November: why it’s a tricky month for an empty cottage
Updated
The colours are gone, weekends at the cottage are further apart, and the drive to Sutton now happens in the dark. November is often when the house sits alone the longest without anyone giving it much thought — just as the weather turns.
November isn’t dramatic. That’s what makes it tricky: several small changes happen at once, and nobody’s there to notice them.
What to do in November
1. Make sure the heat has actually kicked back in
The furnace, heat pump or baseboards haven’t had to work hard since spring. On your last visit, turn the thermostat up for a moment and check that the unit starts, the baseboards warm up and no error code appears. Then set it back to the temperature your plumber or insurer recommends.
2. Get the heating serviced before the cold
An oil, propane or wood appliance should be serviced by a qualified professional before the season. It’s far easier to get an appointment in October than on the first emergency call in December.
3. Check fuel and access
Read the propane or oil tank gauge. Confirm automatic delivery and make sure the truck will make it up the driveway once there’s snow.
4. Finish the outside
One last gutter cleaning, outdoor taps shut off and drained, hoses put away, deck furniture brought in or tied down. Look at the trees near the house and over the electrical service wire: a dead branch over the roof often comes down with the first wet snow.
5. Take away the invitations for mice
Nothing edible outside a rigid container, garbage taken out, birdseed stored well away from the house. If you already use a pest-control company, this is the right time for their fall visit.
6. Think about mail and deliveries
Flyers, parcels, free weeklies: they pile up at the door of an empty house. Forward your mail or arrange for someone to pick it up.
7. Decide who comes by, and how often
If you’re not coming back before the holidays, who will go inside between now and then? A neighbour, a relative, a caretaking service: what matters is that it’s agreed, written down, and that the person has the keys and your instructions.
Why November is a tricky month
The first real frosts arrive while you’re away. In October, you’re still coming up. By November, below-zero nights are common in the Eastern Townships, and the plumbing is sometimes still in summer mode: a forgotten outdoor tap, a pipe in a poorly insulated addition.
The heating goes back to work. A unit that’s barely run for months shows its weak spots when it has to run for long stretches: a fussy igniter, a clogged filter, a tripped breaker. If it quits on a Tuesday, the house cools down in silence.
Wet snow and wind bring down branches. Early snowfalls are often heavy. On the wooded roads of Potton, Abercorn or the slopes around Mount Sutton, a branch on a line can cut power for hours. Hydro-Québec posts current outages on its outage map, but it won’t tell you whether your heating came back on properly afterwards.
The leaves are in the gutters. If the last cleaning was done too early, the gutters are full at the first cold rain, and then the ice moves in.
Rodents are looking for shelter. As it gets colder, mice move in wherever it’s warmer. A quiet house with no comings and goings suits them fine.
The neighbours have left too. On many back roads, a good share of the houses are second homes. In November there are fewer eyes on the road, and a door left ajar or a fallen branch can sit there a long time.
Prevention: what you can do, and what belongs to the pros
What an owner can do:
- Test the heating on your last visit and note the thermostat setting.
- Read the tank gauge and confirm delivery.
- Shut off and drain outdoor taps, put away hoses and deck furniture.
- Clear out food and take out the garbage.
- Forward your mail and leave an up-to-date contact list.
- Follow Environment Canada’s weather warnings for the area.
What belongs to the pros:
- Annual servicing of the furnace, stove or heat pump.
- Pruning a tree near the roof; any branch on a power line gets reported to Hydro-Québec, never touched.
- Any plumbing or electrical repair, by an RBQ-licensed contractor.
- Cleaning gutters out of reach of a short ladder.
In an empty house, how long before anyone notices?
November’s real issue is the gap between visits. The last fall weekend is behind you, the holidays are still a way off. If the heat stops somewhere in that gap, nobody knows until the next time someone walks in.
Nothing that happens in November is rare or dramatic on its own. What changes everything is how long it goes unnoticed. Many insurers set conditions for a home left empty in winter, and they differ from policy to policy. Ask your broker what applies to your cottage.
What we look at on a visit
Every visit, we read the thermostat and compare it with the agreed setting, check that the heating equipment is running (baseboards warm, furnace or heat pump starting), look at the gutters and downspouts from the ground, walk around the trees near the house and the electrical service wire, check for signs of mice in the kitchen and along the baseboards, and pick up parcels and flyers. Every finding is photographed and time-stamped in the report.
If something’s off, we call you the same day, with photos. A branch on a wire, we don’t touch: we report it. If needed, we meet an RBQ-licensed tradesperson on site and document the work.