October: Home Tasks for London Homeowners

October priorities

• ✓Heating should be tested and working — a boiler fault found in October is far easier to fix than in December
• ✓Clear gutters — October is peak leaf fall; blocked gutters overflow directly against your walls and foundations
• ✓Insulate exposed pipes in loft and below ground floor — frost risk increases from late October
• ✓Turn off and drain external taps — a frozen external tap cracks the fitting and floods internally
• ✓Final lawn cut and garden winterising — cut to 5cm, scarify, and apply autumn lawn feed
• ✓Check external lighting is working for darker evenings — a simple task that improves security and safety
• ✓Lag the cold water tank in the loft — the loft gets colder faster than the rest of the house
• ✓Plant spring bulbs — tulips, daffodils, and alliums go in between October and November