With the much anticipated return of HBO’s Game of Thrones comes the resurfacing of House Stark’s oft-spoken words:  “Winter Is Coming”. Truer words have never been spoken – both in Westeros and in Western Oz.

As autumn draws to a close and winter rounds the bend, homeowners in Perth and the whole WA find themselves dealing with the mass falling of tree leaves and flowers, and oftentimes, the persistent rains that come with the season. Because of this  it’s important that you keep an eye on your home and make sure that everything is watertight and protected from damage.

YOUR ALFRESCO IS AN “INTERIOR” AS MUCH AS IT IS AN “EXTERIOR”

Throughout the dry seasons, we often focus our attention to sprucing up our homes aesthetically, which usually coincides with interior decoration and the like. As for home-readiness and preparedness against the elements, your typical homeowner will often only consider this at the change of season.

The tricky bit is usually with outdoor rooms and alfrescos – not quite your home’s exterior, not quite indoors either – which is why some things end up being overlooked.

KEEPING YOUR MIND IN THE GUTTERS

When it comes to our Alfrescos, we often only pay attention to keeping things within sight in check. We’re often only focused on appearances that we tend to forget that the “outside” of our alfresco (more often the top or roofing part of it) needs our attention too. Like what Littlefinger once said: “What we don’t know is what usually causes damage to our alfresco”.

^{“Yeah, I don’t remember saying that…”}

Our gutters, in particular, need the most attention come wintertime. With leaves falling on your roof, it’s important that your gutters be kept clear of leaves or other debris that can clog them up and promote rainwater buildup.

Especially in Perth, where rain often falls fast and hard – despite it often being a short downpour. This means that any minimal clogging can cause immediate buildup in rainwater, and cause water to trickle into parts they have no business trickling into.

WINTER IS COMING – BEST DEAL WITH IT NOW

Which brings us to our point – don’t wait until you’ve got water spilling everywhere before you go check on your gutters and roofing. The best time to climb up on your house and go over stuff is on a sunny day where you can easily see and deal with everything. Some pointers on checking up on your gutters:

• Make sure you have a stable means of getting up on your roof. A sturdy and secure ladder will be great, especially as dealing with your gutters will mean you’re likely to be moving around the perimeter of your roof – something you’d rather do from a ladder than leaning out over your roof.
• Bring a bucket you can hook to your ladder to stash the leaves and debris you fish out of your gutters- it’s a lot easier than throwing everything on the ground and picking those up again later.
• Best clear the leaves with some gardening gloves.
• You can check your pipes by running water through a hose. If anything is beyond reach, it’s best call a handyman to help you out.

All these are necessary precautions for keeping your patio in Perth – and your home – prepared for whatever winter throws at you.