Home maintenance is essential for keeping your home in good condition and to prevent costly repairs. A well-maintained home not only lasts longer but also creates a more enjoyable and safer environment to live in.

Home maintenance tasks can range in difficulty. Some are simple tasks, like replacing the batteries in a smoke alarm, while other jobs are more complex, like repairing a leaky roof. Likewise, some jobs can be DIY projects you’ll be able to complete by yourself, while others require the expertise of a trained professional.

To help homeowners stay on top of their home maintenance, we have consulted our panel of experts to create seasonal checklists. These checklists will help homeowners organise their monthly to-do lists, so they can prioritise the jobs and keep their homes safe all year long. We also asked our panel of experts to rate the difficulty of each task and discuss whether they’d recommend homeowners seeking professional help.

Use the key below to quickly determine the type of task. 

As Autumn sets in, it’s the perfect time to get your home ready for the colder winter months. Our previous research, Essential Winter jobs, revealed that plumbers experience a significant increase in the number of callouts during winter, with 85% of plumbers surveyed stating they saw more callouts during winter. This increased workload can reduce your local plumber’s availability to respond to urgent repairs and may result in delays.

By preparing your home in autumn, you can hopefully ensure that your home will have hot running water throughout the winter.

More than three quarters of plumbers (77%) advised homeowners to get boilers serviced ahead of winter by a qualified engineer. Servicing the boiler will ensure that its functioning as it should, identifying any potential faults ahead of when you’ll need it the most.

When it comes to tasks you can do yourself, 41% of plumbers recommended that homeowners should install pipe insulation to prevent pipes from freezing and bursting in the winter from extreme cold.

If your windows need changing, you should consider getting them changed ahead of the winter months to keep your home safer and warmer. Older window designs may be more susceptible to mould and mildew build-up, which are more common during the winter months.

Window installers may be less busy in the run up to the winter, so they may be more flexible with scheduling installation dates and even offer seasonal discounts. It takes about 2 hours to install a standard window, although installing multiple windows with complex designs may take several days. To prevent your home losing too much heat you should book in with a window fitter before temperatures start to plummet.

Use the key below to quickly determine the type of task. 

Winter can be a tough time for your home. The cold weather, snow and storms can put a lot of pressure on its structure. If you’ve adequately prepared in the autumn for the upcoming winter, you can focus more on indoor jobs and stay warm.

The winter months may be an ideal time for indoor painting. The humidity is often lower during winter months, which can help paint dry more quickly and evenly. Although you should make the most of daylight hours as the shorter days can make it difficult to finish up painting jobs. To read more painting advice, you can read expert advice on our guide to How To Paint A Wall.

Another job which can be completed largely indoors is installing draught excluders on external doors and window seals. Even a small draught can let a lot of cold air in and warm air out of your home, which can drive up energy bills. So, it was unsurprising to see that 80% of builders on our expert panel recommended that homeowners should consider draught-proofing doors and windows to prevent heat escaping.

There are a variety of different draught excluders available, so you need to select the best one to suit your needs. Although, any confident DIY-er should have no problem during installation with many excluder products having pre-drilled holes, plated screw fixings or even self-adhesive strips for an easier installation.

Use the key below to quickly determine the type of task. 

As spring blooms, homeowners will naturally switch their attention to their gardens. With the warmer weather and gentle spring showers, it becomes the perfect environment for sowing seeds and nurturing plant life.

This can lead to a flurry of springtime gardening tasks. Our panel of experts have suggested that homeowners should prioritise weeding, mowing the lawn and pruning back plants. Homeowners considering hiring a landscaper or gardener for additional help should be aware that many landscapers will have less availability during the spring, so it is important to book early. 

Unfortunately, wildflowers and unexpected plants may surface which creates competition for nutrients and sunlight with other plants in your garden. You should try to de-weed your garden regularly, but early spring may be one of the best times to do perennial weeds.

Perennial weeds have deep root systems and can be more difficult to remove as you’ll need to remove the entire root system. This will be much easier to do in the spring particularly after heavy rainfall while the soil is still soft. Waiting until the summer when the soil is more dry can make it difficult to remove the root system.

Springtime is also the ideal season for regrouting bathroom tiles. Colder temperatures during the winter season can slow down the curing process and affect the quality of the grout. While the increase in humidity during summer may impact the quality of the finish.

Use the key below to quickly determine the type of task. 

As the sun shines and temperatures rise, summer presents an excellent opportunity to focus on revitalising your home exterior. Tasks like repairing and replacing fences or adding a fresh coat of paint can quickly improve your home’s kerb appeal.

Most landscapers in our expert panel recommended that homeowners should check on their plants and water them regularly during heat waves in summer. However our survey revealed another tip which was divisive amongst landscapers. If the heatwave is expected to last for an extended period, 40% of landscapers recommended moving more delicate plants to a shadier location. Although this should only be done so carefully, providing homeowners choose a suitable location to replant and that they do not damage plants in the process.

If you haven’t already got one, it’s imperative to install a carbon monoxide alarm in the summer months to prepare your home ahead of the colder months. If you do have one, it’s recommended that you regularly test your carbon monoxide alarm for safety and replace if needed.

While carbon monoxide can occur any time of the year, the risk is higher during the colder months as people start to use their central heating systems more. This means summer is a great time to install/ test your carbon monoxide alarm in preparation for autumn and winter months. Carbon monoxide can leak from appliances such as furnaces, water heaters, and stoves and poses a serious health hazard that can cause illness and even be fatal in some cases. Carbon monoxide is a colourless and odourless gas which makes it difficult to detect without a trusty carbon monoxide detector. 

Use the key below to quickly determine the type of task. 

You should have your roof professionally inspected at least once a year, preferably during the spring or autumn. A professional inspector may use a drone for an initial inspection to examine roof covering materials, chimneys, vents, and general structure of the roof to identify any damaged areas or potential risks of future roof leaks.

However, even the untrained eye may spot potential damage and so you should inspect the roof providing it is safe to do so. More than half of builders (60%) recommended that homeowners should keep an eye on your roofs, paying attention to any loose shingles or fallen tiles, particularly during periods of high winds and after storms.

Three quarters of roofers said homeowners should not attempt to repair roof holes. Even the roofers who said homeowners may be capable of repairing their roof, expressed extreme caution.

One roofer said “only if it is safe to do so. Working at a height is dangerous so should only be done by someone who is trained and very confident using the correct type of roof ladder. Safety is paramount so this task is not for the average DIYer.”

Certain parts of your home may require more attention. There are jobs which need to be completed more frequently than once or twice a year, ideally on a monthly basis.

Your home’s safety is important, therefore it is crucial to routinely check the batteries and functionality of your smoke and carbon monoxide alarms each month. Neglecting these vital checks can prevent damage and loss of life to your friends and family members.

Cleaning your shower head is often overlooked and forgotten by many homeowners. Although it is recommended that you clean your showerhead monthly. Regular cleaning helps prevent the buildup of limescale and bacteria. Limescale buildup can eventually create blockages and lower water pressure and damage your plumbing.

In addition to these routine safety measures, you should keep an eye out for any minor leaks or small cosmetic defects within your home. You should pay special attention to faucets, pipes and toilets as these are the most common areas for leaks. Addressing these issues early on can prevent costly repairs at a later date. 

Just like us, your home needs a bit of TLC throughout the year to keep it at its best. But seasonally, there are certain tasks that help us prepare for what’s next.

• Autumn time is usually best for preparing for winter. 

• During winter, your home is exposed to all the elements, and it’s essential that it keeps us warm and toasty.

• Spring is the prime time for garden tasks – that means planting your dream flowers as well as taking care of any uninvited plants in your flower beds. 

• When it comes to the summer, it's usually best to make the most of the sunlight and hopefully heat so exterior painting may be top of your list.

Being prepared throughout the year will allow you to be ahead of any potential issues and treat them before they get too costly. While for some of the above tasks, you may need to call in a professional, there are many that you can tackle yourself with the correct products and so it’s vital that your stocked up with all the essential hand tools for the job.