Winter watch: the procedures

Winter watch is how an empty shore house is kept safe from far away: alarms that report the cold, valves that stop a leak, and a plan for when a pipe freezes.

Set these up at closing so they are working before the first cold snap. They matter most on houses kept heated through winter, where a failed furnace or a power cut is what freezes the pipes.

Two shore houses, one half-timbered and one white stucco, on an overcast day in the Marven Gardens neighborhood. Photograph; licence and author on Picture credits.