, it should be as thick as possible (within reason) and be uniform in terms of thickness. throughout the attic, basement, etc. You get more bang for the buck by properly insulating your attic compared to the exterior walls since heat rises. Blown-in (loose fill) fiberglass or cellulose insulation can be smoothed out to a more uniform thickness to help maximize its insulating properties. Overhead fiberglass batt insulation in the basement or crawlspace can fall down and should be tucked back into place. There may be small areas with little to no insulation; I find this frequently in attics and basements. Modern standards for attic insulation in our area calls for R-49 (14″ of cellulose or 20” of loose fill fiberglass).

Very important… ensure that the attic access panel or door is properly insulated and weather-stripped; this is a common flaw in many homes and a very common reason for high energy bills. Adding more insulation is straightforward and you may be able to get rebates from your local utility. For example, take an attic that is 30′ x 20′ (600 sq ft) in size with an attic access panel of 3′ x 2′ (6 sq ft).  The attic is fully insulation to R-49 but the attic access panel lacks any insulation (making it effective R-0). Doing a quick insulation derating calculation, this would lower the overall effective attic R-value to 22, not 49. Imagine paying for R-49 but only actually getting less than half that R-value because the attic access panel lacks insulation.

Also, ensure that your attic/roof ventilation is sufficient and not blocked by insulation. The amount of attic/roof ventilation needed is dependent upon the layout of your ventilation (such as half high (ridge) and half low (soffit)). Attic ventilation is a commonly overlooked feature of the home, yet it helps prevent excessive humidity in the attic (which can lead to mold) throughout the year as well as excessive summer heat. If soffit venting is blocked by insulation, for example, needed cool air can’t properly enter the attic and work in conjunction with your ridge venting. Keep in mind that, contrary to what most homeowners think, your unfinished attic’s temperature should be similar to the exterior temperature. That is why you insulate directly above your top-most ceiling in most cases. Read my article about Attic Insulation to learn more about how attics should be insulated.

7. Ensure proper sump pump function – During the winter, we often have a few warm days which can allow snow to quickly melt and now is the time to ensure the sump pump is functional. If the sump pit has no pump but has water in it, have a proper pump system installed by a licensed plumber and ensure that it discharges outside away from the home and any porch or deck at least 4′. This helps keep your basement from flooding. You may even consider a battery backup sump pump system especially if your basement is finished.

8. Clean any in-ground exterior drains – Some homes have in-ground drains around the home’s exterior perimeter, such as at a patio or outside a rear basement entrance. Leaves blocking this drain can cause water to backup and potentially enter your basement, for example. If unsure where this drain charges to, a licensed plumber can scope the drain to ensure the underground portion is also clean and advise where its final discharge point is.

9. Trim trees and bushes away from your home – Over the warm months of the year, trees and bushes grew in size and they may now be encroaching against your home’s siding and windows, roof, or even against vents for your heating or water heater system. Trim branches back a good distance from your home. Tree branches should be, at least, 5′ from your roof and bushes/ shrubs should be kept, at least, 24″ from your siding, windows, vents, etc. If trees or bushes can’t be trimmed to meet these clearances, they were likely planted way too close to begin with. Tall trees nearby or overhanging your roof should also be trimmed back; this should be done by a qualified tree professional. Tree branches should never overhang above your home.

10. Reseed your lawn – Fall is a great time to plant grass seed in cooler climates such as PA, whether it’s overseeding an existing lawn or patching bare spots due to the summer. Warm daytime and cool overnight temperatures (above freezing) are great for grass seed germination. Keep in mind that most grass seed varieties need to be kept wet for 10~15 days for proper germination to occur before winter temperatures kick in. For patching, rake the seed lightly into the soil (the new seed does not need to be more than 1/2″ deep), add straw or compost on top, and keep it watered until the new grass is, at least, 3″ high. Modern lawns in our area are a combination of fescue, rye, and kentucky bluegrass so a mixture of grass seed meant for sun/shade is best. These different grass varieties germinate and grow at different times of the year so a seed mixture to match your existing lawn is best. Reseeding can also be done in the spring, however, you’ll need to not apply crabgrass preventer to the lawn until the new seed is well-established. Crabgrass preventer will prevent new grass seed from germinating.

Honorable mention.. Put outside furniture, grill, etc. away – if you have furniture, a grill, etc. on your deck, porch, or patio, put it away in the basement, garage, or shed. You’ll likely not be using it until spring. It could blow around the yard causing damage to your home or other areas in windy weather.

Doing these sort of proactive measures in the fall will allow you to enjoy winter in a warm and safe home.

© 2023 Matthew Steger
All Rights Reserved

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Matthew Steger is a Certified Level 1 Infrared Thermographer, an ASHI Certified Inspector (ACI), and an electrical engineer. He can be reached at matthew@thehomeinspectorsnotebook.com. No article, or portion thereof, may be reproduced or copied without prior written consent of Matthew Steger.