The cold of winter can be absolutely brutal to a house. That’s why fall house projects are an important way to prepare for the upcoming season. First things first, make sure your furnace is in good working order. If not, hire a professional to either fix or replace it immediately. You don’t want to risk not having heat in the dead of winter.

Next up, focus on your windows. If you have cracked glass or drafty doors and windows, you will be losing money on your heating expenses in the cold weather. One of your fall house projects should be having a home repair expert inspect your doors and windows to make sure they won’t be letting in drafts.

It’s also a good idea to install weather stripping or replace broken glass panels if need be. Fall is also a great time to have someone examine the roof for loose shingles or loose flashing around chimneys; that will help you avoid some nasty surprises when it rains.

Gutters are a small part of your house than can cause you big problems. If your gutters are clogged or broken, they can allow water to damage the roof, create ice dams, leak into the attic, and even pool around the base of your house, causing water damage in your basement. Hire a licensed contractor to not only empty the gutters of leaves and inspect them to detect potential signs of trouble. Be sure to make gutters one of your top fall house projects.

Make sure you don’t forget to shut off the outside water and drain the pipes, so you don’t have to worry about water freezing and bursting the pipes over the winter. If that happens, it’s going to cost you big to get everything replaced.