Fall home maintenance checklist for Ottawa homeowners

Core aeration tops the list because everything else lawn-related depends on it. Ottawa clay compacts over the year; the fall growth surge is when the lawn can actually use the relief. Overseed immediately after - the open holes are the best seed bed of the year - then keep the seed damp for two weeks.

Last fertiliser application goes down late October: it feeds root storage rather than blade growth, which is what the lawn draws on next April.

Clean them before the leaves come down, not after. Summer dust comes off, the glass is clear for the low winter sun, and you avoid scrubbing leaf-tannin stains in November wind. Gutter cleaning can ride along on the same visit if your trees drop early - otherwise hold it for the main drop.

The trigger is temperature, not snow. Below about 7°C, all-season rubber hardens and grip falls off - on dry pavement too. In Ottawa that is typically mid to late October. Booking at the 7°C mark also beats the first-snowfall rush, when every shop in the city books out for weeks. One more thing most people skip: wheels need a retorque after about 100 km - it is the step that keeps them attached.

The most mistimed job in the city. Clean gutters in September and the October drop refills them; wait for the main leaf drop (typically late October) and one clean carries you into winter.

Why it matters here specifically: gutters full of wet leaves freeze solid, and frozen, blocked gutters are the starting point for ice dams - the kind of roofline damage that turns a $80 clean into a four-figure repair.

• Shut off and drain outdoor taps (and irrigation lines if you have them). A burst hose bib announces itself in April, inside the wall.
• Disconnect hoses - a connected hose is how bibs freeze even after a shutoff.
• Furnace filter - swap it before the heating season starts, then quarterly.
• Reverse ceiling fans to push warm air down. Free heat you already paid for.