Prioritizing Safety No Matter the Season—Fall Maintenance Tips for Your Home

It’s that time of year again where our calendars slowly begin filling up with fall activities—but before you get too wrapped up in visiting your favorite pumpkin patches each weekend, it’s important that you take some time to prepare your home for the upcoming winter weather. If you’ve recently purchased a new construction home from our incredible team at Gemcraft Homes—there aren’t many items on this checklist that will apply to you, but focusing on preventative maintenance is also never a bad idea. By following these tips, you’ll know that you’ve taken the necessary precautions to protect your home and your loved ones as the colder weather makes its way across the region.

Keep the cold air out

Starting with the exterior of your home, it’s a good idea to do a thorough check around the entire house and look for any cracks around windows and doors. Simply by adding weather stripping or sealing exterior caulk to these locations, you’ll easily be able to cut down on your heating costs and keep moisture out of your home. If possible, try and get this step done before the temperatures begin to significantly dip as it’s easier to apply the caulk when the weather is still warm. 

Look at your landscaping 

Fall is also the perfect time to get your yard ready for the winter months, and your trees in particular need extra attention this time of year. Look for any noticeable differences in leaf colors or dead branches when you are inspecting your trees as these could be signs of damage. Any trees that are unhealthy should be removed or pruned in order to prevent them from causing damage to your home—especially your roof during winter storms. It’s also always important to keep up with raking any fallen leaves throughout your yard to ensure that your grass is healthy enough to grow once springtime rolls back around.  

Inspect your roof and gutters

The last step you’ll want to complete before making your way back inside your home is to check the roof. Grab your ladder, recruit a spotter and check for any cracked, curled or missing shingles and make sure you replace them immediately. While you might see some stains on your shingles that are purely surface level, they could potentially be signs of other growths that you will want to look into further. If you’re not comfortable doing this on your own—it’s always a great idea to bring in a professional to check everything out as well. 

This is also a great time to clean out your gutters. As the fall season progresses, your leaves will continue to pile up in your gutters, potentially causing drainage problems—so you’ll always want to keep this item on your to-do list. 

Check your HVAC system

Moving to the interior of your home, the first thing you’ll want to check is your HVAC system. By giving it a visual inspection on your own, you can look for any physical damage and clean the area around it. Then, make sure you change out the filter as a dirty filter can cause major damage to the system and cause your heating bills to go up. 

Replace batteries in detectors

One last quick tip that will only take a few minutes to do is checking on your carbon monoxide and smoke detectors. This is an easy way to ensure that you and your loved ones remain safe and healthy within your home this season and all others. Typically, It’s suggested that homeowners replace the batteries in these detectors twice a year—so once you’ve finished replacing them this time, set a reminder to do it again in six months.

Put your trust in a team that cares

Maintenance and repairs on older homes can sometimes be extremely expensive and time-consuming for homeowners to take care of—but when you make the decision to invest your time and money in a new construction home, you’re setting yourself up for success in the future. Our team at Gemcraft Homes has been building homes in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Delaware, West Virginia and Virginia for https://www.gemcrafthomes.com/about-usover 25 years, and we know just what goes into lasting, quality construction. If you’re ready to learn more about our available inventory, sought-after communities and fully functional and beautiful floor plans—give us a call at (800) 291-7436 or fill out our online form today.