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brk-lnt · 10-10-2015, 08:51 PM

Our place is a true "year round" condo, and is built and insulated for year round use. Some of the below suggestions may vary based on the insulation rating of your place.

We come up frequently throughout the winter, but if I'm working on a project at home it can be 3-4 weeks between visits, so we do a "half winterization" any time we leave after Halloween.

Roughly:
Set heat back to 50F
Turn of main water valve
Open faucets to let majority of water drain out.
We leave cabinets closed, but that is mostly because the majority of our plumbing is on interior walls and the cabinets don't get particularly frigid.

Even if you lose power it will take a while before it gets to freezing temps inside. The way I look at it is that we're close enough (~90 minutes away) that if we get an extended power outage during particularly low temps I might have to drive up mid week or something to ensure everything is OK. So far in the 9 years we've had our place that hasn't been a problem.

I have a thermostat that I can check remotely to monitor temps and kick on the heat if necessary. That also mostly lets me track power outages (sometimes power is on but metrocast is out, so I can't be 100% certain that power is on, but if PSNH isn't reporting any outages I'm probably OK).

One thing to keep in mind is that sporadic usage can lead to more potential for ice dams if you're not careful. Kicking the heat up, you'll get heat loss through the ceilings and that will melt the snow directly on top of the roof, causing sudden run-off, which will freeze when it hits the edge of the roof. Keeping rooms at a more steady temp (hi or low) reduces this. So I'd also invest in a roof rake and keep the roof clear when you're up there.

10-10-2015, 08:51 PM	#2
brk-lnt Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: South Down Shores Posts: 1,944 Thanks: 545 Thanked 570 Times in 335 Posts	Our place is a true "year round" condo, and is built and insulated for year round use. Some of the below suggestions may vary based on the insulation rating of your place. We come up frequently throughout the winter, but if I'm working on a project at home it can be 3-4 weeks between visits, so we do a "half winterization" any time we leave after Halloween. Roughly: Set heat back to 50F Turn of main water valve Open faucets to let majority of water drain out. We leave cabinets closed, but that is mostly because the majority of our plumbing is on interior walls and the cabinets don't get particularly frigid. Even if you lose power it will take a while before it gets to freezing temps inside. The way I look at it is that we're close enough (~90 minutes away) that if we get an extended power outage during particularly low temps I might have to drive up mid week or something to ensure everything is OK. So far in the 9 years we've had our place that hasn't been a problem. I have a thermostat that I can check remotely to monitor temps and kick on the heat if necessary. That also mostly lets me track power outages (sometimes power is on but metrocast is out, so I can't be 100% certain that power is on, but if PSNH isn't reporting any outages I'm probably OK). One thing to keep in mind is that sporadic usage can lead to more potential for ice dams if you're not careful. Kicking the heat up, you'll get heat loss through the ceilings and that will melt the snow directly on top of the roof, causing sudden run-off, which will freeze when it hits the edge of the roof. Keeping rooms at a more steady temp (hi or low) reduces this. So I'd also invest in a roof rake and keep the roof clear when you're up there. __________________ [insert witty phrase here]