Back to School: Making a List for Fall Home Improvement
Fall is near, and early planning is essential! In our communities, children are going back to school this month. Schools have distributed supply lists, and have made teacher assignments. Parents know exactly what they need to find to ready their children for the new school year because they have a checklist.
Fall is also when homeowners begin checking tasks off their lists, readying their homes for the upcoming winter season. In the gutter business, our fall is busy. We spend our season helping homeowners tackle their maintenance lists. To check tasks off your checklist, you must first have a list. Planning is essential:
“An hour of planning can save you ten hours of doing.” - Dale Carnegie
At Gutterworks, we are the experts you can rely on to give you the information and service you need to take good care of your home over its entire lifetime. Additionally, we consider it our duty to empower our clients with the information and know-how to take care of their homes independently.
This fall, we’re excited to bring you back to school and educate you about routine fall home maintenance. Fall home improvement lists can be lengthy, but our focus for this blog will be on the tasks that you, as a homeowner, should complete. We’ll also describe assessment activities you can perform that can help you spotlight areas of concern. As a team, we can work together to protect your home’s health from year-to-year.
Trim trees
As you begin to create your checklist, include tree-trimming. Identify which trees you need to tackle this fall. Every fall, homeowners should clear away any branches or possible sources of leaves so that they don’t end up filling their gutters with leaves, or worse, breaking and falling on top of your structure. With the weight that freezing precipitation may bring in the winter, this risk should be mitigated in the fall. Trees too close to your home can cause problems far worse than leaf litter, so the benefits of trimming them back abound.
Inspect your gutter system
It’s a good idea as you prep your fall checklist to take a walk around your home looking for gutter issues you can spot easily.
· Look for major cracks and gaps in your gutters are things to flag, in addition to any rust or corrosion in your gutter system.
· After a big late summer rain, assess whether you see pooling water near your home’s foundation, an indicator that your gutter system is malfunctioning somewhere down the line.
· Look for whether your landscaping has been disproportionately affected by runoff from your roof. Make a note of the location to look for vulnerabilities.
Ultimately, there is no substitution for a professional gutter inspection, so this step is a must for your to-do list in the fall. Act early and call us at Gutterworks to ensure we can come on your schedule to inspect your gutter system most thoroughly. If you already have a list of concerns that you would like us to investigate, we can help you come up with an action plan, if needed, to be able to rest easily all winter long, knowing that your gutter system is in good, functioning condition.
Cleaning or replacing your gutters
When it comes to the importance of planning ahead, neglecting to schedule a gutter cleaning or replacement in the fall could make for a long winter of waiting for weather that is appropriate for doing that type of work. Freezing temperatures make it nearly impossible to properly clean obstructed gutters, and the best time for gutter replacement is in the spring or fall months. Wishful thinking in August can turn quickly to regret in December when you didn’t make the necessary plans for winterizing your gutters and it’s too late to avoid costly damage.
Don’t forget your downspouts
Often neglected, downspouts can become clogged during the summer and fall months. Make sure you plan to address any downspout issues at the right time in the fall so that you can be worry-free in the winter months. You’ll want to have them clear and ready to weather the freezing temperatures toward the end of fall after they’ve collected leaves throughout the season. Animals can take residence in a “cozy” downspout when the cold weather starts, so act proactively!
The final item on your checklist: call Gutterworks!
Overall, now is the time (not later this fall!) to mark your calendar with specific action steps to prevent regret later. As school starts and lifestyles shift to the fall and winter swing of things, shift your focus toward your home’s needs during the coming seasons.
We do not expect homeowners to be experts at home maintenance. In fact, as gutter professionals, we undertook years of education and experience to have the knowledge we have today. The average homeowner is far from an expert! Professionals are professionals for a reason, and the gutter experts at Gutterworks are some of the best! Contact us today to complete your gutter checklist this fall.