The complete guide to opening a cottage.

What’s in this guide

1. Before you go
2. The order matters — and why
3. 1. Arrival: look before you touch anything
4. 2. The winter damage walk-through
5. 3. Wildlife, and what they left behind
6. 4. Put back everything that was removed
7. 5. Starting your water system — every pump type
8. 6. The water heater
9. 7. Charging the system and hunting leaks
10. 8. Flushing out the antifreeze
11. 9. Sanitising and testing the water
12. 10. Water treatment equipment
13. 11. Appliances
14. 12. Septic and drains
15. 13. Propane, heat and electrical
16. 14. Outside and the waterfront
17. 15. Before you call it open
18. The mistakes that cost the most
19. Common questions

Before you go

A little preparation turns a frustrating day into a straightforward one. There is rarely a hardware store close by, and nothing is open when you discover you need it.

Bring

• The bag of parts from closing — aerators, shower heads, washers, pump plugs. If you know where it is, bring it to the right room before you start.
• Your closing notes and photographs from last fall. This is what they were for.
• Basic tools: adjustable wrench, pipe wrench, pliers, screwdrivers, Teflon tape.
• A bucket, rags and a mop — something will leak.
• Spare filter cartridges, and a UV lamp if yours is due.
• Unscented household bleach, if you intend to sanitise the system.
• A water test bottle from your public health unit, collected in advance.
• Drinking water for the day — you will not be drinking from the tap.
• A headlamp, and gloves.
• A camera, or your phone. Photograph anything that looks wrong before you touch it.

Think about timing

Open after the risk of a hard frost has passed, or you will be winterizing again in a hurry. In eastern Ontario that generally means well into spring, and the safe date varies by year. If you must open early, be ready to drain again or keep heat on.

Allow a full day for a first opening, and give yourself daylight. Discovering a burst pipe at four in the afternoon with an hour of light left is how a bad day becomes a bad weekend.

The order matters — and why

The working sequence is: inspect → reassemble → water on slowly → hunt leaks → heat and power → flush → test.

1. Arrival: look before you touch anything

• Approach and access first. Note trees down over the lane, washouts, culverts blocked by ice or debris, and anything that would stop a delivery or emergency vehicle.
• Walk the outside of the building before you go in. Roof, shingles, soffit, fascia, chimney, foundation, obvious damage, anything leaning that should not be.
• Smell as you open the door. Damp, mould, propane, a dead animal, sewer gas from a dried-out trap — your nose finds problems faster than your eyes do. If you smell gas, do not touch a switch. Leave, ventilate from outside if you safely can, and call your propane supplier or the fire service.
• Do not switch anything on yet. Not the breaker, not the pump, not the water heater.
• Open windows and get air moving through.

2. The winter damage walk-through

Do this deliberately and in daylight, and photograph everything you find before you move or clean it. If any of it becomes an insurance claim, the photographs are what you will wish you had.

Water — look for this first

• Stains or discolouration on ceilings and walls, particularly below bathrooms and around chimneys.
• Damp, standing water or a high-water mark in a crawlspace or basement.
• Buckled or lifted flooring.
• Any pipe that looks split, bulged, or has a bright spot where it split and refroze.
• Rust or mineral trails on fittings — a sign of a slow leak that started and stopped.
• Damp insulation, which holds water long after the leak has gone.

Structure and envelope

• Roof from the ground: missing or lifted shingles, sagging, ice-dam damage at the eaves.
• Gutters pulled loose or bent by ice.
• Windows and doors that no longer close or latch — often frost heave.
• Cracked glass and failed seals.
• Decks and stairs: heaved posts, loose boards, rot at the ground line.
• Foundation cracks, and anywhere frost has moved something.
• Chimney: cap intact, flashing sound, no obvious mortar damage.

Shoreline and waterfront

• Ice damage to the shoreline, cribs, retaining walls and steps — ice moves an enormous amount over a winter.
• Dock damage if it was left in.
• Anything washed up, or washed away.
• Erosion where runoff has cut a new channel.

3. Wildlife, and what they left behind

Assume something got in until you have proof otherwise. Check before you settle in, not after.

• Droppings in drawers, cupboards, on countertops, in the stove drawer and behind appliances.
• Nesting material in insulation, upholstery, mattresses and boxes.
• Chewed wiring — mice chew insulation off wire, and that is a genuine fire risk. Check behind and under appliances, in the crawlspace, and anywhere wire is exposed. If you find chewed wiring, get an electrician to look at it before that circuit is energised.
• Chewed plumbing — PEX and poly tubing are not immune.
• Squirrel or raccoon damage in the attic or soffits.
• Wasp and hornet nests in soffits, under decks and inside barbecues.
• Birds or animals in the chimney if the cap failed.

Once it is cleaned up, find how they got in and seal it with steel wool and foam, or you are doing this again next year.

4. Put back everything that was removed

Work from your closing notes. Anything reinstalled at this stage is something that will not leak or fail later.

• Pump drain plugs and priming plugs — these go back in first, with Teflon tape, before any priming or power. A pump started with the drain plug out simply pumps onto the floor.
• The main-line washer and fitting below the shutoff, if you took it apart. Remove the tube you left in the pipe.
• Aerators on every faucet — but see the note below about leaving them off a little longer.
• Shower heads and hand-held hoses.
• Filter cartridges, and the UV lamp and quartz sleeve.
• Water heater drain valve closed. Check it twice.
• Washing machine supply hoses, with their washers.
• Any fitting, union or line you opened last fall.
• Close every low-point drain and boiler drain.

5. Starting your water system — every pump type

This is where equipment gets destroyed, so take it slowly. Whichever system you have, the principle is the same: plugs in, water in, then power on. Never the other way round.

Shallow well jet pump (single-pipe)

1. Reinstall the drain plugs with Teflon tape. Snug, not brutal.
2. Reconnect the suction line if it was disconnected, and check the fitting is sound.
3. Remove the priming plug on top and fill the pump body and the suction line completely with water, using a jug or a hose, until it overflows out of the priming port. This can take more water than you expect on a long suction run.
4. Reinstall the priming plug.
5. Now switch the breaker on. The pump should catch and start building pressure within a minute or two.
6. If it does not build pressure, switch it off immediately and prime again. Running it dry while you hope is what wrecks the seals. It sometimes takes two or three primes on a long or high suction line.
7. Watch the pressure gauge climb and confirm the pressure switch cuts out at its set point.

Deep well jet pump (two-pipe)

Same procedure, with two considerations. Both lines must be reconnected and sound, and priming a deep well jet fills a great deal more pipework — expect it to take longer and more water, and expect it to need a second attempt. Follow the manufacturer’s priming instructions for your model; some require the pressure line to be filled separately.

Submersible pump in a drilled well

1. The pump has been sitting in water all winter and does not need priming.
2. Confirm the riser and any line into the building is reconnected and the drains are closed.
3. Check the pressure tank drain valve is closed.
4. Switch the breaker on and let it fill the system slowly. Open one tap so air can escape as water arrives, or trapped air will hammer the pipes.
5. Watch the pressure gauge rise and cut out at the set point.
6. If it runs and runs without building pressure, switch it off. Something is open, leaking, or the pump has failed over the winter.

Lake or river intake

1. Inspect the foot valve and strainer before it goes anywhere near the water. Check the screen is clean and the valve seals. Replace it if it is doubtful — it is cheap, and a failed foot valve means a pump that will not hold prime all season.
2. Put the intake line back at the right depth and position, using the photographs and notes from last fall. Deep enough to stay below the thermocline and away from surface debris, clear of weed and silt on the bottom, and where it will not be hit by a boat.
3. Check the whole line for winter damage, chew marks and cracks before you reconnect it.
4. Reinstall the pump drain and priming plugs.
5. Prime the pump and the full length of the intake line. On a long run this takes real volume — many people fill the line from a hose or a jug at the lake end before connecting.
6. Switch on, and watch for pressure. Reprime if it does not catch.
7. Expect the first water to be dirty. Run it to waste outside or to a drain until it clears, before you send it through your filters and treatment equipment.

Pressure tank

• Confirm the drain valve is closed.
• Check the air pre-charge with a tyre gauge while the tank is empty of water — before the pump runs. It should be roughly 2 PSI below the pump’s cut-in pressure. This is the number worth recording at closing, and it is why we suggest doing so.
• A waterlogged tank makes the pump cycle rapidly on and off. If it does that, the bladder has likely failed.

6. The water heater

1. Close the drain valve and remove the hose.
2. Open the cold supply to the tank.
3. Open a hot tap somewhere in the building and leave it open. Air has to get out as water goes in, and the tap is how you know the tank is full.
4. Wait. When water runs steadily out of that hot tap with no spluttering or air, the tank is full.
5. Check around the tank, the fittings and the drain valve for leaks before energising.
6. Only now switch on the breaker, or open the gas and relight per the manufacturer’s instructions.
7. Give it time to heat, then check the temperature and pressure relief valve is not weeping, and that the tank is heating as expected.

Tankless units have their own start-up procedure, often including a specific fill and purge sequence. Follow the manual for yours.

If it is a gas or propane unit and you are not confident relighting it, do not. Have a TSSA-certified technician do it.

7. Charging the system and hunting leaks

The system has been empty for five months. Bring it up gently and watch it closely — this is the stage where a winter failure reveals itself.

1. Open the main supply slowly, not with a snap. A sudden pressure surge into an empty system can blow a weak fitting.
2. Open one tap at the far end of the system so air escapes as water arrives. Expect sputter, banging and brown water — all normal.
3. Work through the fixtures one at a time, opening and letting them run until they run steady.
4. Then walk the whole system and look. Under every sink, at the water heater, at every visible joint, in the crawlspace or basement, at the pump, at the pressure tank, at outside taps, at the washing machine and dishwasher connections.
5. Come back and look again in an hour, and again before you leave. Slow leaks do not announce themselves. A weeping joint that drips once a minute will do enormous damage before anyone returns.
6. Check the pump is cutting in and out normally, not running continuously.
7. Once the system is stable, close everything and watch the pressure gauge. If pressure drops with no tap open, you have a leak somewhere.

8. Flushing out the antifreeze

The pink antifreeze in the traps and toilets is non-toxic, but it is not meant to be consumed and it tastes and smells of itself until it is gone.

• Run every tap, hot and cold, until the water is completely clear with no pink tint.
• Run showers and tubs the same way.
• Flush every toilet several times — the tank, the bowl and the rim holes all held antifreeze.
• Run the dishwasher through a complete empty cycle before putting dishes in it.
• Run the washing machine through an empty hot cycle.
• Run the ice maker and discard the first several batches of ice.
• Run the water dispenser until it is clear.
• Flush outside taps and any boathouse or bunkie fixture.
• Reinstall aerators and shower heads once the water runs clean.

Do not drink the water yet. Flushing removes the antifreeze; it does not tell you the water is safe.

9. Sanitising and testing the water

A well or lake system that has stood unused all winter can develop bacterial growth in the lines, the tank and the well itself. This step is easy to skip and genuinely matters.

Sanitising

Many well owners shock chlorinate the system at opening — introducing a measured quantity of unscented household bleach into the well, circulating it through every fixture until chlorine is detectable, letting it stand for a period, then flushing until it is gone.

Quantities, contact times and procedure vary with well type, depth and volume, and doing it wrong is both ineffective and hard on your equipment. Your local public health unit publishes step-by-step guidance for private wells, and a licensed well contractor will do it properly. Bypass any UV, carbon or softener equipment before chlorinating — chlorine damages some media and ruins carbon filters.

Testing

• In Ontario, private well water testing for bacteria is available at no charge through your local public health unit. Collect a sample bottle in advance, follow their sampling instructions exactly, and get it to a drop-off point within the required window.
• Test after sanitising and after the chlorine has fully flushed, or the result is meaningless.
• Health units generally recommend testing several times through the season, not only at opening.
• Do not assume the water is fine because it was last year. Conditions change — particularly after a wet spring or flooding.
• Use bottled or boiled water until you have a clear result.
• Chemical testing — nitrates, metals, hardness — is a separate paid test through a licensed lab, and worth doing periodically.

10. Water treatment equipment

• Sediment and cartridge filters: install fresh cartridges, take the housing out of bypass, and check for leaks around the sump seal.
• UV systems: reinstall the quartz sleeve and lamp, checking the sleeve for cracks and cleaning it. Replace the lamp if it is at or near its rated hours — a UV lamp that lights up is not necessarily still producing effective UV. Let it run and reach output before relying on it.
• Water softeners: take out of bypass, refill the brine tank with salt, and run a manual regeneration.
• Iron and sulphur filters: out of bypass, and run a backwash cycle.
• Reverse osmosis: new filters and membrane if due, then discard the first two or three tank fills.
• Check every backwash drain line runs freely.

11. Appliances

• Refrigerator: clean it out, close it, and switch it on. Give it several hours to come down to temperature before loading it. Check the door seals still seal.
• Ice maker: switch it on, and discard the first several batches — they will carry antifreeze residue and stale water.
• Dishwasher: run a full empty cycle. Check underneath for leaks afterwards, particularly at the inlet valve and the pump.
• Washing machine: reconnect the hoses with their washers, run an empty hot cycle, and check behind it for leaks at the taps and hose connections.
• Water heater: already covered — but check the relief valve is not weeping once it is up to temperature.
• Test smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, and replace batteries.
• Check the range, oven and any gas appliance for wildlife nesting before use.

12. Septic and drains

• Run every drain and watch it clear properly.
• Check under every sink for leaks at the trap, especially anything you took apart.
• A drain that gurgles or drains slowly may have a blocked or frost-plugged vent stack. Check the vent on the roof is clear.
• Walk the septic bed and look for soft ground, standing water, odour or unusually lush growth — all signs of a problem.
• Check the tank lids are secure and accessible, and remove the winter marker stakes.
• If the tank was not pumped last fall, and it is due, book it early — spring is busy.
• More detail in cottage septic care.

13. Propane, heat and electrical

• Check the propane tank level and book a fill early if it is low. Spring is a busy period for suppliers.
• Check for leaks before relighting anything. If you smell gas at any point, shut the tank valve, leave, and call your supplier.
• Relighting gas appliances: follow the manufacturer’s procedure exactly, or have a TSSA-certified technician do it. Furnaces, water heaters, fridges and fireplaces all have their own sequence.
• Check appliance vents and chimneys for nests before lighting anything.
• Have the chimney inspected or swept if the woodstove or fireplace will be used.
• Remove the chimney cap if one was fitted for winter, and open the damper.
• Turn the main breaker on and go through the panel systematically, checking each circuit works.
• Switch heat trace back on, and check its thermostat and plug are functioning.
• Test the GFCI outlets, which is quick and tells you something real.
• Reset any clocks, thermostats and timers.
• Check the sump pump runs, and that its discharge line is clear.

14. Outside and the waterfront

• Dock in, sections checked for winter damage, hardware and fasteners tightened.
• Boat lift back in and tested.
• Ladders, swim rafts and buoys out.
• Shoreline cleared of winter debris and anything that washed up.
• Check cribs, retaining walls and steps for ice movement.
• Outdoor taps opened and checked for splits — a tap that froze will not show itself until the water is on.
• Garden hoses reconnected, after checking them for splits.
• Patio furniture out, cleaned and inspected.
• Barbecue: check for nesting, check hoses for cracks, and leak-test the connection before lighting.
• Gutters cleared and downspouts reconnected.
• Mowers and small engines: fresh fuel, oil checked, battery back in, and serviced if due.
• Fire pit, propane tanks and fuel storage checked.
• Walk the lane and clear anything that came down over the winter.

15. Before you call it open

• Pump cycling normally, cutting in and out at the right pressures
• No leaks anywhere — checked twice, an hour apart
• Water heater full, heating, relief valve dry
• Every fixture running clear, hot and cold
• Aerators and shower heads reinstalled
• Antifreeze fully flushed from taps, toilets and appliances
• Water sample taken and dropped off; bottled water in use until the result is back
• Treatment equipment back in service with fresh cartridges
• Drains all running freely
• Smoke and CO detectors tested
• Propane checked, appliances lit and running properly
• Damage documented and photographed, repairs booked
• Anything needing a trade — called now, not in July when everyone is busy

Then write it down. What you found, what you fixed, what needs doing, what you had to buy, and what you would do differently. Next spring that record is worth more than your memory — and if somebody else opens the place, it is the difference between a smooth day and a series of phone calls. It is why we build and maintain a written record of systems and procedures for every property we look after.

The mistakes that cost the most

• Energising the water heater before the tank is full. Element gone in seconds.
• Starting a pump dry, or with the drain plug still out. Seals destroyed, or water on the floor.
• Turning the water on fast. A pressure surge finds every weak fitting at once.
• Turning the water on and leaving. The split pipe from January reveals itself twenty minutes later.
• Not looking for damage before pressurising. You find it by flooding the building instead.
• Sweeping or vacuuming mouse droppings dry. A genuine health risk, and avoidable.
• Ignoring chewed wiring. Fire risk.
• Drinking the water before it has been tested.
• Chlorinating with the UV, carbon or softener still in line. Damages the media.
• Opening too early. One hard frost and you are winterizing again in a hurry.
• Putting aerators back before flushing. They clog with the sediment the system pushes through.
• Not writing any of it down. Every year starts from nothing.

Common questions

The other half of the year is covered in the complete guide to winterizing a cottage.