As the sunshiny days of summer give way to the bright gold and reds of fall, it is easy to enjoy the beautiful transition, lay back and relax.  But you see, putting off essential fall home maintenance projects until the chilly winter months can not only cause a lot of difficulties but can also be costly as well.  Yes, your New York home is among the greatest investments you can have in a lifetime and not taking care of it will soon take its toll, leaving you and your family to live with insufficient comfort and functionality which are important to make everyday living of quality.  To avoid all the headaches brought by the inconveniences and costs, here are home maintenance projects for fall that you should not miss whether you are in Manhattan, Long Island, Queens, Brooklyn and Staten Island.

 

Home Inspection

 

The best possible start to your set of home improvement projects for fall is a thorough home inspection.  Though you can do this yourself, it is advised to hire a competent contractor or other qualified professionals to handle the task more efficiently for you. The expertise and tools that they have will allow for a more detailed and accurate assessment of the property and all areas of your house.  Doing this step can initially will cost some, but the results will prove to be more than your dollars’ worth.  By knowing which areas need repair and other improvements, you are saved from the costs and troubles that a snowballed home damage can bring.

 

Clean Up

 

Fall means that leaves, and a whole lot of them, will be scattered all over from the roof to the grounds.  These seemingly harmless piles of dead leaves and branches can be enough to do a lot of damage and causing you to end up with a broken bank.  In your fall home maintenance projects focus on gutters, downspouts, and other water draining channels.  Free these areas up from dead leaves and if possible, gutter guards and other such devices should be installed.  Clogging of gutters can lead to standing water.  When winter comes and freezing of these waters occur, not only will your gutters be damaged but the condition and efficiency of the basement, walls, foundation, and crawl spaces can be affected.  Removing dead leaves and branches on your lawn is a great way to preventing snowmolds.

 

Roof Care

 

One of the foremost areas that should be the focus of your fall home maintenance projects is the most exposed to all damaging elements – natural and not, and this is your roof.  Repair of any damage while the temperature is negative and piles of snow covers the expanse can be very difficult, and even dangerous.  This makes the evaluation and maintenance of this part of the house done on fall, a very ideal and sound action to take.  Some of the damage signs that you should be wary of include:

 

missing or damaged shingles
gaps along flashes, joints where the siding and roof meets with flues and vents
damp, moldy spots
broken mortar around the chimney especially at caps joints, and washes.