Home care & seasonal
Winter-proof the house in one weekend
Winter does not invent new house problems. It accelerates the ones you left alone in October. One focused weekend of lagging, isolating, bleeding and checking turns December from a sequence of emergencies into a sequence of ordinary days.
By the Tickover team · Published 24 June 2026 · 3 min read
How urgent is this?
Do this before the first hard frost
After leaves fall and before nights stay below freezing is the window. Later is still better than never.
The weekend plan
Saturday outside, Sunday inside
Clear gutters and downpipes
Overflowing gutters fund damp. Ground-level checks and safe DIY only — ladders need two people and sense.
Walk the roofline from the ground
Binoculars beat heroics. Note slipped tiles and loose flashings for a roofer, not a Saturday climb.
Isolate and drain outside taps
Indoor stop valve off, open the outdoor tap to empty the spur, leave it open slightly or fit a cover.
Lag cold loft and garage pipes
Foam tubes, split side to the wall, taped. Focus on runs in unheated spaces.
Sleeve the condensate pipe if it is outside
A frozen condensate is the classic cold-snap boiler lockout. Lag it before you need the thaw guide.
Bleed radiators and top up pressure
Cold tops mean air. Work downstairs to up, then restore the boiler to about 1.2 bar cold.
Test every smoke and CO alarm
Press the buttons. Replace batteries or units that fail — not next month.
Find and exercise the stopcock
Quarter-turn habit. Label it. Brief the household.
Heating that will still work in January
If the boiler has not been serviced in the last year, book a Gas Safe engineer now, while diaries still have gaps. Check the pressure gauge sits around 1 to 1.5 bar cold. Know how to top it up once, calmly. Set the thermostat and timer to something sustainable — the settings guide covers the free wins.
Empty or away? Keep the house above about 12°C, open the loft hatch a crack so warm air reaches tanks and pipes, and use the holiday leaving routine. Pipes freeze in quiet, cold houses more often than in lived-in ones.
Typical winter-prep spends
Pipe lagging and tap cover
Gutter clean (pro)
Boiler service
Typical UK ranges, mid-2026, as a guide only. Your home, your area and the job itself all move the number — always compare real quotes.
Done when…
- Outside taps isolated or covered
- Vulnerable pipes lagged
- Condensate pipe sleeved if external
- Radiators bled, pressure restored
- Alarms tested
- Stopcock found and labelled
- Gutters clear enough not to overflow
For the deeper versions of each job: stop pipes freezing, gutter cleaning, and the wider autumn checklist. The year-round calendar puts this weekend in context.
Want a professional on it?
Find someone lists local trades Tickover has scored. You skip the review-hunting and contact them yourself.
Quick answers
When should I winter-proof my house in the UK?
Ideally after leaf fall and before the first hard frost — often late October into November. Doing it in September is fine; doing it in January after a freeze is still better than skipping it, but you may already be fixing frozen pipes or a locked-out boiler.
What temperature should I leave the heating on when away?
A common guide is around 12°C for an empty house in freezing weather, with loft hatches left slightly open so warm air reaches tanks and pipe runs. Turning everything off to “save money” is how loft pipes split and ceilings get ruined.
Is lagging pipes a DIY job?
Yes for accessible loft and garage runs using foam pipe insulation. Leave anything that needs crawling over fragile ceilings, working near electrics, or accessing the boiler casing to a professional. Outside condensate pipes on boilers should be lagged carefully without blocking the outlet.
This guide is general information for UK homes, not advice about your specific property. Anything involving gas must be done by a Gas Safe registered engineer, and notifiable electrical work by a qualified electrician. If you smell gas, call the National Gas Emergency line on 0800 111 999. If you’re ever unsure, stop and get a professional in — that’s exactly what Tickover is for.
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