WeekendCalc

Home maintenance calendar: what to do this month, October to December

Seasonal checklist · 3 months · 12 jobs

Each month below lists the home and yard jobs that are due, why they are due now, and the calculators, guides and planners that work out what to buy. Timings suit most of the US; in the South, outdoor jobs can wait a few weeks, and in the northern states and mountains they come a few weeks sooner.

October

October is the last comfortable month for outside work in most of the country, and the month to get the house sealed before the heating runs all day. If your attic has R-19 and you top it up to R-49 with blown fiberglass, that is about 12.0 more inches of insulation, a Saturday job that pays back every winter after.

Clean and check the gutters

Clear them once most leaves are down, and check the slope, hangers and downspouts while you are on the ladder. Overflowing gutters in fall become ice dams in winter.

Gutter Calculator: Sections, Hangers and DownspoutsThe 10 ft gutter sections, hangers, end caps, outlets, downspouts and the slope for K-style gutters.Ladder Length Calculator: What Size Extension Ladder Do I Need?The extension ladder size for a height, how far to set the base, and how high a ladder reaches.

Read first: How Much Gutter Do I Need? Sections, Hangers and Downspouts

Top up attic insulation and seal drafts

Measure the depth you have, then blow in the rest. Weatherstrip doors and windows and caulk gaps around trim on a dry day above about 40°F, when caulk still cures.

Attic Insulation CalculatorDepth and volume of insulation to reach a target R-value.Weatherstripping Calculator: Doors and WindowsThe feet of weatherstripping for your doors and windows, rolls, and door sweeps.Caulk CalculatorHow many tubes of caulk or sealant for a joint of any size.

Read first: How to Measure Attic Insulation Depth and Work Out the R-Value · How Much Weatherstripping Do I Need for Doors and Windows?

Have the furnace serviced and stock up on fuel

Book the furnace check before the first cold snap, when technicians get busy. If you burn wood, propane or pellets, order now: seasoned firewood sells out and propane prices often rise in winter.

Furnace Size CalculatorBTU output and input rating of a furnace for your house.How Much Firewood Do I Need for Winter?Cords of firewood to heat a house, by climate, stove and wood type.Propane Tank Runtime CalculatorHow many hours a propane tank lasts for a grill, heater or furnace.How Many Pellets Do I Need for Winter?Tons and 40 lb bags of wood pellets to heat a house for a winter.

Read first: How Many Cords of Firewood Do I Need for Winter? · How Long Does a Propane Tank Last? Grill, Heater & Furnace Chart

Seed, feed and mulch

Early fall is the best time to overseed and feed cool-season lawns; in the South, leave warm-season grass alone as it goes dormant. Mulch beds after the ground cools to protect roots through winter.

Grass Seed CalculatorPounds of grass seed for a new lawn or overseeding.Lawn Fertilizer CalculatorPounds of fertilizer for your lawn, from its N-P-K label.Mulch CalculatorCubic yards or bags of mulch for any bed, with a bulk vs bag cost check.

Read first: How Much Grass Seed Do I Need? Pounds per 1,000 Sq Ft by Type · How Much Mulch Do I Need? Coverage Chart, Bags vs Bulk

Planners for October: Fall jobs for the yard and the outside of the house · Getting the house ready for winter.

November

November is for the holidays and for getting ahead of the first snow. A turkey for 10 adults and 2 children at 1.5 lb a head is about 17 lb, and it needs about 5 days to thaw in the fridge, so buy it early. For the driveway, a 40 x 12 ft drive takes about 29 lb of rock salt over a twelve-storm winter of normal snow and ice: buy before the first storm empties the shelves.

Plan Thanksgiving

Work out the turkey size and the thaw time first, then the sides. A frozen turkey thaws in the fridge at roughly a day per 4 to 5 lb.

Turkey Size Calculator: How Big a Turkey for Thanksgiving?The turkey size for your guests, plus thawing and roasting times.Thanksgiving Dinner Calculator: How Much Food Per PersonTurkey, potatoes, stuffing, sides and pies for your guest list.

Read first: How Big a Turkey Do I Need? Thawing, Roasting and Timeline · How Long to Thaw a Turkey: Fridge and Cold Water Times · Thanksgiving Dinner: How Much Food Per Person (6 to 25 Guests)

Put up the outdoor lights

Hang roofline and yard lights on a dry weekend before it gets icy, and count the circuits so the breaker does not trip on the first night.

Christmas Lights Planner: Tree, Roofline, Circuit and CostStrands for the tree and roofline, clips, cords, circuit load and the cost to run.Outdoor Christmas Lights CalculatorBulbs, strands and clips to outline a roofline, windows or railing.Christmas Lights Circuit Load CalculatorHow many strands one outlet or circuit can safely run.

Read first: Christmas Lights Shopping List: Tree and Roofline Quantities

Winterize the outside

Disconnect hoses and shut off outdoor faucets where pipes can freeze, blow out irrigation lines, and stock ice melt and a shovel by the door.

Ice Melt Calculator: How Much Salt for a Driveway or WalkPounds of ice melt for one treatment, bags per storm, and bags and cost for the winter.Sprinkler System Calculator: Heads, Zones and Run TimeThe sprinkler heads for a lawn in a head-to-head layout, the flow, the zones for your water supply, the precipitation rate and the run time.

Read first: How Much Ice Melt Do I Need? Pounds per Driveway, Walk or Winter

Get ready for outages

Test the generator or charge the power station, and size it for what you would actually run in a winter outage: furnace blower, fridge, a few lights.

Generator Size CalculatorWhat wattage generator you need to run your appliances.Battery & Power Station Runtime CalculatorHow many hours a battery or power station will run a device.

Read first: Generator Wattage Chart: What Size Generator Do I Need? · Generator vs Portable Power Station: Which for Outages?

Planners for November: Planning the holidays: dinner, tree and lights · Getting the house ready for winter · Planning backup power, batteries and solar.

December

December is an indoor month. Under an 8 ft ceiling, with a 3 inch stand and an 8 inch topper, the tallest tree that fits is 7 ft, and it looks right with about 700 lights. Cold rooms are the other job: a 12 x 12 ft room needs a heater of about 1,440 watts, so check what that costs to run before you leave one on all evening.

The tree, lights and wrapping

Measure the ceiling before you buy the tree, and the tree before you buy the lights. The wrapping paper calculator works out how far a roll goes for your boxes.

Christmas Tree Size Calculator: What Height Tree for My Room?The tallest tree that fits your ceiling, its width, and the floor space it needs.Christmas Tree Lights CalculatorHow many lights and strands for a Christmas tree of any height.Wrapping Paper CalculatorPaper size, boxes per roll and ribbon length for a gift box.Christmas Lights Electricity Cost CalculatorWhat your holiday lights cost to run, LED vs incandescent.

Read first: What Size Christmas Tree for My Room? Height by Ceiling · How Many Christmas Lights Do I Need? Tree, Roofline & Circuit Load · How Much Wrapping Paper Do I Need? Paper Size and Boxes per Roll

Heat the cold rooms for less

Compare the running cost of a space heater with your main heat before relying on one, and look at the cheapest fuel for your house over the whole winter.

Space Heater Size CalculatorWatts of heater for a room, plus running cost.Heating Cost Comparison CalculatorYearly cost to heat a house with gas, oil, propane, electricity, a heat pump, wood or pellets.

Read first: What Size Space Heater Do I Need? Watts by Room Size · How Much Does It Cost to Run a Space Heater?

Watch for ice dams and condensation

Icicles along the eaves and water on the inside of windows both point to warm, moist air in the wrong place. Check attic ventilation and insulation, and run bathroom and kitchen fans.

Attic Ventilation CalculatorIntake and exhaust vent area, ridge vent length and soffit vents.Dew Point and Relative Humidity CalculatorDew point from temperature and humidity, or relative humidity from the dew point.Dehumidifier Size CalculatorPints per day of capacity a dehumidifier needs for a basement or room.

Read first: Dew Point Chart: Temperature, Humidity and When Windows Fog · Ice and Water Shield: How Much Do I Need? Rolls by Eave and Pitch

Plan a winter indoor project

Painting a room is ideal winter work: no weather to wait for, and the windows can stay shut with low-odor paint. Work out the paint and the supplies before the stores close for the holidays.

Paint CalculatorGallons of paint for a room, with coats, doors and windows.Room Painting Supplies CalculatorPaint, primer, tape, caulk and supplies to paint a room.

Read first: How Much Paint Do I Need? Gallons by Room Size Chart

Planners for December: Planning the holidays: dinner, tree and lights · Planning to paint a room or a house · Planning heating, cooling and ventilation.

Looking for everything on one subject instead? Browse topics or the project planners.

Estimates only. Weather decides the timing more than the calendar does. Have a licensed professional do or check gas and electrical work.