There's a stretch in late October when Lubbock finally cools off, the wind lays down for a minute, and you can actually stand on your roof without cooking. That's your window. A good fall home maintenance routine in Lubbock isn't about a hundred tiny chores — it's about a handful of things that, if you skip them, will cost you real money when the first hard freeze rolls in around Thanksgiving.
Here's the checklist I walk clients through every year, whether they just closed on a house in Tech Terrace or they've owned in Bacon Crest for two decades.
Get ahead of the freeze on outdoor plumbing
West Texas freezes are sneaky. We'll have a 70-degree afternoon and a 22-degree morning in the same week. That swing is what busts pipes.
- Disconnect and drain every garden hose. A hose left attached traps water in the bib and splits the pipe inside your wall. You won't know until spring, when you turn it on and water pours into your kitchen.
- Install foam faucet covers on exterior spigots. They're a few bucks at any hardware store on 50th or 82nd.
- Wrap exposed pipes in the garage, crawlspace, or on the north side of the house. Pier-and-beam homes in older parts of Lubbock — Heart of Lubbock, near Tech — are especially vulnerable.
- Know where your main shutoff is. If a pipe does burst at 2 a.m., you don't want to be Googling it in your slippers.
Service the HVAC before you need the heat
Your system just spent five months fighting 100-degree afternoons. Give it a break before you flip it to heat.
Change the filter — really change it, not "I'll do it next week." If you've got a gas furnace, have it inspected by a local HVAC company. A cracked heat exchanger is the kind of thing that turns dangerous fast, and techs get booked solid the first week temperatures drop. Schedule in October, not December.
While you're at it, reverse your ceiling fans to clockwise on low. It pushes warm air back down and takes some load off the furnace.
Check the roof, gutters, and flashing
Lubbock roofs take a beating. Between hail, UV, and that relentless spring wind, shingles age faster here than in most of the country. Fall is the right time to look — before ice and any freak snow show up.
Walk the perimeter and look up. You're checking for:
- Lifted or missing shingles, especially on the south and west slopes
- Cracked caulk around vent boots and flashing
- Gutters full of leaves (yes, even in Lubbock — cottonwoods and elms drop plenty)
- Downspouts that dump water right next to the foundation
That last one matters more here than people realize. Which brings us to the big one.
Water your foundation — seriously
This is the piece transplants never expect. Lubbock sits on caliche and expansive clay soils. When the ground dries out in fall and winter, it shrinks and pulls away from your slab. That's how foundation cracks start.
The fix is boring and cheap: soaker hoses around the perimeter of your foundation, run for 20-30 minutes a couple times a week when we go long stretches without rain. Keep the moisture level around the slab consistent. If you've already got hairline cracks in your drywall above doorframes, this is the single most important thing on the whole list.
Seal up the drafts
Lubbock wind will find every gap in your house and make you pay for it on the gas bill.
- Re-caulk around windows, especially west-facing ones that took the brunt of summer sun
- Add or replace weatherstripping on exterior doors
- Check the seal on your garage door — daylight underneath means dust, cold air, and critters
- Cover or remove window AC units if you still use any
If you've got an older home in Maxey Park or near 34th, the payoff on weatherstripping alone can be noticeable within one billing cycle.
Yard, trees, and the stuff outside
A quick outdoor pass wraps things up:
- Prune tree limbs away from the roof and power lines. Lubbock ice storms are rare but brutal when they hit, and a limb on your roof is an insurance claim waiting to happen.
- Blow out the sprinkler system before the first hard freeze if you have one. Any local irrigation company can do it for less than the cost of one broken backflow preventer.
- Store patio cushions and umbrellas somewhere the wind can't launch them into the neighbor's fence.
- Fertilize the lawn one last time if you've got Bermuda or fescue. It'll green up faster in spring.
When to call somebody
Homeowners can knock out most of this in a weekend. The two I'd hire out: the furnace inspection and anything on a steep roof. Everything else is genuinely DIY.
If you're thinking about selling in spring and want to know which of these repairs actually move the needle at closing — or you just bought a place and aren't sure what needs attention first — send a note through the contact page. Happy to walk your house with you and give you a straight answer on what matters and what can wait.