Autumn has a habit of arriving quietly, then all at once. One week you're eating outside, the next the mornings are sharp and the heating has clicked on by itself. The jobs you do now — while the ground is still soft and there's light enough after work — are the ones that stop a small annoyance in October turning into an expensive problem in January.

None of the fifteen jobs below need a specialist from start to finish, and most take under an hour. Work through them in order, or pick the ones that apply to your house, but get them done before the first hard frost.

Gutters, downpipes and drainage

Blocked gutters are one of the most common causes of damp patches and blown render on British houses, and they're almost always avoidable. Wait for a dry day, use a stable ladder with a stand-off bracket so it isn't resting on the gutter itself, and scoop the debris out by hand wearing gloves — a gutter scoop or an old washing-up glove works better than a trowel.

Once the run is clear, flush it with a hose and watch where the water goes. If it pools at the base of a downpipe, the gully is blocked. If it dribbles over the front edge, the gutter has lost its fall or a bracket has pulled loose. Check the joints for drips and reseal where needed. If you have trees overhead, a mesh guard is worth fitting, but choose one you can lift out for cleaning or you'll simply move the problem.

Roof, chimney and flashings

You can inspect a surprising amount from ground level with a pair of binoculars. Look for slipped or cracked tiles, ridge tiles sitting proud of the mortar, rusted flashing around the chimney, and moss building up behind the parapet. The moss itself is rarely the emergency — it's the water it holds.

Inside, take a torch into the loft. Daylight through the roof felt means a gap; dark staining on rafters and joists means water has been getting in for a while. Check the chimney too: a cracked pot, a missing cowl or crumbling flaunching all let rain straight down into the flue. Anything above first-floor level is best handed to a roofer. Roofs are not a sensible DIY ladder job, and a fall will cost far more than the repair.

Draught proofing

Draughts are cheap to fix and you feel the difference immediately. Work around the house in one go:

• Fit brush or rubber seals to the bottom and sides of external doors, including the back door and any door into a garage or conservatory.
• Add a letterbox brush and a keyhole cover — small items, but they whistle in a strong wind.
• Seal gaps around window frames with a flexible frame sealant rather than a rigid one, so the frame can still move with the weather.
• Fit a chimney balloon if the fireplace is unused, and remember to take it out before lighting a fire.
• Use a draught excluder on internal doors between a heated room and a cold hallway.

Leave ventilation alone, though. Trickle vents, airbricks and any vent serving a gas appliance or wood burner must stay open. Sealing them can create damp, and with fuel-burning appliances it can create a genuine safety risk. If you're unsure which vents are doing what, ask a Gas Safe registered engineer.

Boiler, radiators and heating controls

Book the boiler service before the rush. Engineers fill up fast from late October, and a service in September is no more expensive than one in December, just far easier to arrange. While it's being done, ask them to check the system pressure and the condensate pipe, which is the part that freezes first.

Then do the simple bits yourself. Bleed radiators starting on the lowest floor and working up; if the water that comes out is black, the system could do with a flush or a magnetic filter. Set thermostatic radiator valves room by room — bedrooms cooler, bathrooms and living rooms warmer. Turn the thermostat down a degree before deciding you need more heat. If you have a hot water cylinder, check the lagging jacket is thick enough and covers the top, since that's where most of the heat escapes.

Pipe lagging and the water supply

Frozen pipes are the classic winter insurance claim. Foam lagging is inexpensive and easy to fit, so lag every pipe in the loft, garage and any unheated outbuilding, paying particular attention to elbows, joints and anything near an airbrick or loft hatch.

Find your internal stopcock now and check that it turns. If you go away in winter, leave the heating on a frost setting rather than switching it off entirely. Drain any outside tap by closing the internal isolation valve and opening the tap to let the remaining water run out.

The 15 jobs, in one list

1. Clear gutters, hoppers and downpipes.
2. Check gullies and drains for blockages.
3. Inspect roof tiles, ridge tiles and flashings.
4. Check the loft for leaks and top up insulation.
5. Have the chimney swept and the pots checked.
6. Draught proof doors and windows.
7. Fit a chimney balloon if the fireplace is unused.
8. Book the annual boiler service.
9. Bleed radiators and check system pressure.
10. Set thermostatic valves and timer schedules.
11. Lag loft and garage pipework.
12. Insulate the hot water cylinder.
13. Drain and isolate outside taps.
14. Clear leaves from paths and check outside lighting.
15. Store garden furniture and check fence panels.

Spread it over three weekends

Fifteen jobs sounds like a lot. In practice it's two weekends of proper work and one of tidying up. Do the wet, dirty jobs first — gutters and drainage — while the weather is still mild and the evenings are usable. The following weekend, tackle the heating and plumbing, because those are the ones you want finished before the first cold snap. Save the garden, lighting and storage for last.

Keep a note of anything you can't safely fix yourself and get quotes before Christmas rather than after. Tradespeople are busier in January, and the small leak you ignored in October has a habit of announcing itself on the coldest night of the year.

Photo: Lolame / Pixabay