Seasons
Fall closing, spring opening, a month-by-month calendar for a second home in the Eastern Townships.
- Fully closed or heated all winter: how to choose for your cottage
Drain and close the cottage, or keep it heated all winter? The risks of each option in the Eastern Townships, and the questions to settle first.
- Closing the cottage for winter: the complete checklist
Water, water heater, appliances, mice, the yard, paperwork: the fall closing checklist for a Townships cottage, and what belongs to a plumber.
- 10 costly things people forget when closing the cottage
Closing an Eastern Townships cottage for winter: the ten things owners most often forget, and how to avoid them before you head back to the city.
- Four-season cottage: a month-by-month maintenance calendar
A simple month-by-month calendar for looking after a four-season cottage in the Eastern Townships: what to check, what to book, and when.
- Weekly, every two weeks or monthly: how often should someone check the cottage?
How to choose how often someone visits your second home, based on the season, the heating, winter access and your own stays.
- Keeping the cottage open in winter: the bare minimum
Keeping the cottage heated for ski weekends or the holidays? The minimum to do before every departure so it gets through winter without a bad surprise.
- November: why it’s a tricky month for an empty cottage
In November the cottage often sits empty, the heat kicks back in and the first hard frosts arrive. What happens, and what to check before winter.
- September in the Townships: get the cottage ready for winter before the colours
September is the right month to prepare the cottage for winter: book the trades, look at the roof, close off rodent entry points. The list, in order.