10 Exterior Maintenance Items to Check Before 100 Kids Knock on Your Door This Halloween

Halloween night can bring a lot more foot traffic to your front door than your home sees on a normal evening.

Kids are running up walkways, costumes can limit visibility, parents are following behind, and Manitoba fall weather can add wet leaves, frost, mud, and early darkness into the mix.

Before the trick-or-treaters arrive, take a few minutes to walk around the exterior of your home and look at it from a visitor’s perspective.

Here are 10 exterior maintenance items worth checking before Halloween night.

1. Make Sure Your Walkway Is Clear

Start with the obvious.

Walk the same route trick-or-treaters will use to get from the sidewalk or driveway to your front door.

Look for:

• Loose paving stones

• Raised sidewalk edges

• Cracked concrete

• Garden edging

• Extension cords

• Hoses

• Toys

• Planters

• Fallen branches

• Decorations sitting in the walking path

Something that is easy to step around during daylight can become a tripping hazard after dark, especially for a child wearing a costume or mask.

Clear the route and keep the main walkway as open as possible.

2. Clean Up Wet Leaves for Maintenance

Wet leaves can become surprisingly slippery.

They also hide uneven concrete, steps, holes, and other hazards underneath.

Before Halloween evening, rake or blow leaves away from:

• Sidewalks

• Front steps

• Decks

• Driveways

• Porch landings

If temperatures are dropping below freezing, pay even closer attention. Moisture trapped underneath leaves can freeze and create slick surfaces.

3. Check Your Exterior Lighting

Good lighting is one of the easiest ways to make your entrance safer.

Check:

• Porch lights

• Garage lights

• Motion lights

• Walkway lighting

• Burned-out bulbs

• Loose or damaged fixtures

Your front steps and main walking route should be clearly visible.

If you normally keep your exterior lights fairly dim, Halloween is a good night to brighten things up.

It helps visitors see where they are going and makes it clear that your home is participating in trick-or-treating.

4. Inspect Your Front Steps

Front steps get used every day, but small problems are easy to overlook.

Check for:

• Loose boards

• Cracked concrete

• Rot

• Uneven steps

• Loose stair treads

• Wobbly sections

• Damaged nosings

If something moves when you step on it, it should be repaired before dozens of people use it in one evening.

Pay extra attention to temporary wood steps, older decks, and stairs that have been exposed to moisture.

5. Give the Handrail a Shake

This is a quick one.

Grab your handrail and give it a firm shake.

It should feel solid.

Look for:

• Loose posts

• Loose brackets

• Rot

• Cracked wood

• Missing fasteners

• Movement at the base

A handrail that seems "good enough" during normal use may not hold up as well when multiple people are grabbing it throughout the night.

6. Check Your Deck or Porch

If trick-or-treaters need to cross a deck or porch to reach your door, inspect that area as well.

Look for:

• Loose deck boards

• Raised screws or nails

• Soft or rotted areas

• Uneven boards

• Loose railings

• Damaged stairs

• Slippery surfaces

Also make sure decorations are not blocking the natural walking route.

A porch full of pumpkins may look great, but leave enough room for people to move safely.

7. Secure Your Halloween Decorations

Halloween decorations can become exterior hazards if they are not properly secured.

Check inflatable decorations, signs, skeletons, lights, cords, and other displays.

Make sure they cannot:

• Fall into the walkway

• Blow into the street

• Tip over onto visitors

• Block stairs

• Cover handrails

• Create low-hanging obstacles

Manitoba fall winds can turn a lightweight decoration into a much bigger problem than expected.

Secure decorations before Halloween night rather than assuming they will stay where you put them.

8. Keep Extension Cords Out of the Walking Area

Exterior Halloween lights and decorations often mean extension cords.

Do not run cords across areas where people are expected to walk if you can avoid it.

If a cord has to cross an area, make sure it is properly protected and secured.

Also inspect outdoor cords for:

• Cuts

• Cracks

• Damaged plugs

• Exposed wiring

• Loose connections

Only use cords and electrical products rated for exterior use.

9. Check Gates, Fences, and Side Access

Even if you expect everyone to use the front walkway, someone will inevitably take a shortcut.

Check gates and fences near your entrance.

Look for:

• Loose gate hardware

• Sharp edges

• Protruding screws or nails

• Broken boards

• Gates that drag or suddenly swing

• Sections leaning into walkways

If there are areas of your yard you do not want people entering, make the intended route obvious with lighting, decorations, or a clear barrier.

10. Look Up Before You Look Down

Most Halloween maintenance checks focus on sidewalks and stairs, but take a minute to look overhead too.

Inspect the area around your entrance for:

• Loose soffit

• Damaged fascia

• Hanging branches

• Loose exterior fixtures

• Unsecured decorations

• Sagging gutters

• Downspouts that could come loose

Anything directly above a heavily used entrance should be secure.

Fall is also a good time to notice problems before snow and ice make exterior repairs more difficult.

Bonus: Check Where Your Downspouts Drain

Your downspouts may not seem very Halloween-related, but they can create a problem right where trick-or-treaters are walking.

If water is draining across your sidewalk, driveway, or front steps, cooler temperatures can

turn that wet area slippery very quickly.

Make sure downspouts discharge away from walking surfaces and away from the foundation whenever possible.

Take Five Minutes and Walk Your Property Like a Visitor

Before Halloween night, walk from the street to your front door as if you had never been to your home before.

Look down.

Look up.

Use the handrail.

Walk the steps.

Check the lighting.

Open the gate.

If something feels loose, dark, slippery, uneven, or awkward, deal with it before the trick-or-treaters arrive.

Most of these checks only take a few minutes, but they can make your entrance safer and help you catch maintenance issues before winter.

Need a Few Exterior Repairs Before Winter?

At JCJ Residential Services, we help homeowners throughout Brandon and surrounding Westman communities take care of the repairs and maintenance that tend to pile up around the house.

That can include:

• Deck and step repairs

• Exterior trim

• Doors

• Caulking

• Soffit and fascia

• Minor exterior repairs

• Painting

• Handrails

• General home maintenance

Halloween may be the reminder, but winter is the real deadline.

If you have exterior maintenance items you have been putting off, fall is a good time to get them taken care of before the snow arrives.

JCJ Residential Services Serving Brandon, Manitoba and surrounding Westman communities.

Have a repair you want checked off before winter? Contact us to get started.