Before the First Frost

There's a moment each autumn when the evening air turns sharp and you can smell the change before you feel it. The grass is damp underfoot, the light slips away by six, and somewhere across the fields a low haze of woodsmoke hangs in the hollows. That's the signal to start working your way round the outside of the house, because everything you do now — while your hands are still warm enough to be out without gloves — makes the colder months considerably easier.

Rural homes ask a little more of their owners than town houses do. There's more roof, more gutter, more garden, and usually a fire at the very heart of the place. None of the jobs below takes long on its own, but done as a set they turn a draughty old building into somewhere genuinely snug. Aim to have them finished by the end of October, before the first hard frost settles in.

Clear the Gutters and Check the Water Runs Away

Blocked gutters are the quiet cause of a great many autumn damp patches. Leaves, moss from the roof and the odd bundle of twigs all collect in the run, and once the water backs up it finds its way into the fascia board, down the wall and eventually into the room behind it.

• Clear the full length of every gutter by hand or with a scoop, working from a stable ladder on firm ground and never leaning further out than you need to.
• Flush each run with a hosepipe afterwards and watch where the water lands. It should disappear briskly rather than pool around the foot of the wall.
• Fit or clear leaf guards on any run beneath trees, and check that the downpipe outlet isn't silted up at the bottom.
• Empty and turn over water butts so they don't crack when the temperature drops, and drain outside taps at the stopcock if a hard winter is forecast.

While you're up there, look along the roof with a pair of binoculars. A slipped slate or a lifted ridge tile is far cheaper to put right in October than in January, when the first leak appears above a bedroom ceiling.

Store the Garden Furniture and Tidy the Outdoor Rooms

Anything left out over winter will pay for it by spring. Wooden furniture swells and splits, metal frames rust at the joints, and cushions grow a smell that no amount of airing quite shifts.

• Scrub wooden tables and chairs with warm soapy water, let them dry thoroughly, then treat the timber with a suitable oil before storing.
• Bring cushions, parasols and hammocks indoors into a dry loft, shed or spare room — anywhere that stays ventilated rather than sealed and damp.
• Stack metal furniture under cover with a breathable cover rather than a plastic sheet, which traps condensation against the frame.
• Put a drop of penetrating oil on the hinges and catches of garden gates and shed doors before the frost gets to them.

Tidy the outdoor rooms too, if you have them. Sweep the terrace, clear leaves from steps and paths so they don't turn to slime, and make sure an outdoor light works by the back door. On a clear autumn evening, a warm glow by the threshold makes the walk from car to kitchen far more inviting.

Lay In Dry Logs — Properly Dry Ones

If there's one job that defines the season, it's the woodpile. Wet wood is the enemy of a good fire: it hisses, smoulders, gives off little heat and lines your flue with tar. You want logs with a moisture content under about twenty per cent, which generally means seasoned hardwood left for a year, or kiln-dried logs bought in ready to burn.

• Stack logs off the ground on pallets or bearers, never straight onto soil or concrete.
• Build the stack with the cut ends facing out, cross-hatched at the corners so air can move through it freely.
• Cover the top only. A sheet or a length of roofing felt over the crown keeps rain off, but leaving the sides open lets the wind do its work.
• Keep a week's worth by the hearth in a basket or log store, and bring the next day's logs in the night before so they come up to room temperature.

Ash, oak, birch and hawthorn all burn well when seasoned. Avoid softwoods for anything but kindling, and never burn painted, treated or sawn timber from a skip — the fumes are unpleasant and the residue is worse.

Have the Chimney and Stove Ready

Book a sweep before the season starts rather than after the first cold snap, when everyone in the valley has the same idea. Jackdaws and swallows are especially fond of nesting in an open chimney, and a blocked flue will fill a room with smoke on the very evening you most wanted a fire.

• Have the chimney swept and ask for a certificate, which your insurer may want to see.
• Check the stove door rope seal by closing the door on a strip of paper — if it slides out easily, the seal needs replacing.
• Clean the glass with a damp cloth dipped in wood ash, and check the baffle plate and firebricks for cracks.
• Test every smoke alarm and fit a carbon monoxide alarm in the same room as the stove, then test it too.

Warm the Inside of the House

Finally, turn to the rooms themselves. A few small habits make a disproportionate difference once the evenings draw in. Fit a draught excluder to the front and back doors, and consider a brush strip along the bottom of the letterbox. Hang heavier curtains, or add a thermal lining to the ones you have, and draw them at dusk to hold the warmth in.

Then, on the first truly cold evening, light the fire early rather than late. Let the stove come up to temperature slowly, settle into the chair nearest the hearth, and enjoy the particular quiet of a rural autumn night — knowing that the gutters are clear, the logs are dry and the house has been put to bed for winter properly.