A dry October afternoon is enough to catch most of the problems that cost money in February. Walk the property in this order: roof and eaves first, then the ground, then the mechanical items, and finish with the gear.
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Set up the walk: when, what to carry, what to skip
Pick a dry day after the leaves are mostly down, so you can see the eavestroughs, and before the first hard frost. Carry binoculars, your phone for photos and a notepad. Your ladder use, if any, stays at ground-level height with a proper standoff. You do not walk on the roof.
Skip the jobs that belong to a trade: roof repairs, electrical work, gas appliance service and anything that needs fall protection. Your job is to spot problems and photograph them, so that you can book the right person. The fall home exterior checklist covers the wider seasonal round.
Give it half a day, and work in the same order every year. Name your photo folders by area, such as roof, downspouts, driveway and vents. Next October you will have a baseline to compare against, and if plow damage or a leak ever needs explaining, you will have dated pictures of how things looked before winter.
Roof, eaves and downspouts
- Roof: from the ground, look for missing or curled shingles, lifted flashing around chimneys and vents, and moss or debris at the valleys.
- Eavestroughs: look for sagging runs, gaps at the joints and loose hangers. Once the leaves have dropped, clear each run and flush it with a hose, and confirm that the water leaves at the bottom. A clogged trough holds water that turns to ice.
- Downspout outlets: each should end on the lawn, well away from walks, steps and the driveway. A flip-up extension can be lifted out of the way of a plow.
- The attic hatch: if it is drafty or uninsulated, that is heat leaking up to melt roof snow, so note it for weatherstripping.
If the eaves are too high for a safe ladder setup, D&D Home Services offers gutter cleaning from $125 for typical Kitchener-Waterloo homes, with the final price confirmed in writing.
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Driveway, walks, steps and railings
- Surface: note cracks, crumbling edges, heaved slabs and tilted pavers. They trip people, and they catch plow blades. Cracks in asphalt let water in, and the guide to crack filling before sealing explains why to fix them.
- Steps and railings: treads should be even and dry-gripping, and the handrail firm when you lean on it. A rail that wobbles in October will not hold you in January.
- Lighting: confirm that the porch and path lights work, and that the house number is visible from the street.
- Sight lines: trim shrubs at the driveway mouth, so that there is room to see traffic once the snowbanks rise.
- Edges: set stakes along the driveway and any raised covers before the ground freezes.
Vents, meters, taps and alarms
- Meters: the gas and electric meters need a clear approach, with no shrubs or stored items in the way.
- Wall vents: the furnace, water heater, dryer and fresh-air intakes and exhausts should be free of leaves, nests and plantings. Make a note to check them by hand after every storm.
- Outdoor taps: disconnect hoses, shut off the interior valve that feeds each tap if there is one, and drain the tap, so it cannot freeze and split a pipe inside the wall.
- Sump pump discharge: confirm that the discharge line is clear and empties away from the house and away from walks.
- Alarms: test the smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, and replace batteries as needed.
- Furnace: book the annual service with a licensed technician, before the cold arrives.
Turn the list into three piles of jobs
Once the walk is done, sort what you found so that nothing is lost between October and the first storm.
- Do it this week: hoses off, taps shut, stakes in, gutters flushed, alarms tested, shrubs trimmed at the driveway mouth.
- Book a trade: shingle or flashing repairs, a sagging eavestrough run, a leaning railing, driveway cracks, furnace service. Trades fill up once the weather turns, so call early.
- Watch through winter: a spot where ice always forms, an outlet that drips onto a walk, a corner where snow drifts. Photograph it in the act, and you will know exactly what to fix in spring.
Build the kit and the plan
Finish with the gear and the arrangements. Test the snow blower and replace worn shovels. Buy sand or de-icer and a spreader, and check with your installer before using chloride on new concrete. Check your city's current winter parking rules, so a ticket does not arrive in the first storm.
Then settle who will clear the snow. D&D Home Services offers snow removal from $80 per visit for typical Kitchener-Waterloo homes, with seasonal contracts available. Get quotes in October if you want a contractor, and keep a list of emergency numbers by the door.
Key Takeaways
- Inspect on a dry day in order: roof and eaves, driveway and steps, vents and meters, then your winter kit.
- Aim every downspout outlet onto the lawn, away from walks, before the freeze.
- Fix tripping hazards, crumbling edges and loose railings in the fall, when repairs are easy.
- Disconnect hoses, shut off outdoor taps, and test alarms and the snow blower before the first snow.
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