Empty House

[derekpara]

May sound a silly question but what precautions should be taken to protect an empty house in winter ? (Apart from leaving the heating on.)

[bhg481]

Turn the water off at the stopcock.

[derekpara]

Thanks, BHG.

Presumably all taps should be opened to empty the pipes as well.

[Retrochic]

make sure your Insurer knows the property is empty -you have to pay a premium for empty property and if something happens and you haven't told them you may not be covered.

[bhg481]

I usually open one of the downstairs taps to drain down the cold supply but I don't bother with the hot taps - you'd have to drain the header tank and the hot water cylinder which would take ages. Turning off the cold supply at least limits the amount of water that would be spilled if there were to be a leak. It's a good idea to leave a key with a neighbour "just in case".

[Dizmo]

Unless you live underground (below the mains (water main)), opening the taps won't empty the pipes.

What happens if someone decides to 'prank' you and turns your water on by the (I'm assuming, outside stopcock)? You even incur a huge water bill (if metred) or the house could get flooded (if one of the sinks/baths are blocked).

[Dizmo]

Ok, if you can understand my last comment then you're good. So many typos :/

[Buenchico]

'Indirect' protection maybe, but possibly still important:
Tell the insurer that the property is empty. (Most home insurance policies cease to be valid if the property is left unoccupied for more than a few weeks. You might need to pay an additional premium to keep the policy valid).

Also consider protection against intruders (who might, for example, try to strip out all of the metal pipework, etc). Extra locks and bolts might be needed. You need to consider whether it's best to leave the electricity turned on (so that you can have automated devices operating to simulate occupation) or off (to reduce any risks of electrical faults occurring).

[Dizmo]

Oh just ignore me completely. For a moment I lost my common sense, completely. Bhg is right, I'm wrong.

[bhg481]

Dizmo - my stop-cock is inside the house. Turning that off and a downstairs tap on drains the pipe between the stop-cock and the loft, where the feed for the hot-water tank and central heating is.

[The Builder]

If the heating is on low, or with the thermostatic rad valves on their frost setting, there should be no need to open the taps. just turn the main off where it rises under the sink (usually.)

Opening the taps would drain some of the system, but not all of it. There will be loads of risers where water will always stay.

Open window trickle vents if you have them

[Peter Pedant]

oo-er I would turn the stop cock AND leave the heating on

Currently convalescing at a friends house and I have left everything as it is and visit once a week.

If you decide to shut up the house- drain everything but then the house will take up the ambient temperature and it is pretty damn cold out there !

[jourdain2]

Turn off the water and open the taps - all of them, preferably - but certainly the lowest.

[Peter Pedant]

ask nosey neighbours to keep an eye on it

I live in a close with other retireds and we ring each other up when a dog goes against a lamp post - frequently without bothering to put our teeth in we are in so much of a hurry

[soapnumpty]

Tell your insurers and they should tell you what to do. They may want the water drained completely, or ask you to maintain a temperature of say 15 degrees to stop pipes freezing. Windows will need to be locked & you may have to seal up the letterbox

[derekpara]

Thank you all.
Some very good points I hadn't thought of.

D

[bednobs]

i must be a bit thick, but if you turn all the water off, the heating won't work will it?

[bhg481]

Yes it will Bednobs. The radiators and boiler on on a separate system. A header tank in the loft is filled from the rising main once and the water remains in there. There is a heat exchanger inside the hot water cylinder which heats the water for the hot-water taps. Once the boiler/radiator system is filled only small quantities of water are needed infrequently to replace water lost by evaporation, so turning the water off will not affect this system for a long time (months).
The idea of having the boiler and radiators on a separate system is to avoid scale being formed from hardness in the water. It also enables you to put rust inhibitor in the system to keep the boiler and radiators in good condition.