Too Early to open summer house?

[Merrymeeting]

As others have mentioned, many factors here. But at this point it would be unusual for the inside of your home/cottage to get cold enough to cause problems for plumbing that is inside. Not saying it couldn't happen, but the odds/history are in your favor once the lake temps are in the 40's.

But if you have exposed pipes outside/underneath, it may be a bit early.

Before living here full time, we had a seasonal cottage with exposed pipes underneath. We always opened up on Patriots Day weekend (mid-April). In 17 years, never had a problem. But there were a few times when the temps went to the low 20's for a few hours at night in late April when I would worry until I got back and found that all was well.

[secondcurve]

Originally Posted by Merrymeeting

As others have mentioned, many factors here. But at this point it would be unusual for the inside of your home/cottage to get cold enough to cause problems for plumbing that is inside. Not saying it couldn't happen, but the odds/history are in your favor once the lake temps are in the 40's.

But if you have exposed pipes outside/underneath, it may be a bit early.

Before living here full time, we had a seasonal cottage with exposed pipes underneath. We always opened up on Patriots Day weekend (mid-April). In 17 years, never had a problem. But there were a few times when the temps went to the low 20's for a few hours at night in late April when I would worry until I got back and found that all was well.

My rule of thumb is the heat needs to be on between October 15th and April 15th to have water pipes not freeze. This is a bit conservative but it has always worked for me.