As the dog days of summer usher in autumn, I begrudgingly face the reality that it's time to buckle down and handle a few important chores around the house. These are the kinds of tasks that aren't particularly rewarding now but, on a cold, wind-swept winter night, let me sleep a little better knowing they've been done.

Once winter blows in, houses have to get serious. Roofs must shed rain and snow, windows and doors must reject the cold, and the heating system must keep rooms comfortable. If any of these components don't hold up their part of the bargain, we have to scramble around in the wet, cold, and/or dark to fix them.

So let's get started! By handling these few, important, reasonably easy tasks now, you can avoid considerable grief later.

1) Inspect the roof
If possible, go up onto the roof to check its condition, but only do this if you can do it safely. Look for cracked or missing shingles, bald spots on shingles, missing or damaged flashing, and other conditions that might allow leaks. If composition shingles look aged, bend back the corner of one; if it crumbles or breaks, figure it is time for replacement. In most cases, you can seal minor cracks or tears with roofing cement or do minor repairs yourself.

Do not climb onto a roof that is steep, wet, or icy. Instead, consider checking the surface from a ladder or, if you can't safely climb a ladder, use a pair of binoculars to scan for broken or missing shingles. From the top of a ladder, you can check the gutters along a typical asphalt-shingle roof for fine gravel-like granules that wash down from the roof's surface. An accumulation of these usually means the surface is wearing away and replacement time is near. If you see problems, call a roofing contractor.

2) Check the gutters
While you're on the ladder, look into the gutters. If they are clogged with leaves and debris, either call a gutter specialist or clean the gutters yourself. Gutters prevent basement and foundation flooding and water damage to siding, windows, and doors. When clogged with leaves and debris, they will fill with rainwater and overflow. To make matters worse, the added weight of the water may pull them loose from the eaves.

3) Look at the siding
Check the siding for cracks, damage, and separations. In most cases, you can seal-up any leaky spots with clear caulking compound (or buy paintable caulk and touch-up with paint). Either handle more serious siding repairs yourself or call a siding contractor.

If close inspection of the paint reveals problems such as blistering, peeling, alligatoring, wrinkling, or chalking, either touch them up (if areas are minor), or call a painting contractor.

4) Investigate weatherstripping
Also look to see if windows and doors are effectively sealed with weatherstripping. Weatherstripping will prevent drafts and winter heat loss. If weatherstripping is damaged, it's usually easiest and most effective to entirely replace it rather than to repair it.

5) Service the heating system
If your home is heated by a forced-air furnace, turn off the power to the unit and replace its disposable filter or clean its permanent filter according to the manufacturer's recommendations. While the furnace cabinet is open, brush and vacuum the blower blades. If you see potential leaks around air ducts, seal them by wrapping with duct tape. If you are not familiar with doing this type of work yourself, call a furnace technician.

If your home is due for a new, high-efficiency furnace or heat pump, check out the HomeTips buying guides for helpful information about these appliances.

6) Sweep the chimney
If you can see past the damper in the throat of the chimney, shine a flashlight up from inside to look for black, scaly creosote buildup on the inner walls. Creosote buildup on the inner walls of the chimney must be removed periodically to prevent chimney fires. The amount of buildup inside the chimney will depend upon how much wood you burn seasonally (especially resinous wood such as pine) and how long it has been since the last cleaning. Cleaning is generally recommended at least once a year for an active fireplace. Call a chimney sweep to have this done. See also our DIY chimney cleaning and repair advice.

7) Adjust storm doors
A storm door can reduce energy costs and prevent drafts. To keep your storm door working properly, put a couple of drops of light oil or spray a little WD-40 on hinges and latches. Be sure the door closer is adjusted and working smoothly; to adjust the closing speed of a pneumatic closer, turn the adjustment screw in the end cap. If you have a storm-and-screen door with interchangeable glass and screen panels, switch from screens to glass panels. See our report on screen doors.

If your storm door needs replacement, see the Home Tips storm door buying guide.

--Don Vandervort