Utah home maintenance checklist

Around Salt Lake City the first 32°F night lands about October 26 on average, so have hoses off, spigots drained, and the shut-off closed by October 12. "Average" is the trap — half of all years freeze EARLIER than that date, and a single hard night is enough to split a hose bib you won't notice until spring. The frost-free stretch here runs roughly 193 days, from April 16 to October 26.

The coldest month around Salt Lake City averages a 25°F low, and it only takes one night below freezing. Three habits cover it: insulate every exposed run (garage, crawlspace, exterior walls), never let the house drop below 55F even when you're away, and open the cabinets under sinks on the coldest nights so warm air reaches the pipe inside the wall. The pipe that bursts is almost always the one you couldn't see.

Salt Lake City averages about 59 days a year at or above 90°F, peaking around a 94°F normal high — the AC here runs long enough that maintenance pays back fast. Three free wins: change the filter twice a season rather than once, clear leaves and debris off the outdoor condenser, and check the attic — if it's over 140°F up there, ventilation is your problem, not the air conditioner. The paid win with the fastest payback is shading west-facing windows; an unshaded west window in July gains about as much heat as a small space heater.

Salt Lake City averages roughly 50 inches of snow a year. Buy the roof rake in October rather than after the first big storm, keep gutters clear going into winter so meltwater has somewhere to go, and walk the property once in autumn for branches that would come down under a heavy wet load.

Twice a year is the working rule — late spring and late autumn — and Salt Lake City's roughly 16 inches of annual precipitation is what makes it non-negotiable. Even in a drier climate it's the concentrated storm runoff that does foundation damage, not the yearly total. Add a pass after any big storm, and check that downspouts discharge at least four feet from the house — most water-in-the-basement calls trace back to that one detail.

Three layers: a 5-foot non-combustible "ember zone" right against the house (no mulch, firewood, doormats); 1/8-inch metal mesh on every attic and crawlspace vent so embers can't slip in; and a 30-foot defensible perimeter with grass mowed low and tree canopies thinned. A pre-staged go-bag is the fourth thing — when the order comes you have minutes, not hours.

Ice dams are an insulation problem disguised as a roof problem. Heat escaping into a cold attic melts snow on the roof; the meltwater refreezes at the cold eaves and backs up under the shingles. The real fix is R-49+ attic insulation with clear soffit baffles. The urgent fix during a storm is a roof rake — buy it in October, not after the first 6-inch snow.

A weekend per season handles about 80% of what matters, and around Salt Lake City the calendar sets itself: the autumn pass has to finish before the first freeze around October 26, and the spring pass starts once the last freeze passes around April 16. Layer in monthly safety checks (smoke and CO test, a glance at the breaker panel) and one yearly walk of the big shut-offs. The pattern that fails homeowners isn't doing too little — it's doing nothing for two years and then trying to catch up at once.

Most of it is DIY — gutters, filters, windows, sealants, irrigation, pest perimeter. Hire a pro for: anything on the roof past a quick eyeball with binoculars, gas-line work, the main electrical panel, and any plumbing repair that involves soldering or splicing into a main. There's no prize for bravery on those — the cost of a mistake is much higher than the cost of the call.