The cost to winterize a house ranges from $50 to $1,500. You can DIY certain tasks for as low as $65, but you'll need to hire a winterizing pro for more complex projects, which can cost $1,000 or more.
Cost of Winterizing a House
On average, homeowners can expect to spend between $200 to $1,000 for basic winterization tasks. However, more comprehensive winterization efforts can range from $1,000 to $5,000 or more.
The process of winterizing will involve fully purging the home's plumbing system of water. This includes emptying the water heater, draining all of the piping, and filling the various fixtures with an anti-freeze solution.
Pipes, water heaters and other appliances can leak, or in freezing weather, pipes can freeze and burst, which can cause major damage in a home left unattended. If you are leaving for an extended period of time, the best protection is to have the water shut off and the water lines drained.
If you must leave the water on:
Then prepare your property with the following: Insulate pipes on exterior walls, crawl spaces & the attic. Open cabinet doors to allow heat to circulate around un-insulated pipes under sinks & appliances. Let warm water drip overnight to keep pipes from freezing.
You might think about canceling all utilities since no one is in the house. However, heat and electricity will need to stay on to keep the pipes from freezing, the lights on, and the security system online. Many other utilities may be canceled, such as phone or wifi service, but consider carefully about others.
In conclusion, knowing how to winterize a vacant house isn't the easiest task for a do-it-yourselfer. For homeowners with basic mechanical skills and knowledge, and the needed tools and equipment, it can take 4 to 8 hours. A professional plumber can do all of this in about 30-60 minutes.
Call your local home service professionals, like Petro Home Services. Petro is staffed with fully-trained and experienced technicians that will be happy to help you avoid costly winter season problems with your heat and/or winterizing your home properly.
It costs $200 to $250 on average to winterize a home, but appliance repairs or replacements could increase your budget significantly. For savvy DIY homeowners, your entire winterization budget could be less than $65.
If you have turned off the water supply, drain your pipes of all water by opening the faucets, and flush your toilet to clear the water from the tank and bowl. Consider pouring antifreeze in toilet tanks and bowls to prevent any remaining water from freezing. Always use non-toxic antifreeze rated for plumbing systems.
The national average cost of sprinkler winterization is $90, with most sprinkler systems costing $60 to $120 to winterize. However, homeowners with large yards that contain many watering zones may pay as much as $275. Conversely, homeowners with tiny systems may pay as little as $45.
In general, it's recommended to set your thermostat to 55 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. This may seem high compared to the freezing point of 32 degrees Fahrenheit, but it'll help keep the interior of the floor and wall cavities – where your plumbing is often located – safely above freezing temperatures.
Water is one of the primary reasons that vacant or abandoned building will start to decay. If water from precipitation, such as rain or snow, gets inside the home and is not attended to, this can cause a lot of damage. Water damage can include dissolving drywall, rotting wood, rusted metal, and melted plaster.
Water expands as it freezes, so if it freezes inside a pipe, it can blow out the walls of the pipe and cause a huge leak. Repairing water damage from a frozen, burst pipe is an expensive and time-consuming task. Luckily, you can greatly reduce the risk of frozen pipes with good winterization.
Structural Damage
The other issue here is that when no one is living in the home, there's no one to notice early signs of damage, especially when it comes to things like water or pest damage. The most common structural damages to occur in a vacant home include: Leaky, broken, or frozen pipes. Mold.
Typically, state governors—“the Executive Authority”— are authorized to issue orders for special elections to fill House vacancies. In contrast with the Senate, there is no constitutional provision for the appointment of interim Representatives.
Leave cabinet doors (kitchen, bathroom or those that otherwise house pipes) open so that warm air can circulate inside the cabinets around the pipes. Shut off and drain outside water faucets and install faucet insulators that can be purchased at home improvement stores.
Turn down the heat
You don't want to turn your furnace off completely as this could cause your pipes to freeze and break. Instead, turn your thermostat down to about 60 degrees to keep your home systems and components near room temperature, where they are meant to be.
The best time to schedule professional winterization for your underground sprinkler system is before the first freeze of the season. Ideally, you should aim to have your sprinkler system winterized in early fall before temperatures drop significantly.
Vacant homes are targets for theft and vandalism. Therefore, when a homeowner's mortgage payments become delinquent, one of the first things many lenders do to protect their interest in the property is to look into whether the owner has abandoned it.
Depending on how long your property is likely to stay vacant, turning off your utilities such as gas, electric and water could save you money and reduce the risk of issues occurring in the home due to leaks or water damage.
Keep in mind that you will be billed for any electricity or water used while the house is vacant.