Prepping Your Home's Exterior for Vermont Winter

Vermont winters are not gentle. Between the ice dams, the freeze-thaw damage, and the salt getting kicked up onto siding by the plow, there is a real cost to skipping fall prep. The good news: most of what matters is a one-weekend checklist, plus one or two calls to a fully insured pro for the parts that involve a ladder in cold weather.

Here is the sequence we recommend to Burlington-area homeowners.

Start with the roofline

Ice dams cause more winter damage to Vermont homes than any other single issue. They form when heat escapes through the roof, melts the snowpack, and refreezes at the cold eaves. Once ice dams up, water backs under the shingles and into your ceilings.

Before the first snow, you want:

• Gutters fully cleared — a packed gutter is where the ice dam anchors itself
• Downspouts flowing free and directed away from the foundation
• Roof valleys and low-slope sections cleared of leaf mats
• Soft-wash cleaning of moss or algae — the biology holds moisture that becomes ice

If your house has consistent ice dam issues, insulation and ventilation in the attic are the real fix. Cleaning the roof helps, but it is not a substitute for airtight air sealing. See our roof soft wash service for how we handle asphalt shingle cleanings without stripping granules.

Then move to the siding

A late-fall house wash is genuinely worth it in Vermont. Here is why:

• Removes summer algae growth that would otherwise sit under snow all winter and multiply
• Gets road salt off lower siding panels before it has months to work into the vinyl
• Clears pollen and dust so the siding presents cleanly through winter photos and holidays
• Gives you a baseline of clean walls to compare against next spring

If you can only pick one time of year to wash your house, spring wins. But if you are already having gutters cleaned in November, adding a house wash on the same visit is efficient and effective.

Handle the deck and hardscape

Two things to knock out before the ground freezes:

• Clean and, if due, seal the deck — a sealed deck sheds snow melt instead of soaking it up and cracking with the freeze cycle
• Final pressure wash of the driveway — removes the summer oil and stain buildup before winter salt gets locked in

For decks, aim for late October at the latest. Sealer needs 24-plus hours of dry weather above 50F to cure, and that window closes fast.

Downspouts, splash blocks, and grading

Walk the perimeter of the house and check that:

• Every downspout has a splash block or extension carrying water at least three feet from the foundation
• The grade slopes away from the house on all sides — no low spots where water pools
• Basement window wells are clear and covered
• Dryer vents, HVAC vents, and utility penetrations are sealed with fresh caulk

This is boring, low-glamour work that prevents 80 percent of the "wet basement in March" calls.

Exterior windows and screens

Before storm windows go down for the season:

• Wash the exterior of your windows — you will not touch them again until April, and clean windows through winter make a real difference on gray days
• Remove and store screens — snow-loaded screens frame-warp and tear
• Check and caulk any gaps around window trim

Late October is the sweet spot for exterior window cleaning in Burlington. Warm enough that the cleaning solution works, late enough that pollen and dust are done for the season.

Storage, furniture, and grills

Not glamorous, but it matters:

• Cover or store patio furniture — snow-loaded chairs bend frames and tear cushions
• Disconnect and drain garden hoses; shut off exterior spigots at the interior valve
• Empty and cover the grill or move it into the garage
• Pull planters off wood decks — they leave permanent stain rings by spring

The one-weekend punch list

If you have to compress it into a single weekend, hit these in order:

1. Clean gutters and downspouts (or book us for the ladder work)
2. Wash the house exterior if algae or road salt are visible
3. Pressure wash the driveway
4. Clean exterior windows, then pull screens
5. Perimeter walk — downspout extensions, caulking, grading check
6. Store furniture, drain hoses, cover the grill

You do not need to do it all yourself. Most Burlington homeowners we work with have us handle steps 1 through 4 in one visit — one truck, one setup, one locked-in bracket price — and handle the rest themselves.

Book the pre-winter visit

The November calendar fills up fast. Between homeowners scrambling for the last good-weather window and the tight timing on gutters, we typically book out two to three weeks by late October.

Book your pre-winter service or call Zackary directly at (802) 585-5563. Every quote is a locked-in bracket price before we start, and we will build a schedule that hits the weather windows for each service.