What do you do to winterize your home? (Carmel, Hamilton: power lines, houses)

[ImmerLernen]

This is more of a "house" related question, but I wanted to post here because I'm hoping for localized answers/advice.

We are working towards moving from Southern California to the Hamilton County area. We have never owned a home in an area with four seasons. Wondering what sort of winterizing is needed for a single family suburban home (for example: two story with basement, a mid-sized yard with irrigation/sprinklers, on municipal water and sewer). Any advice for potential-newb's?

[IndyDancer]

Since you mentioned a basement, which presumably has a sump pump.... my spouse takes care of this, but there is a cap on the pipe on the outside of the house that we remove during winter so water can flow out of it - otherwise it freezes and backs up (and pump runs continuously).

[rrah]

Really, if the house is newer (under 30/35 years old) there isn't much to do. Make sure any outside garden hoses are drained and disconnected from the exterior faucet. Depending on the age of the house and the exterior faucet some people install covers on the faucets. In some houses you might be able to shut the water off to the exterior faucets and drain them, but that's not common. We've never felt the need for a sprinkler system, but they do have to be drained. My daughter in Carmel has a system, and they had someone do this for them since they are first time homeowners and very busy.

In older houses with bad windows some people use a window winterizing kit to keep drafts out. Alternately, some really old houses have storm windows that are installed. Some people will also remove and clean window screens for the winter, but it's not essential.

A basement doesn't really matter in terms of winterizing beyond the sump pump mentioned above. A crawl space might require some additional steps--closing and covering vents--but again it depends on the specifics of the house. My mother-in-law lived in a very old farmhouse. She used to pile up the leaves around the bottom of the house to further insulate the cellar. Again though, that's a very old fashioned thing to do. Most houses wouldn't require that extra protection now.

We also spend some time cleaning, covering, and moving outdoor furniture and the grill to a protected place. It's not a big deal.

All of this is very house specific.

[ischyros]

If you have a sprinkler system, you need to have it flushed. There are many companies that do this. Any garden hoses should be disconnected from outside faucets. Also try to make sure they are empty of water. Other, check if any windows need caulking to keep out cold out. We put the storm window on the screen door on our front door. Just another barrier against the cold. Older homes may have storm windows to put on. Most newer houses have insulated windows so that isn't necessary. That's really about all I do (minus the sprinklers as I don't have a built in system). If you have a fireplace with chimney you plan to use, you'll want to get it checked out to make sure it's clean and not blocked by birds nest or anything. Make sure gutters are clean and free of the leaves that fell during fall. Snowmelt that can't get out and freezes adds extra weight to the gutters and that ice can back up on the roof, damaging the shingles.

[flamadiddle]

Close your windows and shut off the outdoor water, done.

[ImmerLernen]

Thanks for the good feedback, everyone!

The homes we seem to be most interested in were built in the 1980-2010 range mostly. What about a storm door for the front door? I think we saw some of those when we were in the area house-hunting.

I remember hearing about my grandparents' putting up/taking down storm windows when I was a kid. Their house was built in 1934 in Green Bay, WI.

[WestsideMac]

In addition to what's mentioned above in some homes you may want to check what kind of pipes you have and any that are up against outdoor walls (typically sink in the kitchen) be able to open cabinets near that pipe so that they stay warm enough not to freeze. Otherwise what was mentioned above is spot on (Detach hoses, empty gutters, turn off or flush sprinkler systems, check windows for drafts, etc).

Storm Doors can stay on and shouldn't need any maintenance.

When you buy the house have the seller pay for a checkup on the AC/Furnace ($80 typically). This allows you to know when diagnostics were last run and if something is wrong with the system you can write that into closing or at least know you may need to get it replaced. Do not want furnace going out in middle of winter if you can help it.

Also know where fuse boxes are. In older neighborhoods those power lines can get weighed down with ice and short or cause power to go out altogether. Typically this is a power company issue that they fix, but at least then you know where to go to check.

Non Winterizing, but new to winter things to think about:
Make sure you have a shovel (I'm sure you know this) and sand and/or salt in the garage can help if a car gets stuck or need quick snow removal in emergencies.
Try not to let your gas get too low without filling it or your gas could freeze and though you aren't empty could cause issues.

[sheerbliss]

If there's a storm drain near your house, you can be a good neighbor and keep the dirt, leaves and trash cleared out.

If you have water pipes near an outdoor wall, keep the cupboard door open when it's very cold so the pipes don't freeze and burst.

I have a kerosene heater in case my heat goes out. I needed it twice when I lived in Colorado.

If you have a vegetable garden, you can overwinter cool-weather vegetables like kale by putting a clear plastic container over them. As for a lawn, most people don't have sprinkler systems here. It's wet enough here that your lawn will come back after a dry spell. I don't think I've used my hose-end sprinklers ten times in four years.

[jamies]

Pack up and drive it to Florida for the winter. Duh.

[Sydney123]

I Close the windows.