Back for the Winter: A Snowbird's Checklist for Opening Up Your Arizona Home

Snowbird season in Arizona runs roughly from October through April, and ABC15 reported this fall that seasonal visitors can raise the state's population by 10 to 15 percent. If you are one of them, your Valley home has probably been closed up since spring. Many part-time residents stay three to six months, which means a house can sit empty for six months or more each year.

That empty stretch covered the hardest part of the Arizona year: months of extreme heat and UV, plus the full monsoon season from June 15 to September 30, with its wind, dust and sudden downpours. A small problem that started in July has had months to grow with nobody there to notice. The good news is that most of it can be checked in an afternoon, without a ladder and without setting foot on the roof.

Walk through every room before you settle in, and pay attention to the ceilings. A roof leak during a summer storm often shows up only as a faint stain, and in a closed house it may have dried long before you arrived.

• Ceilings and upper walls. Look for brown rings, bubbling paint, sagging drywall or cracks that were not there in spring. Check closets and rooms you seldom use.
• Around windows and doors. Wind-driven rain can get in at frames and sliders. Look for warped trim or stains on the sill.
• Musty smells. A damp or stale odor in one room can point to moisture you cannot see yet.
• Signs of visitors. Droppings, chewed items or nesting material mean something found a way in while you were gone.

Take photos of anything you find, with the date. Good records help whether you end up calling a roofer, a plumber or your insurance agent.

Bring the house back online slowly so you can catch problems as they appear rather than all at once.

1. Water. If you shut off the main valve, turn it back on gradually, then run each faucet and flush each toilet. Look under sinks, behind toilets and around the water heater for drips or stains, and check outdoor spigots too.
2. Water heater. If you set it to vacation or low mode, switch it back to its normal setting and confirm you have hot water.
3. Air conditioning and heat. Your system may have been held at a high setting all summer. Change the air filter, return the thermostat to your normal settings and listen for unusual noises. If it struggles, schedule a service visit with an HVAC company.
4. Electrical. Plug appliances back in and test them one by one. If something does not work and the appliance is not the cause, have an electrician look at it.

None of these steps require tools beyond a flashlight and a fresh air filter.

The attic tells you a lot about how your roof held up while you were away. You do not need to crawl through it. Stand on a sturdy step ladder at the hatch with a good flashlight and look around.

• Stains on the roof deck or rafters, especially around vents, chimneys and other places where something passes through the roof.
• Damp, flattened or discolored insulation, which can mean water came in during a storm.
• Daylight showing through anywhere other than the vents.
• Droppings or tunnels in the insulation. Roof rats are most active in the Valley from November through May, so this is the season they start looking for warm attics. Our post on roof rats and roof entry points covers what to look for.

If you see wet spots, our guide on how to find a roof leak explains how to narrow down where the water is coming from.

Please do not climb onto the roof to check it. Concrete and clay tiles crack easily underfoot, and a fall is a real risk at any age. Most of what you need to see is visible from the yard or the street with a pair of binoculars.

• Tile roofs. Look for cracked, slipped or missing tiles, especially along ridges and edges where monsoon wind hits hardest.
• Shingle roofs. Look for lifted, curled or missing shingles and granules collecting at downspouts.
• Flat and foam roofs. From a second-story window or a neighbor's vantage point, look for ponding water, bare spots or worn coating. Our foam roof care and recoating guide explains why the coating matters.
• Gutters, scuppers and valleys. Dust, leaves and debris from summer storms often pile up here and slow drainage.
• Flashing and vents. Look for metal that is bent, loose or pulling away from walls and pipes.

If anything looks out of place, note it and leave the closer look to a professional.

Fall and early winter are a comfortable time to deal with roof work in the Valley. The heat has broken, and the Pacific storms that bring our winter rain usually arrive later in the season. Winter storms tend to bring longer, steadier rain than monsoon bursts, and that is often when tired underlayment or a cracked tile finally lets water through.

From the ground, you can clear debris from gutters and downspouts you can reach safely, trim branches that touch the roofline and make sure downspouts carry water away from the foundation. Our winter roof care tips walk through the rest.

We recommend a professional roof inspection once or twice a year, typically in spring and fall, and after major storms. For a seasonal home, the start of your stay is a natural time to schedule one, because it covers everything the monsoon did while you were away. It also gives you time to plan repairs before you leave again in spring.

Call a roofer sooner if you found ceiling stains, wet insulation, daylight in the attic or missing tiles. During a roof inspection, we check tiles or shingles, flashing, vents, valleys and drainage, and we note any openings pests could use. If repairs are needed, our roof repairs and maintenance team can take care of them. You can read more about storm-related questions in our monsoon, storm and hail damage FAQ.

Payne Roofing is a family-owned company that has served Arizona homeowners since 1984. We serve homeowners across the East Valley, including 55+ communities such as Sunland Village in Mesa and neighborhoods across Apache Junction. Call 480-988-9250, Monday through Friday from 7 am to 5 pm or Saturday from 8 am to 2 pm, or request a free estimate.