Environment - Climate Change

December 22, 2023 Published by London and Area Chapter - By Séan Eglinton

Are You Ready for Winter?

From the CCI Review 2023/2024-2 November 2023 issue of the CCI London Chapter

Introduction

For many of us, closing out the summer involves getting the kids ready for their first week of school, closing down summer cottages, pulling boats out of the water or getting those final rounds of golf in before the snow flies. With the end of summer and the onset of colder temperatures, it’s important to take a moment to do some quick housekeeping around your home and community.

Exterior Plumbing Systems

One of the most important things to remember when it comes to winterizing your home is to shut off the water to your outdoor taps and make sure the line is free of any water. The freeze thaw cycles of our Canadian winters can cause these exposed lines to burst. Start by shutting off the water from the interior of your home, and then open the exterior tap a touch to allow any trapped water to trickle out.

Don’t forget to unhook and bring your garden hoses into your home after you’ve dealt with the taps. Storing them in a dry place over the winter months will help to get some extra mileage out of them in the coming seasons.

Irrigation Systems

Some communities will be fully irrigated. Odds are your community has a maintenance agreement in place with a local irrigation or pool company to maintain the system throughout the year. Make sure to connect with the irrigation team and schedule your fall closing of the system. The sooner the call, the sooner you’ll be on the list to be closed out. Don’t forget to make note of any repair work that will be needed during spring startup.

Outdoor Furniture & Plants

In addition to protecting the fixed outdoor elements of your unit, it’s also important to winterize and protect your other items. This includes storing your seasonal furniture and wrapping any plant materials which may need protection from winter winds or salt spray. Some plants are hardy and provide visual winter interest. Check with your landscape team as to which plants could be left over the winter months such as sedums and grasses.

Patio furniture should be stacked and bound. If possible, keep it away from the roof overhang so that in the event you have falling ice or snowpack it does not do any damage.

Air Conditioners & Furnaces

As we close out the warmer summer months we’ll no longer need to run our air conditioning. But we don’t want to just switch it off and forget about it until the spring. Proper system close out should include a visual inspection, removal of any weeds and debris from around the machine and the installation of a proper fitted cover. Don’t have a cover handy? Even a simply sheet of plywood placed over the machine will help to keep critters out and keep the machine safe from falling ice and snow.

Have you been keeping up with filter changes throughout the season? If not, now is a great time to replace filters so that not only is your furnace running unimpeded but you’re not pushing dirty air particulates through the system and back into your home.

Gutter & Downpipe Cleaning

Cleaning can be tricky as Mother Nature is the one in the driver’s seat. Year to year the time frame in which the leaves fall seems to change. Once the leaves drop, it’s a mad dash to clean everything before the snow flies. Make sure to organize your cleaning with an insured trade well in advance. The sooner you commit to the cleaning, the sooner you’ll be on the list.

Don’t forget to speak to your trade about completing gutter and downpipe repairs should they come across them. Set a repairs budget in advance so that the team can complete as they go and won’t have to double back to complete work (remember – the winter freeze is right around the corner).

Didn’t have time to clean your gutters and downpipes before the snow flew? Don’t worry, looking back at recent weather patterns we seem to see a few early winter thaws before the heavy winter sets in. So, make sure to check in with your trade to make sure you’re still on the list.

And don’t forget to adjust the concrete splash pads around your home so that they are actually directing water away from your foundation. At times, lawncare equipment may unknowingly bump into these splash pads which will alter the direction of the drainage and could render them useless.

Salt & Deicer Needs

It’s recommended that each owner keep salt or some other form of ice melt at their front step. Your Corporation will have a landscape contract for the winter maintenance of your community. We need to remember that the contract will have service triggers that don’t always get activated with a light dusting of snow or our freeze thaw cycles.

And as we move deeper into the wet and snowy weather, remember to be mindful of what’s going on outside when you’re traveling through the community. Make sure you’re wearing appropriate footwear, give yourself a bit of extra travel time, and be cautious of neighbours who may be walking on roadways due to walkways being reduced or not yet maintained by the landscape team.

Seasonal Decorations

Remember different Corporations have different rules surrounding holiday decorations. Be sure to check your community’s rules before putting out any decorations. If your community does permit decorations, be sure any cords are secured and not loose where they could obstruct the landscapers’ ability to maintain the property. If the landscape maintenance team cannot see the cords, assume there may be damage to them at some point over the winter.

Going away over the winter?

If you’re one of many that go away over the winter months, please make sure to let your manager, insurance carrier and family know. Make sure that a key contact person provided to your manager so that in the event access is needed into your home while you’re away, it can be done without removing the door.

Many insurance policies will require periodic checks of the home while you’re away. Double check your policy to make sure you have someone checking into the home within the parameters of the policy.

In Closing

Lastly, remember that everyone has a role to play in keeping your community safe this winter! If you see something that feels like it could be a hazard such as snow piles which are impeding your view, catch basins that are buried and not allowing water to flow away, icicles hanging over access points to your home or icy patches, be sure to report it to your management team as soon as possible! Your maintenance teams cannot tackle what they don’t know about!

Be safe everyone!

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Séan Eglinton, OLCM, ACCI/LCCI has well over a decade of condominium management experience and is well versed in all aspects of front-end management. Before recently branching out on his own with Eglinton Scott Real Estate Management & Consulting Inc., he spent much of his time guiding Boards and communities through major restoration and improvement projects, contract negotiations and dealing with the day to day operations of various types of condominium corporations in the London and surrounding area.

He continues to enjoy his time as a CCI London and Area Chapter Board member where his main pride and joy is the rollout of the annual golf tournament held every June.

Prior to working as a condominium manager, he spent many years in the landscape industry after having graduated from the Landscape Design program at Fanshawe College here in London. He spent years in the landscape design, construction, maintenance and management industry. He often uses his landscape and construction experience to help create comprehensive bid specifications and to guide Directors through the often confusing and overwhelming landscape of contract and project planning.

When not in the office or at a meeting, Séan prefers to spend his time with family, friends and tree lined fairways.