RAE
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Looking for some advice from those who have done what DW and I are thinking of doing in a little less than 2 years. I plan to retire sometime in 2010. We live in the upper midwest - very cold climate. We love it here about 8 months out of the year, but the winters have really gotten to be a drag as we get older (especially this one!). We are active people - love to kayak, fish, hike with the dog, bike, etc.. So, we've pretty much decided that we want to keep our house here (it's paid for, nice location, have friends here, etc), but we also don't really want to be here from Dec. - March after I retire. I would plan to heat the house here minimally, and I have a good neighbor who would check on it regularly for me (I'd pay him something to do that). I also need to drain the water pipes, because I just can't take a chance on the furnace going out for even a day or two, as pipes would freeze (we've had -30 degrees here this winter a few times). I'm a little intimidated by the thought of doing that, though......this is a big house, with a sprinkler system in the basement (wood stove down there), 2 bath, etc.. Has anyone gone through this process with a big (older) house like this (shut down the water system in the fall, bring it back up in the spring), and if so, did it go okay for you? Anything I should be especially careful/aware of? I'm not a real handy-type guy (as you can guess), but I can get someone who is, to help me with all this, so the shut-down should go okay. I just don't want to be down south all winter worrying about my house.....that would ruin my winter. Anything else I should be concerned about, with leaving a house in a climate like this for the winter months? (there are really no issues here with break-ins, so that actually doesn't concern me at all....especially with my neighbor next door keeping an eye on things). There might be some issues with snow/ice buildup along the sides of the house (we get a lot of snow, and it slides right off the metal roof, piling up along the side of the house). I should be able to get my neighbor to keep an eye on that situation, though, and do some snow removal if it gets too bad. Anyone use one of those temperature monitors that you hook into your phone line, so that you can call anytime and get the house temp? Do you recommend them? Or are there other similar devices that are better?
Thanks in advance for any advice/suggestions! RAE
Thanks in advance for any advice/suggestions! RAE