How to prepare your home for the autumn
Leaves clogging gutters. Slipped roof tiles. All kinds of issues can crop up in your home during the autumn, as the weather generally turns colder and wetter.
Get ahead of your maintenance tasks by following our step-by-step guide on how to prepare your home for the autumn.
| Must know Keep your home maintained all year round, not just in the autumn, to prevent minor issues from turning into unmanageable ones. In short
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Start with the roof
We all know the comfort of having a roof over our heads. It keeps the rain off and the heat inside. But the last thing you want is a water leak. So, this autumn, start by checking the state of your property’s roof.
Stand back from your home and view the roof from every angle. Look for:
- Loose or slipped tiles
- Gaps in the tiles
- Broken tiles
- Damaged lead
- Pointing around chimneys
Maintaining the roof in the autumn reduces the risk of leaks and helps to protect walls and ceilings from damp. Ask a professional roofer to deal with any slipped tiles and repoint the chimneys before the autumn rains really get going.
Clean the gutters
As autumn sets in, falling leaves tend to pile up in gutters, which can lead to bigger issues if left unchecked. Blocked gutters can cause serious damage to your home, including costly roof repairs.
This is a great time to grab some gloves and clear out any debris before it builds up. Keeping gutters and downpipes clear now can help prevent flooding and protect your home’s foundations.
Signs of clogged gutters
- Overflowing water
- Pooling water underneath
- Insects around stagnant water
- Sagging pipework
- Moss and weeds growing in them
- Stains on brickwork
- Bubbling paintwork
- Damp internal walls
Autumn home preparation tip: If you don’t like ladders or are nervous about using them, get a professional to safely clean out any leaves, silt and plant growth from your property this autumn. Check that you have solved the issue by pouring water into the gutters from a garden hose to be sure they run clear.
Clear the garden
While you’re outside, take the opportunity to tidy up the garden and check any fences to see if an autumn storm could damage them.
Secure or cover items in the garden that could fly around and damage your home on a windy day. Or put them in a shed, garage or other outbuilding. Typical garden items include:
- Trampolines
- Patio furniture
- Children’s toys
- Bird feeders
- Decorations
- Plant pots and containers
- Gardening tools like watering cans
- Rubbish and recycling bins
Check your fences
Wooden fences are another garden item that can be damaged or fall over if they are not secured firmly to each other or into the ground. Check each panel for wood rot and then secure it.
If you need an urgent solution for a wobbly fence post, you could always brace it temporarily with stakes. Other options are a permanent concrete support brace or anchor to the base of the post. It’s not always necessary to replace the entire post and panel.
Are your boilers and radiators working?
A typical autumn in the UK will see temperatures fall and wet weather arrive.1 So, after you have prepared the outside of your property, move inside and look at everything that might affect your heating system. After all, nothing’s worse than dropping boiler pressure and radiators that don’t work when the weather starts to chill.
Turn on the boiler to see if it’s working normally. The boiler pressure should be 1.0 to 2.0 bar when the heating is on and 1.0 to 1.5 bar when it’s off. If it’s too high or low, take the following steps:
- Check the filling valves
- Bleed the radiators
- Open filling valves, levers or taps if the pressure is too low
- Call in a Gas Safe-registered gas engineer for leaks or other issues
You should bleed radiators to make sure they are heating up efficiently. Save money and maintain a warm home in the autumn by following our short guide to bleeding radiators. If the boiler is working but the rads are not:
- Turn off the central heating so the radiators cool down
- Hold an old towel under the bleed valve to catch any drips from it
- Keep a jug or tray nearby to stop water from reaching the floor
- Use a radiator bleed key to turn the bleed valve anticlockwise
- When air hisses and escapes, turn the key clockwise to tighten it
- Repeat for every radiator
Typically, a bleed valve resembles a round socket with a bar inside, over which you slot the bleed key and turn.
Bleeding the radiators will help you to maintain a comfortable heat throughout your home by allowing them to run efficiently.
Review your loft insulation
A further step you can take to prepare your home for autumn and keep it snug is to review its insulation. The better the insulation, the less heat escapes, thereby keeping your energy bills down.
Open the loft hatch and check that you have enough loft insulation. If you know there’s no insulation in the cavity walls in your property, consider hiring a specialist to advise you on improving it.
Add foam strips along the loft door edges, frame and hatch without affecting the loft hatch mechanism if you have a ladder attached to it. Or tape insulation across the back of it.
Draught-proof your home
Get ready for autumn by finding out where any other draughts could be coming from. Not only will you save on heating costs, but you’ll also reduce your carbon dioxide emissions.
The simple steps you can take include:
- Add draught excluders around the main doors of your home
- Put an insulating jacket on the hot water tank/cylinder if you have one
- Use flexible filler to plug gaps around windows, floorboards and skirting
- Insert a chimney balloon to block air from unused chimneys (never block a flue or air bricks)
Draught-proofing your home this autumn could save you around £25-£35 a year.2
Does home insurance cover autumn storm damage?
It’s essential to maintain your property all year round, not just in the autumn. Lack of maintenance may be one reason why a home insurance policy does not cover you for damage.
Check our guide to flood and freeze-related claims.
Home insurance will generally cover storm damage during the autumn, but you need to be aware of how the insurer defines a storm. Find out what Rias home insurance covers.
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