4 Ways To Prepare Your Home For Fall
The summer season has already faded away, and autumn is already in full swing across the country, especially in the region around Southern California. In late October and early November, the peak season for the changing of leaf colors occurs on Southern California trees, and Mother Nature goes out of her way to show off her full splendor.
It’s a season for youngsters to go back to school, for professional football leagues to start playing again, and for maintenance chores around the household to be taken care of. There may be some special tasks you have each fall season, but many chores are the same year after year, and can be anticipated right along with the changing of the leaves. Here are some of the typical tasks associated with the season, that most residents of the southern part of the state undertake each year.
Clean your gutters
Cleaning out your gutters is very important during the autumn, because you can expect that a great many more leaves are going to be falling and clogging up your gutters. You’ll get a head start on all that by checking your gutters and removing all the debris which has accumulated throughout the year.
Then once the leaves do begin to fall, you’ll probably have to redo this task a couple times, so that you can be sure your gutters are clear when the cold weather arrives. If your gutter does get clogged up during the colder weather, it might very well be because the debris and material in them tend to freeze, and create a moisture buildup on your roof or behind your walls.
General landscaping
Fall is also a great time to do some general landscaping, because almost every home is in need of a few tasks in this category. This is a great time to patch any bare spots which have developed on your lawn, perhaps by excessive play from the kids. All it takes is putting down some extra seed and some strategically placed fertilizer.
Your garden could also probably use a good dose of fertilizer to get it through the winter and to promote root feeding throughout the winter. You may have shrubs or trees which require trimming, so dead or dying branches don’t get blown off by the stiff winds that come with the cold season. You’ll also probably want to do one or two final lawn mowings for the year, to keep your grass looking trim throughout the autumn.
Replace your windows
There’s no better time to do a window replacement throughout your home than in the autumn. With the cold season coming, you’ll want to be sure that your interior is well insulated and protected against the cool breezes of the coming season. It’s also a good idea to take advantage of the highly energy efficient window replacement options you have nowadays. There are double-pane and triple-pane glasses that can be completely weather tight against whatever winter has to offer.
You may want to have your windows coated with a low-emissivity coating that retains heat through the cold months, and retains cool air through the warmer months. If you’ve been thinking about getting double hung glass to make cleaning easier, now is the time to do it. Cleaning windows on the second floor of your home may have been a major hassle in the past, but by installing double hung windows on the upper floors, you can simply open the windows inside with no trouble at all for cleaning. It may cost you a little bit upfront, but the money you save with increased energy-efficiency and lower utility bills will make it well worth your while to replace your windows this autumn.
Sealcoat your driveway
You only need a temperature of 50°F or more to effectively sealcoat your driveway for the season, and make it relatively impervious to the onslaught of cold weather. Asphalt driveways take a real beating during the freeze and thaw cycles of wintertime, because that expands and contracts the asphalt, creating cracks where rock salt and other material can penetrate and degrade the pavement. Sealing those cracks up before winter can be very important for your driveway, because it provides an extra layer of protection against what’s coming.
It’s not an expensive undertaking at all, and it does have an excellent return on investment, because it could literally add years of life to your driveway. On top of the functional benefits you gain from sealcoating your driveway, it will also have that fresh, dark look which adds a great deal of visual appeal, much like a newly paved driveway would. Contact your local asphalt paver and set up an appointment for having a good sealcoating applied to your driveway, and you will have peace of mind about it surviving the ravages of winter.
