We go south for the winter months, typically Jan through March. We are in rural area near Picton, Ont and on a well system. My plumber shuts down and drains my water system and uses a compressor to blow out all the lines, etc, and he puts anti-freeze in the toilets, traps, sump, etc. We've been doing this for a few years and have had no problem with the water supply when we return. Since we started doing this I have been setting the thermostat back to about 8 or 9 C and I leave the forced air gas furnace on, to keep the temp above freezing while we are away. Even at that, our fuel bill for the winter is still quite high. What damage do I risk doing to the house if I shut the furnace down also and just let the place freeze up? I would remove full bottles, cans, etc, and anything that might break when frozen. I am thinking of possible structural damage?
Answer:
That's the way I leave my cottage all winter and so do many other people I know. So far it hasn't caused any problems for any of us as far as I know. You might want to talk to your furnace tech. and if you have water softening equipment, etc. you might want to talk with them but permitting the whole thing to freeze up seems to do no harm. Talk to your insurance people about this too.
