The first warm afternoon in Lubbock is a relief. The wind drops for an hour, the sun finally has some bite to it, and you remember what it's like to leave the windows open. Spring is when our houses go from "survived winter" to "about to face hail, dust, and 100° heat." Use this spring home maintenance Lubbock checklist to get ahead of the storms, the irrigation startup, and the first day the AC has to actually earn its keep.
Start with the envelope: doors, windows, and weatherstripping
Spring in West Texas means wind and dust. Every gap your weatherstripping picked up over the winter is a freeway for grit and pollen the next time a 40 mph day rolls through. Walk the perimeter on a breezy afternoon and run your hand along door frames and window sashes. If you can feel air moving, you're paying to cool the backyard.
- Replace cracked or flattened weatherstripping on exterior doors
- Re-caulk around window trim where winter freezes split the old bead
- Check the threshold sweep on the door from the garage to the house — it's almost always the worst one
- Clean window tracks and screens; spring storms drive water past anything that's clogged with grit
A single afternoon with a caulk gun and a $15 roll of weatherstripping makes a noticeable difference on your electric bill once the AC starts running.
Get the AC looked at before you need it
Lubbock HVAC techs get slammed the first week temperatures hit the 90s. Schedule a cooling tune-up in March or April while they still have openings. Ask them to:
- Check refrigerant levels and coil condition
- Clean the outdoor condenser (West Texas dust packs the fins solid by spring)
- Inspect the blower, drain pan, and condensate line — clogged drain lines are the #1 cause of "why is my ceiling wet?" calls in May
- Replace the filter (and buy a few extras while you're at it — the dust out here eats filters)
If your unit is 12+ years old or has been limping for a couple of summers, get an honest read on whether to repair or replace it now. Replacing in March is a planned expense; replacing in late July is an emergency at peak demand pricing.
Walk the property for winter damage
Lubbock's freezes are short but sharp. Now is the time to find what cracked.
- Check outdoor faucets and hose bibs for slow drips when you turn them on
- Look for soft spots, stains, or warped flooring under bathrooms and kitchens — slow pipe leaks from a winter freeze sometimes don't surface for weeks
- Inspect the irrigation backflow assembly for cracks
- Walk the foundation perimeter and look for new cracks or low spots; Lubbock's caliche soil shifts dramatically as it dries out from a wet winter
A small leak found in April is a Saturday repair. Found in July, it's a flooded crawlspace and a drywall job.
Roof, gutters, and the spring hailstorm reality
Spring is hail season on the South Plains. By the time you've heard a storm warning, it's too late to inspect the roof. Get up there (or get a roofer up there) early in the season and look for:
- Lifted or missing shingles, especially on south and west exposures where winter wind worked them loose
- Cracked boots around plumbing vents
- Granule buildup in gutters (a sign your shingles are aging out)
- Gutters pulling away from the fascia, packed with last fall's leaves
Document the current condition with timestamped photos before the first big storm. If you ever have to file a hail claim, having "before" pictures shortens the conversation with your adjuster considerably.
Yard, irrigation, and the stuff outside
Spring is when our growing season actually starts.
- Turn on the sprinkler system slowly — one zone at a time, watching for broken heads and leaks; winter freezes break more lines than people expect
- Apply pre-emergent before soil temps hit 55° or you'll be chasing crabgrass all summer
- Scalp Bermuda before green-up; aerate and feed fescue lawns
- Prune dead winter wood out of trees before high-wind days snap it the wrong direction
- Refresh mulch beds to lock in moisture — bare soil dries out fast in our wind
If you've got patio furniture and a smoker tucked away, this is the weekend to pull them out, hose them down, and check that the gas grill regulator isn't cracked.
A quick interior pass
While you're in maintenance mode, knock out the small stuff:
- Test smoke and CO detectors and replace batteries
- Reverse ceiling fans to counter-clockwise to push cool air down
- Vacuum out dryer vents — lint plus dry West Texas air is a real fire risk
- Flush the water heater if you haven't in a couple of years
- Swap heavy winter curtains for lighter ones; you'll feel the difference once the south sun is back at full strength
None of this is glamorous, but a Saturday spent on it pays off the first time the temperature hits triple digits.
When you're thinking bigger than maintenance
If your spring walkthrough is turning up bigger issues — a roof at the end of its life, a foundation that's clearly moving, an HVAC system on borrowed time — those are also the kinds of things that affect what your home is worth and how it'll show if you're thinking about selling this summer. We're happy to walk a property with you and give you an honest read on what's worth fixing before a listing and what a buyer will likely want addressed during inspection. Reach out through the contact page at dean.agency/contact and we'll set up a time to come take a look.