The leaves are coming down along Frankford Avenue, the nights are getting colder, and in a few weeks Philadelphia will get its first real freeze. Late October is the best time to walk around your house and catch the small problems before winter turns them into big ones. Older rowhomes in Fishtown, Kensington, Northern Liberties and Port Richmond have flat or low-slope roofs, shared walls and a lot of years of settling, so a little checking now goes a long way.
Here is a simple checklist you can work through this weekend.
1. Look at your roof and gutters
Most water problems inside a rowhome start at the top. You don't need to climb anything to spot warning signs. From the street or from a back window, look for:
- Gutters full of leaves or sagging away from the house
- Downspouts that are loose, disconnected or dumping water right against the foundation or a neighbor's wall
- Flashing around chimneys, vents and the parapet wall that looks lifted, cracked or rusted
- Ponding or bubbles on a flat roof after rain
Clogged gutters are the big one in fall. When they overflow, water runs down the face of the wall and finds its way in around windows and through the masonry. Once temperatures drop below freezing, standing water in a gutter or on a flat roof can freeze, expand and open up seams. If anything looks off, it's worth having it looked at now. See our roofing and roof leak repair pages for the kinds of work we do.
Please stay safe: roof and ladder work is a common way homeowners get hurt. If you can't see the problem from the ground or a window, let someone with the right ladder and equipment check it.
2. Hunt down small leaks before they spread
Water damage rarely shows up all at once. It usually starts as something easy to ignore. Walk through each floor and look for:
- Brown or yellow stains on ceilings, especially on the top floor and under bathrooms
- Paint that is bubbling, peeling or feels soft on a wall
- A musty smell in a closet, basement or under a sink
- Drips or dampness at supply lines under sinks and behind toilets
- Damp spots around window frames after rain
Check the shut-off valves under sinks and toilets while you're there and make sure they turn. If a pipe does fail this winter, knowing where your main water shut-off is will save you a lot of damage, so find it now. If you spot a stain or a soft spot, the cause is usually somewhere above or behind it, not right where you see it. Our water leak detection and repair, ceiling leak repair and plumbing repairs pages explain how we track it down.
3. Read the cracks in your drywall
As the heat comes on and the air dries out, houses move a little. That's why many people notice new cracks in late fall. Not every crack is a problem, but it's worth knowing the difference:
- Hairline cracks at the corners of doors and windows are common and usually come from normal seasonal movement. They can be taped, patched and painted.
- Cracks along a ceiling seam or tape joint often mean the tape has let go. Again, usually a cosmetic repair.
- Cracks with a stain, bulge or soft spot are a different story. That points to water getting in, and the drywall may need to be cut out and replaced once the leak is fixed.
- Cracks that keep getting wider, or doors that suddenly start sticking, are worth having someone look at in person.
Patching drywall before the holidays is also a good idea if you're expecting guests. Learn more on our drywall repair, drywall replacement and water-damage drywall repair pages. If you have an older house with original plaster, see plaster repair for Philadelphia row homes.
4. Seal up drafts around doors and windows
Cold air leaking in around doors and windows makes rooms uncomfortable and your heating work harder. Hold your hand near the edges of exterior doors and window frames on a windy day. Worn weatherstripping, gaps in old caulk and storm doors that don't close tight are all quick fixes. We handle these as part of door repair and installation and general handyman repairs.
5. Bundle the small stuff into one visit
Most fall to-do lists are a handful of small jobs: a gutter downspout, a ceiling stain, a door that won't latch, a crack over the stairs. Instead of calling a different trade for each item, you can put them on one list. See our punch-list handyman day to get several fixes done in one visit.
Need a hand before the cold sets in?
Fishtown Home Solutions & Handyman is based at 2072 E Susquehanna Ave and works across Fishtown and nearby Philadelphia neighborhoods. We're open 7 days a week, 6 AM to 10 PM. Call (215) 391-6380 or request an estimate online and tell us what you're seeing. You can also browse photos of our recent work.