The San Francisco Home Maintenance Calendar: What to Check Each Season
Sherri Howe November 13, 2026
Sherri Howe November 13, 2026
A home maintenance checklist is easier to keep up with when you spread it across the year instead of tackling it all at once. In San Francisco, the seasons are less about winter snow and summer heat and more about rain, fog, wind, and dry spells, so a practical rhythm looks like this:
Some checks are quick and visual. Others belong with a qualified professional, and the exact schedule for your home depends on its age, systems, exposure, and maintenance history.
Most homes don't need everything inspected at the same time. When you divide recurring tasks across the year, each season gets a short, manageable list, and small problems get noticed while they're still small.
Think of this as a seasonal home maintenance checklist adapted for San Francisco homes. Use it as a starting point, then adjust it to the house you actually own. A 1920s Edwardian with original windows, a 1990s high-rise condo, and a recently renovated single-family home, for example, will each need a slightly different rhythm.
Fall
Fall is preparation season. A few hours now can save you from discovering a problem in the middle of a storm, when every roofer and plumber in the city is already booked.
From the ground or a safe vantage point beside or on the roof, look for anything on the roof that seems out of place: missing or damaged roofing, debris collecting in valleys, or flashing that looks loose around chimneys, vents, and skylights. Pay extra attention to spots that have caused trouble before.
Clear gutters and downspouts if your home has them, and make sure water has somewhere to go once it reaches the ground. A downspout that empties against the foundation is doing only half its job.
Many San Francisco roofs are flat and easy to walk on once you're up there. The real question is height and access: how far the roof is off the ground, and whether you can reach it safely with a built-in ladder or a properly set-up portable ladder. Pitched roofs are a different story, because the slope often makes them unsafe to walk on. If you can't get up safely, or something can't be seen clearly from the ground, a roofer can take a look. Some roof inspectors use drones for a more thorough inspection.
Walk around the house and check the seals and trim around windows and exterior doors. Look for cracked caulk, damaged weatherstripping, peeling paint, or soft spots in wood, especially where water has gotten in before.
Exposure matters here. A home that takes persistent fog and wind-driven rain off the ocean may need more frequent attention on its western side than a more sheltered house a few miles east. Even one side of your house might need maintenance more often than the others.
Before the first cold night, change or clean your furnace filter. Energy Star recommends checking air filters on central heating and cooling systems every month and changing them as needed, and a clogged filter makes the system work harder for the same amount of warmth. If your heating system hasn't been serviced in a while, fall is a good time to schedule a professional check-up, before the first cold snap fills everyone's calendar.
Not every San Francisco home heats with a forced-air furnace, and other systems need attention too. Gas wall heaters, common in older homes, should be cleaned and checked by a professional, and furniture and curtains should stay well clear of them. Radiator and boiler systems benefit from a yearly service, and hot-water radiators that heat unevenly may need to be bled. Ductless mini-splits and heat pumps have filters of their own that need regular cleaning, and the outdoor unit should stay clear of leaves and debris. Electric baseboard heaters mostly need dusting and some breathing room. Whatever you have, the manufacturer's manual is the best guide to its schedule.
If you have a fireplace or wood stove, have the chimney inspected and cleaned before you light the first fire of the season.
Rainy season brings the occasional power outage, so check that flashlights work, power banks are charged, and your emergency supplies haven't quietly expired since last year. Our guide to preparing your San Francisco home for a power outage covers what to keep on hand, and our earthquake preparedness guide is worth a fresh look at the same time.
Winter
If fall is for preparation, winter is for observation. Rain is a remarkably thorough home inspector, and it doesn't charge by the hour.
After a storm, take a few minutes to look at the places water tends to find first: ceilings below the roof and bathrooms, the areas around windows and doors, basements, garages, and lower levels. Watch whether gutters and downspouts are actually carrying water away, and whether any area drains outside are keeping up. Once the trees have finished dropping their leaves, clear the gutters, downspouts, and roof and area drains again, because one fall cleaning rarely lasts the whole season.
If you find active water intrusion, deal with it now rather than waiting for spring. A small leak that runs all winter rarely stays small.
Signs worth noting include:
Don't try to diagnose mold, structural problems, or a failed waterproofing system from what you can see on the surface. If moisture persists or you can't tell where it's coming from, bring in the right professional. Our post on window condensation explains how to tell everyday condensation from something that deserves a closer look.
Winter is a good time for the tasks that have nothing to do with rain:
Winter is also a good time to let go of things you no longer use. If new things come into the house over the holidays, let a few old ones go out: one in, one out. Pick one room per weekend and work through it a drawer and a closet at a time. For each item, decide whether you still use it, and if not, whether to sell it, donate it, or toss it.
If you donate to a qualified charity, ask for a receipt. Donations made by December 31 can count toward this year's taxes if you itemize, so it's worth a quick conversation with your tax professional. A clearer closet and a possible deduction before year-end is not a bad trade.
Spring
Spring doesn't have to mean deep cleaning every room. For homeowners, it's the season to turn winter's observations into a prioritized spring home maintenance checklist.
Walk the property once the wetter months are behind you. Look again at the roof and drainage areas that gave you trouble during storms, check windows and doors, and look at decks, stairs, railings, and fences for wood that's gone soft or fasteners that have loosened.
Start at the sidewalk and work your way up:
Prioritize by consequence rather than appearance. Water-related problems generally deserve attention before cosmetic work, because they tend to get more expensive the longer they wait.
When you can, group repairs so one contractor visit handles several items. And record what was done, by whom, and when, because future you will want to have this information at the ready. So will any potential future buyers of your home!
Daylight saving time starts in March, and since you're already resetting clocks around the house, it's a handy reminder to replace the batteries in your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors and press each test button to make sure it works. Fall already comes with a long list, so spring is a good time to give the alarms your full attention. Check the date printed on each alarm too, because alarms have a limited lifespan and the manufacturer lists when to replace them. Pro tip: write the date on each new battery with a Sharpie so you always know how old it is.
Batteries hide in more places than you'd think, so make a quick round of the others while you have the pack open:
A few non-weather tasks fit naturally here:
Summer
Summer is usually the most practical window for exterior painting, repairs, and the larger projects you identified during winter and spring. That said, a San Francisco summer is not the same everywhere in the city. Fog, wind, and microclimates can make July in one neighborhood feel very different from July in another, so the right work window depends on the property and what your contractor recommends for the materials involved.
Use these months to review exterior finishes and windows again, inspect decks, stairs, and other exposed wood, and schedule anything that should be done before the first major rain. Waiting until October to book a painter is a little like waiting until April 14 to call your accountant.
When it's time to replace something, our low-maintenance curb appeal ideas can help you choose plants and finishes that won't add to next year's list.
Some things don't belong to any season. A few are quick habits worth repeating every month or so, and others are warning signs. If you notice one of those, don't wait for the next seasonal walk-through: deal with it right away, or call the right professional.
Safety
Water
Plumbing and sewer
Heating and air
Building exterior
An older home doesn't automatically mean a problem home. It means understanding what has been updated, what hasn't, and what deserves monitoring.
In many San Francisco homes, the systems have different birthdays. The roof might be ten years old, the plumbing might date to a 1980s remodel, and the electrical system might include original wiring alongside newer circuits. Original architectural details often sit right next to later alterations.
Base your maintenance schedule on the actual components rather than the age of the building. And whenever a major system is inspected, repaired, or replaced, keep the paperwork, because it's the only reliable way to know what you have.
If you own a condo, start by separating what belongs to your unit from what belongs to the HOA. Know which systems are shared, and keep track of the association's maintenance projects and inspections.
Don't assume an exterior or building-system issue is entirely the HOA's responsibility. The governing documents and the specific situation decide that, so check before you wait for someone else to fix it. Inside your unit, you're still responsible for your own fixtures, appliances, alarms, filters, and water connections, so most of the indoor items we've discussed still apply to you.
A list tells you what to do next, but a record tells you what's already been done. Keep:
Good records help you plan, and they make conversations with contractors, inspectors, and eventually buyers much easier.
Routine maintenance and pre-sale preparation aren't quite the same thing. When a sale is approaching, the priorities shift toward condition, disclosures, presentation, timing, and the overall listing strategy.
That doesn't mean repairing every imperfection. Some items deserve a professional evaluation before you decide whether and how to address them, and others are better handled in coordination with painting, cleaning, staging, photography, and the launch date. Our posts on what San Francisco sellers should fix before listing and whether to sell as-is or fix it up first go deeper on how to make those decisions.
A home maintenance checklist should make owning a home more manageable, not bury you in projects. A seasonal schedule helps you notice changes, handle small issues early, and build a useful history of the property over time.
For San Francisco homes, let the building set the details: its age, its systems, its exposure, the work that's already been done, and how it behaves when the weather turns. Change the filter, swap the batteries, and walk the house after the first big rain.
Your regular maintenance list is a useful starting point, but the priorities before a sale can look quite different. We can help you look at the property as a whole and decide which preparation items deserve attention before the home comes to market, so your time and money go where they'll matter most. Contact Team Howe to start that conversation, or read more about Sherri.
It depends on the home, but most checklists cover the roof and drainage, exterior doors and windows, heating systems and filters, smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, plumbing and water use, and exterior surfaces like stairs, decks, and railings. Older homes and condos may need items added or removed.
Not everything needs seasonal attention, but in San Francisco a useful rhythm is to prepare for rain in fall, watch for leaks and moisture in winter, inspect and plan repairs in spring, and handle exterior projects in summer. Filters, alarm batteries, and safety checks can be tied to the same schedule.
Usually the roof, gutters, and downspouts, the seals around doors and windows, a fresh furnace filter or a service check for your heating system, a chimney check if you use a fireplace, and a review of your emergency supplies.
Start with whatever the wet months revealed: stains, leaks, drainage trouble, and weather damage. Then check stairs, decks, railings, fences, exterior paint, and the sidewalk in front of the house. Look over the water heater and garage door too, and replace the batteries in your smoke and carbon monoxide alarms.
At least a couple of times a year, typically before and after the rainy season, plus a quick look after any major storm. Homes with more weather exposure or older exterior materials may need more frequent checks.
Base it on the actual components rather than the building's age. Find out which systems have been updated and when, keep records of every inspection and repair, and keep a closer eye on original materials and systems.
Generally everything inside the unit that belongs to you, such as fixtures, appliances, alarms, filters, and water connections. Shared systems and exterior elements are often the HOA's responsibility, but check your governing documents rather than assuming.
Note: This article offers general home maintenance information for San Francisco homeowners. It is not roofing, plumbing, electrical, HVAC, structural, or legal advice for a specific property. Follow manufacturer instructions for your equipment, and consult a qualified professional for anything you can't safely inspect or repair yourself.
Before real estate, I worked as a financial analyst. After earning a master's degree in software systems engineering, I moved into tech and worked as a programmer, database administrator, quality assurance manager, and business analyst for 13 years. This may explain my fanatical love of spreadsheets. It definitely explains why "the numbers look about right" is not in my vocabulary.
I moved into real estate in 2007 and founded Team Howe so our clients could receive direct agent involvement along with dedicated buyer, listing, marketing, and transaction support. Team Howe affiliated with Compass in 2025.
I live in Forest Hill Extension with my husband, our son, cats Fuz (Lightyear) and Taco (Belle) and dog Peanut (Butter).
Sherri Howe, REALTOR® | CA DRE #01816621
Founder, Team Howe | Compass
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