Summer home maintenance checklist

Summer is a season when we’re often outdoors more, spending time with our loved ones to make the most of the good weather (when we get it) and those longer daylight hours. 

Whether you’re hosting friends and family for BBQs or parties in your home and garden and want it looking its best, or just want to make sure that your property is shipshape before autumn hits, there are some maintenance tasks that are ideal for the summer months. 

In this article, we provide a summer home maintenance checklist of jobs to do around the home and any outdoor space you may have. 

Jump to:
Paint external woodwork, fences, gates and sheds
Do internal decoration projects during the summer
Give paths, decking and patios a good clean
Check and clean garden furniture
Get your boiler serviced while demand is lower
Visually check your brickwork, guttering and roof for damage
Watch out for summer condensation in your home
Other summer home maintenance tips
What should I do in my garden before autumn?

Paint external woodwork, fences, gates and sheds

While most newer doors and windows are not made from wood, it’s important to check any external woodwork in your home and garden to make sure it’s in good condition. 

5 signs that it’s time to paint your woodwork

Here’s some typical signs that your woodwork needs a fresh coat of paint or woodstain:

• Old paint is peeling, flaking or cracking
• The colour has faded
• There’s surface mould or moss
• There’s gaps from shrinkage
• It’s been a long time since it was last painted

Typical types of exterior woodwork to check

Sometimes it’s hard to remember of all the things that you own which are made of wood, so we’ve created a list of some of the most common things to check:

• Garden fencing
• Sheds, timber cabins or offices 
• Gates
• Exterior wooden doors
• Exterior wooden door frames
• External wooden windows and window frames
• Timber cladding
• Wooden gazebos
• Garden tables and chairs
• Decking

Preparing and painting your exterior woodwork

You’ll need to ensure that the wood is clean and dry before you start (with no rain in the immediate forecast ideally). Using a stiff brush on it first will help make sure that there are no weeds or cobwebs hanging around. 

If you have a lawn, plants or patio at the bottom of the fence, shed or gate to protect, you can use old newspaper or a protective sheet. 
If your fence, gate or shed has never been painted in the past, you’ll need to prime the wood first for the best and most long-lasting results. This can help extend the lifetime of the wood. Make sure that the primer and paint are both designed for exterior wood, so they will offer the protection needed. 

Anything made from wood may need treating or painting with at least two coats to ensure that they stay weatherproof for another year, and the summer is an ideal time to do it. 

Top tip: If you can, doing this kind of task on a milder day, rather than during a heatwave, is best. This is because very strong sunlight and heat for a long period can dry paint too quickly and it may crack.

If you have a wooden shed with a felt roof, the summer is the perfect time to give it a check for damage or wear and tear. Roofing felt may need replacing every couple of years, depending on how exposed the shed’s location is.

Do your internal decorating projects during the summer

Giving a room a new lick of paint can be done at any time, but it’s generally a lot less hassle to do so in warmer months - because it’s easier to ventilate freshly painted rooms during the summer and it helps the paint to dry a little quicker too. 

Doing it while the weather is nice and your indoors is being used that little bit less is also generally more convenient than decorating while everyone is stuck inside because of rain or cold weather. 

Give paths, decking, and patios a good clean

Slippery paths, decking and patios are never ideal, so jet washing or using a firm brush to scrub away dirt, weeds and debris is a good way to reduce that risk before autumn hits. Doing this job during the summer means that it’s quicker to dry and less unpleasant to do in the first place. 

Decking may need to be resealed, which will help extend its life. 

Check and clean garden furniture

If you have any garden furniture that stays outside all year round, or even if you keep it stored somewhere inside and bring it out for the warmer months, it can often be a little worse for wear after spring leads into summer. 

Check all seating and tables for damage and give everything a good clean. It shouldn’t take long to dry out again when done on a warm summer’s day.

Get your boiler serviced while demand is lower

There’s naturally higher demand for getting boilers serviced during colder autumn and winter months, so by booking your boiler service during quieter summer months, you’ll benefit from a bit more flexibility with dates, and know your heating is all set and ready for when you need it most. 

If you’re renting, just ask your landlord to book it in, so that it’s a job ticked off the list before you need to use the heating again when the weather turns. 

Visually check your brickwork, guttering and roof for damage

We’re not recommending that you get the long ladders out, but doing a quick walk around the outside of your home and having a good look for anything that isn’t quite right externally is always a good idea in the summer. 

Standing across the street so that you can see some of your roof, and then again at the back, is a quick way to see if you can spot any roof tiles out of place or anything that looks unusual. If the pointing (mortar between the bricks) on your walls is cracked or there are gaps, then work might need to be done to resolve this. 

If you are renting then inform your landlord as soon as possible, because it’s much better to do repointing in summer than at other times of the year. 

Looking up from the ground, make sure that the guttering looks intact all the way around your property and if you spot any vegetation sticking out, or other potential blockages, clearing the gutters before the autumn hits is important. 

If you have any climbing plants growing on your brickwork, such as ivy, the summer is a good time to cut these back and check the wall underneath in case it’s been hiding any damage. 

Watch out for summer condensation in your home

If you open your curtains or blinds on a summer morning, it’s common to see some condensation forming on the outside of your windows. This will disappear on its own during the day. 

Condensation on the inside of your windows is also very common at this time of year, especially in bedrooms, but the moisture needs somewhere to go, so it’s important to ventilate rooms well and allow air to circulate properly. Leave bedroom windows open enough to ventilate rooms and leave internal doors open on bedrooms when you can. 

Other summer home maintenance tips

Along with the tasks already mentioned, it’s a great idea to look out for any other wear and tear on the inside and outside of your home in the summer - so you still have time to deal with things before shorter days and the colder and wetter weather sets in. 

Some of the common issues can include:

• Cracked or degraded sealant around external doors and windows
• Cracked or degraded sealant around baths, showers or sinks
• Cracked grout between bathroom tiles

If you own your home, you can arrange for these things to be fixed or give DIY a go. For renters, you’ll need to let your landlord know so that these things can be put right.