First Guelph winter in an old house? The 20 degree rule and the dripping tap

First winter in an old Guelph house is a rite of passage. Here is how to get through it without a frozen pipe or a fight about the shovel.

The heat rule is a real law. If your landlord provides the heat, it has to hold at least 20 degrees Celsius from September 1 to June 15. Not "the thermostat says 20"; the room. If it does not, tell the landlord in writing, keep a copy, and if nothing changes the Landlord and Tenant Board takes a T6 application about maintenance. A landlord cannot cut off a vital service to make a point.

Sidewalks: the City does them. Guelph is one of the cities that plows its own sidewalks. Residential sidewalks are serviced after 8 centimetres of snow, high priority ones after 4. That does not mean nothing is yours. The walkway to your door, the steps, and the driveway are usually in the lease. Read that clause now, in October, and decide who owns the shovel before the first storm does it for you.

The windrow. When the plow goes by it leaves a ridge across the driveway. The City's advice is to pile that snow to the right of the driveway as you face the road, so it does not block sightlines or the neighbour's drive.

Pipes. In a real cold snap, leave the tap furthest from where the water comes in dripping overnight, and open the cupboard doors under sinks on outside walls. If everyone is going home for the break, the heat stays on. A burst pipe is the most expensive thing that can happen to a student house, and it happens in the empty week.

Drafts. Old windows lose most of the heat. The plastic film kits from the hardware store take twenty minutes per window and make a difference you can feel. A rolled towel at the bottom of the front door is not glamorous and works.

Snow gear before the first snow. A shovel, a bag of salt or sand, and a scraper if there is a car. The week of the first storm is when the shelves are empty.

Go outside anyway. Market Square downtown becomes an outdoor skating rink in winter, and the river trails are walkable all year. The winter is long; be somewhere in it.

The Cribb Team

Cover photo: Jeff McNeill, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. commons.wikimedia.org