Getting Your Georgian Bay Home Ready for Winter: A Checklist for Staying and for Heading South

There's a week every fall on Georgian Bay when the season turns over. The docks come in and the marinas haul out the last of the boats. The furnace runs for the first time that season, and the house fills with that warm, dusty smell.

That's the week to get your home ready for winter. The work isn't hard. Most of it is an afternoon, a few phone calls, and knowing where your water shut-off is. It's also far easier on a mild October Saturday than in the middle of a January thaw, when the trades are booked solid and the problem is already in your basement.

This guide is in two parts. The first is for anyone staying through the winter. The second is for anyone heading south, because an empty house has a different set of risks and your insurance policy has rules about it. At the end, you'll find the local trades I trust for the jobs you'd rather hand off.

Ontario changed its carbon monoxide alarm rules this year

This is the one most people missed. As of January 1, 2026, the Ontario Fire Code requires a carbon monoxide alarm on every storey of the home if you have a fuel-burning appliance, a fireplace or an attached garage. That's on top of the existing requirement for an alarm outside each sleeping area. Smoke alarms were already required on every storey, including the basement.

Here's how to check your home in five minutes:

1. Walk each floor, basement included, and look for a CO alarm. A combination smoke and CO alarm counts.
2. Press the test button on each one.
3. Check the date printed on the back. Most alarms expire after 7 to 10 years, even if they still beep.
4. If an alarm is hard-wired, make sure it has a battery backup, so it still works during a power outage.

If your basement or main floor doesn't have a CO alarm yet, start there. The Town of Penetanguishene and the Town of Midland both have plain-language summaries of the rules on their websites.

If you're staying for the winter, start with the furnace and work outward

The best way to work through this list is from the inside out. Start with what keeps you warm and safe, then move to the water, then the outside of the house.

Heating and safety

1. Book your furnace service now. Every heating company in North Simcoe gets busy after the first real cold snap. I've listed three I trust at the end of this guide.
2. Change your furnace filter, then keep changing it every one to three months while the system is running hard.
3. Keep at least a metre of clear space around the furnace. Paint cans, boxes and storage don't belong there.
4. Book your chimney cleaning if you burn wood. Most insurers also want a current WETT inspection on file for any wood stove or fireplace. AIM Chimney Sweep in Midland, listed below, does both.
5. Have your air conditioner serviced and cover the outdoor unit for the season. If it's a heat pump, leave it uncovered, because it's working all winter. Just keep snow clear of it.

Water and pipes

1. Shut off the water to your outdoor taps from the inside valve, open the tap outside to drain it, and disconnect the hoses.
2. Wrap any exposed pipes in unheated spaces with foam pipe insulation. That means crawl spaces, the garage and the attic.
3. Test your sump pump by pouring a bucket of water into the pit. It should start on its own and clear the water.
4. Find your main water shut-off and show everyone in the house where it is. If a pipe ever lets go, those first few minutes matter.

The outside of the house

1. Clear the leaves out of your eavestroughs and downspouts. Make sure each downspout empties at least a metre or two away from the foundation.
2. Walk the yard and look at your grading. The ground should slope away from the house on every side. Look closely at any spot where a summer project was left unfinished, or where you've had water near the foundation before. Our January and February thaws send a lot of meltwater toward the house, and a low spot is where it collects.
3. Look at your roof from the ground for loose or missing shingles and lifted flashing. Those are where ice dams turn into leaks.
4. Trim dead branches that hang over the roof, the driveway or the power line to the house.
5. Seal small cracks in the driveway and walkways. Water gets in, freezes, expands, and a small crack becomes a big repair by spring.
6. If raking leaves, clearing gardens and trimming branches is more than you want to take on, book a fall yard clean-up now, before the snow arrives. The trades list below has a local option.
7. Disconnect the battery in your lawn tractor and your boat so it doesn't drain over the winter. If you can, take each one out and store it somewhere dry that stays above freezing, and top up the charge before spring.

Through the winter

1. After every snowfall, gently brush the snow off your gas meter and your furnace and water heater vents with a broom. Never kick or chip at them, and don't pile shovelled snow against them. Enbridge Gas warns that a blocked vent can push carbon monoxide back into the house.
2. After heavy snow, use a roof rake from the ground to pull snow off the lower edge of the roof, or hire someone who does it. Don't go up on the roof yourself.
3. Keep a 72-hour kit for power outages: water, non-perishable food, flashlights, batteries, a battery or crank radio, and any medication you need.
4. If you have a portable generator, run it outdoors only, at least 6 metres from windows and doors. Never run a generator, barbecue or camp heater inside the house or garage.

If you're heading south, your first call is to your insurance broker

Here's the part most people don't learn until it's too late: your home insurance policy has winter rules.

When a home sits empty for weeks at a time, a small problem has nobody there to catch it. A furnace that quits on a cold night can freeze a pipe. A pipe that bursts can run for days. If nobody was checking on the house, the claim can be denied.

That's why most insurers expect one of two things while you're away:

1. Heat on, with regular checks. Someone you trust visits the home on a set schedule. Some insurers want a check every few days, and some want daily visits. Ask yours exactly how often.
2. Water off and lines drained. The main water is shut off and the plumbing is drained, so there's nothing in the pipes to freeze.

Call your broker before you book anything and ask these five questions:

1. How often does my home need to be checked while I'm away?
2. After how many days does my home count as vacant, and what changes when it does?
3. Is there a minimum temperature I have to keep the heat at?
4. Do I have sewer backup coverage, and do I have overland water coverage? Both are optional in Ontario. If you live near the shoreline, the second one matters.
5. Do you offer a discount for a water leak detector or an automatic shut-off valve?

Your checklist before you leave

1. Decide between heat on with checks, or water off and drained. If you're draining and haven't done it before, have a plumber do it the first time.
2. Leave the heat on at a steady, low setting. Never turn it off completely.
3. Line up the person who will check the house. Give them a key, the location of the main water shut-off, your broker's phone number, and a short list of what to look at each visit: the thermostat, the ceilings, the basement floor and the sump pit.
4. Consider a smart water leak detector or an automatic shut-off valve on your main water line. Some can shut the water off by themselves if they sense a leak or a drop in temperature. Add a Wi-Fi thermometer that alerts your phone if the house gets too cold.
5. Book your snow removal. It keeps the driveway clear for whoever checks the house, and it keeps the place looking lived in.
6. Put the mail on hold and a few lights on timers.
7. Unplug what you don't need, but leave the power on for the furnace and the sump pump.
8. Clear out the fridge, and take anything that could freeze and burst out of an unheated garage or porch.

If you're closing a cottage, a few extra steps

1. If you're on a well, turn off the power to the pump and drain the pressure tank.
2. Talk to your septic contractor before you leave. Some advice says to pump the tank before winter, and some local inspectors warn that an empty tank can cause problems of its own. Your contractor knows your system.
3. Take floating docks out of the water. If a boat lift has to stay in, raise it to its highest position.
4. Take anything with a motor or a battery off the dock and store it somewhere dry.

Before you cross the border, check your health coverage and your day count

This isn't part of the house, but it trips people up every year.

1. You can be outside Canada up to 212 days in any 12-month period and keep your OHIP coverage, as long as Ontario is still your main home.
2. OHIP covers very little outside Canada, so buy private travel health insurance before you go. Read what it excludes.
3. Since 2025, Canadians staying in the US longer than 30 days have to register electronically.
4. The US counts your days over a rolling three-year period. If you're getting close to its limits, talk to your accountant about Form 8840, which is filed each year by June 15.

Some of this work may qualify for a rebate

If your checklist turns up drafty windows, thin attic insulation or an old furnace, Ontario's Home Renovation Savings Program may cover part of the cost. Rebates have included up to $7,500 for a cold-climate air-source heat pump, plus amounts for insulation and air sealing. Qualifying ENERGY STAR windows and doors can earn $100 per opening, and Rafal at Big Doors and Windows, listed below, is who I send people to for replacements. Some upgrades need a home energy assessment first, and the contractor usually has to be registered with the program. Check the current amounts at Save on Energy before you book the work.

If you're thinking of selling in the spring, this list does double duty

Every item above is something a buyer's home inspector will look at in April. They'll check the grading, the roof and flashing, the sump pump, the age of the smoke and CO alarms, and whether a wood stove has a WETT inspection on file.

Taking care of it this fall protects your home through the winter. It also means there's less for an inspector to flag when you're ready to list, and fewer surprises once you're negotiating.

When the checklist turns up a job, these are the local trades I trust

Most of this list is an afternoon with a ladder and a flashlight. Some of it isn't. If you find something that needs a licensed hand or a plow blade, these are the people I send my own clients to.

Heating, furnaces and heat pumps

1. Triple Tech Heating, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration, Midland: 713 Vindin Street, 705-333-8324
2. St. Amant and Sons, Penetanguishene: 705-549-7227
3. Garthside Ltd., Penetanguishene: 129 Main Street, 705-549-2861

Chimneys and wood stoves

1. Jared Aube, AIM Chimney Sweep & Stove Shop, Midland: chimney sweeping, inspections and WETT reports, plus wood stove and insert sales and installation, 705-427-2863

Plumbing

1. Kevin Blundell, Blundell and Son Plumbing: 705-220-5056

Electrical

1. Mike Condron, Master Electrician, GBay Electric: 705-543-1113

Windows and doors

1. Rafal Staszewski, Big Doors and Windows: door and window supply and installation, 647-707-2221

Odd jobs and repairs around the house

1. Grant Hatton, WGH Contracting: 705-529-9803

Snow removal and yard care

1. David Dunn, Dunn Family Yard Maintenance, Tiny Township: snow removal and seasonal yard clean-up, 705-528-4232
2. Wil Mackenzie, Mackenzie Farms: snow plowing in Penetanguishene and Tiny Township, 519-827-5569
3. Peter Norman, Spartan Snow and Mow: snow plowing, 705-529-3909

Book your furnace service and your snow removal early. Heating companies fill their calendars after the first real cold snap, and most plow routes are set before the first big storm. If you're heading south, a booked plow also keeps the driveway clear for whoever checks on the house.

For more of the people I trust, from builders to estate lawyers, see my Verified Vendors page.

FAQ

All answers are current as of October 2026. This guide is general information, not insurance, legal or tax advice. Confirm the details of your own policy with your broker.