Fall in the DC area is short, and the first hard freeze can arrive before the leaves are down. A few hours of maintenance now keeps drafts out, heating bills in check and the house ready for the holidays. Here's the checklist we'd work through in our own homes.
1. Caulking, inside and out
Walk the outside of the house and look at the caulk around windows, doors, trim and where siding meets masonry. Cracked, shrunken or missing caulk lets in air and water. Exterior caulk needs dry weather and has a minimum application temperature printed on the tube, so this is a job for a mild fall day rather than January.
Inside, check tubs, showers and sinks. Dark, cracked or peeling caulk should be cut out and replaced rather than covered over. See our caulking and touch-up service if you'd rather hand it off.
2. Weatherstripping and drafty doors
On a windy day, hold your hand near the edges of exterior doors and older windows. If you feel air, the weatherstripping may be compressed or torn. Other common culprits:
- A gap under the door. A worn or missing door sweep or threshold seal is an easy fix.
- A door that doesn't latch tightly. Adjusting the strike plate or hinges can pull the door snug against the weatherstripping.
- Sticking doors. Seasonal humidity changes make wood doors swell and shrink. Adjustment often solves it without planing.
3. Outdoor lighting for shorter days
With earlier sunsets, front walks, steps and driveways spend more time in the dark. Reset timers and smart schedules, replace burned-out bulbs and make sure path lights still point where people walk. Our outdoor and landscape lighting page covers path, patio and uplighting.
4. Holiday lights, safely
- Use lights and extension cords rated for outdoor use, and check strands for cracked sockets or frayed wire before hanging them.
- Plug outdoor decorations into GFCI-protected outlets, and don't overload a single outlet or circuit.
- Use clips made for gutters and shingles rather than nails or staples, which damage the roof and the wiring.
- Put displays on a timer so they're not running all night.
If ladders and rooflines aren't your idea of a good weekend, we install and take down holiday and Christmas lights.
5. Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms
Heating season is when carbon monoxide risk rises, so this is the time to check alarms. Test every smoke and CO alarm, replace batteries as the manufacturer recommends, and look at the date on the back: the National Fire Protection Association recommends replacing smoke alarms every 10 years, and CO alarms have their own replacement dates printed on them. Alarms belong on every level of the home and outside sleeping areas. Hardwired and interconnected alarms are electrical work for a licensed electrician.
6. Gutters and downspouts (advice only)
We don't clean gutters, but they matter. Once most of the leaves have fallen, gutters should be cleared so water flows to the downspouts, and downspouts should discharge well away from the foundation. Overflowing gutters are a common cause of the water stains and damaged drywall we repair later. If you're not comfortable on a ladder, hire a gutter service.
7. Outdoor faucets and hoses
Before the first hard freeze, disconnect hoses and drain them. If your outdoor faucets have an interior shutoff valve, close it and open the outdoor faucet to drain the line.
8. Inside, before guests arrive
Holiday hosting is when small things get noticed: nail holes from last year's art, scuffed hallways, a loose towel bar. A single visit for drywall touch-ups, art hanging and small repairs takes care of it. Households with staff can set this up as a standing seasonal visit.