Niagara Region
Why You Must Keep Your Heat On When Traveling in Winter
By Ghassan Barakat, Founder & Owner · Published January 15, 2022
Why Niagara homeowners should keep heat on, check their insurance requirements, and protect plumbing before winter travel.
Winter in the Niagara Region can be unforgiving. Turning off the heat to save a few dollars when you travel might seem smart, but it can lead to a disaster. And a renovation bill no homeowner wants.
What Happens When Pipes Freeze
When temperatures drop below freezing on cold Niagara nights in St. Catharines, Niagara Falls, Welland, and across the region, water inside your pipes can freeze. As it freezes, it expands. That expansion puts a lot of pressure on your plumbing. If the pipe can't handle it, it bursts.
Once a pipe bursts, the damage spreads quickly:
- Flooding runs through walls, floors, and ceilings
- Drywall soaks through, warps, and has to be replaced
- Flooring like hardwood, laminate, or tile can be ruined
- Mould risk rises quickly when wet materials are not dried; CMHC advises removing materials that cannot dry within 48 hours
- Structural damage can affect framing, subfloors, and insulation
This is rarely a quick fix. Often it means a full renovation from the ground up.
A Niagara-on-the-Lake Restoration
The photos in this article show a Niagara-on-the-Lake restoration after frozen plumbing caused extensive water damage.
Water affected drywall, flooring, and insulation, turning a plumbing repair into a much larger restoration scope.
The visible restoration work included removing affected finishes, exposing areas that needed assessment, and rebuilding with new drywall, flooring, and finishes. Any water-loss project should also involve the appropriate plumbing, drying, mould, structural, and insurance professionals for its conditions.
The practical lesson is simple: keep the heating system operating and understand the precautions required by your insurance policy before leaving the house in winter.
Set Your Thermostat Before You Travel
Do not switch the heat off. Natural Resources Canada generally recommends not reducing a home below 17°C (63°F) because lower settings can increase moisture risk. The right setting for your house can be higher depending on plumbing location, insulation, heating equipment, weather, and your insurer's requirements.
A few more tips for Niagara homeowners:
- Ask your insurer how often the house must be checked while you are away, then arrange those visits
- Leave cabinet doors under sinks open so warm air can reach the pipes
- Ask a plumber and your insurer whether shutting off the main supply and draining vulnerable lines is appropriate
- Insulate pipes in unheated areas like crawl spaces, attics, and garages
We're Here to Help, But Prevention Is Better
Byout Renovations can quote repair work after the plumbing failure, drying, environmental, insurance, and structural scope is understood. That may include drywall and ceilings, flooring, and broader home renovation services in Niagara.
Keep the heat on when you travel. Protect your pipes. And if you ever need renovation help in St. Catharines, Niagara Falls, Welland, Thorold, Fort Erie, Niagara-on-the-Lake, or anywhere in the Niagara Region, we're here for you.
Sources and Official Checks
About the author
Ghassan Barakat
Founder & Owner, Byout Renovations
Ghassan Barakat is the founder and owner of Byout Renovations. He leads project scoping and construction coordination from the written quote through the final walkthrough.
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