Home Repair forum - Winterizing a house

Author

Winterizing a house

Buddy Matlosz

2007-08-29, 3:25 am

My elderly aunt passed away recently, leaving behind a small 2BR ranch in a
retirement community. The lawyer handling her affairs has asked me to
prepare the house for the winter since there's no sure way of telling how
long it will take to sell.

What should I do other than shutting off the water? Location is Jersey Shore
area, and the house has electric heat.

Thanks,
Buddy

Smitty Two

2007-08-29, 3:25 am

In article <wa5Bi.144$vl.116@newsfe12.lga>,
"Buddy Matlosz" <amatlosz@optonline.net> wrote:

> My elderly aunt passed away recently, leaving behind a small 2BR ranch in a
> retirement community.

My condolences.

> The lawyer handling her affairs has asked me to
> prepare the house for the winter since there's no sure way of telling how
> long it will take to sell.

Translation: I'm a fat, lazy, greedy bastard, and your aunt's estate is
right at the rock bottom of my priority list, and sinking. I'm going to
milk this job for at least 18 months, do about twenty minutes a month of
actual work on it, and screw you and the rest of the family for an
obscene fee. You'll be lucky if I remember to have my XXXXX whore
secretary pay the insurance premium before the house burns to the ground
while I'm golfing. Shit, I ain't even gonna contact a realtor until at
least a year has gone by. Be patient, son, procrastinating takes time,
particularly with complex legal matters that involve me distributing
money to a grieving family.

>
> What should I do other than shutting off the water? Location is Jersey Shore
> area, and the house has electric heat.
>
> Thanks,
> Buddy

Sorry Buddy, can't answer your questions. I'm just a tad cynical based
on the four estate settlements I've been involved in.

Toller

2007-08-29, 3:25 am

"Buddy Matlosz" <amatlosz@optonline.net> wrote in message
news:wa5Bi.144$vl.116@newsfe12.lga...
> My elderly aunt passed away recently, leaving behind a small 2BR ranch in
> a
> retirement community. The lawyer handling her affairs has asked me to
> prepare the house for the winter since there's no sure way of telling how
> long it will take to sell.
>
> What should I do other than shutting off the water? Location is Jersey
> Shore
> area, and the house has electric heat.
>
It really isn't anything you have to do until October, or maybe November.
It is a matter of getting ALL the water out of the plumbing.
Turn off the water, pump out the toilets, drain the washing machine and
dishwasher, and then get ALL the water out of the plumbing. Then put
RVantifreeze wherever there might be any water left.
I use compressed air to blow out every faucet.
If the house wasn't designed to be winterized, I am not sure how you get it
out of the very lowest pipes without cutting into them; my cottage has
drains at all the low points.

Bob M.

2007-08-29, 9:25 pm

"Buddy Matlosz" <amatlosz@optonline.net> wrote in message
news:wa5Bi.144$vl.116@newsfe12.lga...
> My elderly aunt passed away recently, leaving behind a small 2BR ranch in
> a
> retirement community. The lawyer handling her affairs has asked me to
> prepare the house for the winter since there's no sure way of telling how
> long it will take to sell.

Turn off the water, gas & the main circuit breaker. After you turn off the
water -don't- flush the toilets unless you want stinky sewer gas in the
house. Just open the faucets and let the water out. I don't think it's
necessary to blow air through all the water lines; if there is air in them
and the water freezes, it will have some place to expand in without breaking
the pipe.

Big_Jake

2007-08-30, 3:25 am

On Aug 28, 9:51 pm, "Buddy Matlosz" <amatl...@optonline.net> wrote:
> My elderly aunt passed away recently, leaving behind a small 2BR ranch in a
> retirement community. The lawyer handling her affairs has asked me to
> prepare the house for the winter since there's no sure way of telling how
> long it will take to sell.
>
> What should I do other than shutting off the water? Location is Jersey Shore
> area, and the house has electric heat.
>
> Thanks,
> Buddy

I was doing this work for a company handling foreclosure properties in
WI. Here's the drill:

Turn off power at the main breaker.

Drain all the water out of the water heater. Turn off the water
before the meter and take out the meter. Use compressed air to blow
out as much water as you can out of the pipes. Even a small amount of
water left behind can cause pipes to burst, period. If there is a
significant amount of pipe before the meter, cover it with a big
blanket of insulation, and consider shutting the water off at the
street.

Pour a liberal amount of RV antifreeze into all toilets. Pour some in
all drains to get it into the traps. If the heating system is
hydronic, consider getting a professional to drain it down completely.

JK

terry

2007-08-30, 3:25 am

On Aug 30, 2:10 am, Big_Jake <I.do.realest...@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Aug 28, 9:51 pm, "Buddy Matlosz" <amatl...@optonline.net> wrote:
>
>
>
>
> I was doing this work for a company handling foreclosure properties in
> WI. Here's the drill:
>
> Turn off power at the main breaker.
>
> Drain all the water out of the water heater. Turn off the water
> before the meter and take out the meter. Use compressed air to blow
> out as much water as you can out of the pipes. Even a small amount of
> water left behind can cause pipes to burst, period. If there is a
> significant amount of pipe before the meter, cover it with a big
> blanket of insulation, and consider shutting the water off at the
> street.
>
> Pour a liberal amount of RV antifreeze into all toilets. Pour some in
> all drains to get it into the traps. If the heating system is
> hydronic, consider getting a professional to drain it down completely.
>
> JK

Based on the cynicism about the legal profession expressed near the
start of this thread sounds like best to make sure there will be
nothing the lawyer can complain about!
Would further suggest that the measures may depend on climate. Here
our almost completely below ground basement never goes below 50
degrees F even in cold weather with house unoccupied. Almost all our
house plumbing is at main floor level so can be drained down quite
easily/quickly into a basement floor drain.
BTW if there are any outside taps for watering the garden they may not
be the type where the valve itself is buried in the wall! Open them up
to allow water to drain out or back down the system.

Devils Advocate

2007-08-30, 9:25 am

"Bob M." <no@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:9tednfWSBvG6tEvbnZ2dnUVZ_hWdnZ2d@bresnan.com...
>
> "Buddy Matlosz" <amatlosz@optonline.net> wrote in message
> news:wa5Bi.144$vl.116@newsfe12.lga...
>
> Turn off the water, gas & the main circuit breaker. After you turn off
> the water -don't- flush the toilets unless you want stinky sewer gas in
> the house.

Well if you advise him to not flush the toilet, you should also advise him
to buy a new toilet and box for when it freezes and cracks the toilet over
the winter.

LinkBot