Winter-proofing your home: a practical autumn checklist
Most winter call-outs trace back to something that could have been sorted in September. Here is the checklist we work through on our own maintenance rounds before the weather turns.
Almost every emergency call-out we take between December and February traces back to something that could have been dealt with quietly in September for a fraction of the cost. Frozen pipes, overflowing gutters, blown-off ridge tiles — none of them arrive without warning.
This is the checklist we work through on our own planned maintenance rounds each autumn. Most of it you can do yourself in a couple of weekends.
Start outside, and start high
Water damage in winter almost always begins above head height and works downwards. Dealing with the roof and guttering first means everything below has a fighting chance.
- Clear the gutters and flush the downpipes through with a hose.
- Check the ridge line and visible flashing from the ground with binoculars.
- Look for slipped tiles, especially after the first autumn gales.
- Cut back any branches overhanging the roof or touching the walls.
- Clear leaves from gullies, drain covers and any below-ground drainage.
- Check that the ground still falls away from the building near downpipe outlets.
Protecting against frozen pipes
A burst pipe is the most expensive thing that can go wrong in a domestic property over winter, and it is also among the most preventable. Water expands as it freezes; the pipe splits while frozen, and the damage only becomes apparent when it thaws and starts flowing again.
- Lag every pipe in unheated spaces — lofts, garages, outbuildings and under suspended floors.
- Pay particular attention to pipes on external walls and near loft hatches, where draughts concentrate.
- Insulate the cold water tank on the sides and top, but never underneath: rising warmth from the house below is what keeps it from freezing.
- Fit an outside tap isolator and drain the tap down before the first frost.
- Make sure everyone in the house knows where the internal stop tap is and that it actually turns.
Draughts, damp and condensation
There is a genuine tension here worth understanding. Sealing a house tightly reduces heat loss, but it also traps moisture — and a warm, sealed, poorly ventilated house grows mould. The aim is to stop draughts while keeping deliberate ventilation.
Worth sealing
- Gaps around window and door frames
- Unused keyholes and letterbox surrounds
- Gaps where pipes and cables pass through external walls
- Floorboard gaps and skirting junctions on ground floors
Never seal
- Airbricks and underfloor vents — these keep suspended timber floors dry
- Trickle vents in window frames
- Extractor fans in kitchens and bathrooms
- Any ventilation serving a gas appliance
A realistic timeline
| When | Job | Roughly how long |
|---|---|---|
| Early September | Roof and flashing inspection from ground level | An hour |
| Late September | Cut back overhanging branches | Half a day |
| Mid October | First gutter clear, check downpipes and gullies | Half a day |
| Late October | Lag pipes, drain outside taps, test the stop tap | Half a day |
| Early November | Draught-proofing, service the boiler | A day |
| Late November | Second gutter check after leaf fall | An hour |
The one job worth booking early
Get the boiler serviced in September or October. Every heating engineer in the country is fully booked from the first genuinely cold week onwards, and a boiler that fails in January is both harder to get looked at and more likely to cause secondary problems if the house drops below freezing while you wait.
If you would rather not work through the list yourself, this is precisely what our planned maintenance service covers — a scheduled visit before the weather turns, with a written report and photographs of anything we find.
- #winter
- #maintenance
- #damp
- #insulation
- #checklist
