DIYbanter - View Single Post

LSMFT[_2_]

hr(bob) wrote:
On Feb 22, 12:44 pm, wrote:
On 2/22/2011 1:13 PM, wrote:

On Feb 22, 12:29 pm, wrote:
On Feb 22, 11:12 am, wrote:

Closing a house in the northeast next winter. I will shut off the heat.
I know I have to drain the plumbing, baseboard up stairs and put rv
fluid in the drains. What about the boiler in the basement? Will the
basement in an unheated house freeze? It gets 20 below zero here but the
basement is tight and normally 72 degrees with the heat on. The washer
is also in the basement. So what do others do in the north?

--
LSMFT

Force ****s upon the Back of Reason...
Ben Franklin-

Call your fuel supplier for procedures concerning the boiler. Follow
their instructions. Remove the washer and put it in heated storage or
follow manufacturers instructions for leaving in place. Otherwise you
should be good to go. Usual notification of authorities is wise, ask
neighbors to check occasionally. Shut off utilities to site,

Joe

Boy I wouldnt let a home freeze for the winter.

plaster can spall that is crumble and fall off, any low places in
plumbing will freeze, let alone damage risks to washer dishwasher etc.
plus the home will look vacant, attracting the wrong element. hot
water tanks glass lining can be damaged by super low temp too......
lots of furnishings can be damaged by freezing too

did you talk to your insurance agent? a vacant home is a target for
arson break ins etc.

you must inform your homeowners company who will jack your rate up
about 8 times normal to cover ther extra risk.

if you fail to inform your homeowners company and a loss occurs they
dont have to pay, thats clause is in every contract.. you will have to
prove someone was living there hard to do with no heat. and around
here the gas company pulls meters for homes shut down. they charge for
meter removal and meter replacement and frequently require a pressure
test on gas lines, older homes invaribly fail that test. its 90 pounds
where normal gas pressure is under a pound or two......

your way better off to get a friend to live there and perhaps pay the
utility bills.

by the time you pay the increased homeowners you will save very little

And we have a winner! Houses do not store well at all, especially once
they are past a certain age. Try for a trustworthy short-term rental or
a house sitter, even if you have to containerize and store all or part
of the stuff currently in the house.

--
aem sends...- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I agree a free house-sitter, chosen carefully on the recommendations
of a friend (of yours), is the only realistic way to handle a 3 -4
month vacancy. You can buy alarms that would alert a neightbor if the
temperature got too low, but then you are puitting a lot of
responsibility on the neighbor to fix whatever led to the low
temperature problem in the first place.

Why do you have/want to turn the heat off? It will cost you more in
time and $$$ to do all the work than to just leave the house at a
lower temperature, somewhere between 40 and 50 F.

Where a barrel of oil is almost $1000 now, I think a little RV fluid is
much cheaper. I don't find it difficult to drain pipes, put antifreeze
in drains and winterize a washing machine. I don't have plaster walls,
it's drywall.

How many barrels of oil would it take to keep a house at 50 degrees for
six months?

--
LSMFT

Force ****s upon the Back of Reason...
Ben Franklin-