Do it Yourself: [DIY] Winterizing an Unoccupied House

14 January 2014

[DIY] Winterizing an Unoccupied House

Posted by: "Terry" THenne1713@aol.com

> If I was going away (especially extended/ especially
> winter) I would want water shut off at street, or at least
> outside house.

Hi Terry;

I have owned two houses that I have shut down, with no
heat in Winter, in Michigan. Where I live now (extreme
cold region) there is a well, and I can literally winterize
the house is about two minutes (have done it a hundred
time, at least) by turning off the pump, opening all the
faucets, flushing and plunging the toilet, and splashing
RV antifreeze in all the traps and the toilet tank. I heat
only with a woodstove, so if I leave, even for a day
or two, I winterize the house, and let it go cold.

My other house, in the city, with a basement was more
difficult. There is a main shut-off, where the water comes
into the house. However, I found that the valve would not
seal, and the system would still fill with water. So, the first
thing I had to do was fix that. At the same time I installed
another valve, to drain the system through a hose, to a
floor drain. That way I could stop the water from the city,
but if the valve failed even that water would go to the floor
drain, just like the water from the house system. I deter-
-mined that the short line from the city main, and meter,
in the basement, were well enough "ground coupled" to
not freeze. I also plunged the toilet and put some RV
antifreeze in the traps, except the basement floor drains,
which are too ground coupled to freeze.

-Laren Corie-
Natural Solar Building Design and
Solar Heating/Natural Cooling/Energy
Efficiency Consultation Since 1975
www.ThermalAttic.com (many new
photos and pages, coming soon)

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