Problems of opening the summer cottage season

On your first spring visit to the dacha, without even entering the house, literally at the entrance to it, you can see such unpleasantly surprising moments:

1. Fallen or broken fence. Strong autumn winds, snowfalls could ruin your fence, which will have to be repaired. Most often, breakdowns occur with fences made of chain-link or picket fence, fences made of brick, concrete and iron are more reliable.

2. Broken drain, which could be brought down by snow and ice coming down from the roof.

3. Broken glass. We strongly advise you, if you do not spend the winter in the country, install shutters or modern roller shutters that reliably close the windows from both robbers and natural disasters. Grilles are also a good option. Temporarily knocked-out glass can be closed with plastic wrap, nailing it with wooden slats. Or nail it up with a wooden shield until new double-glazed windows are inserted.

Important! If, in addition to the broken glass, there are other signs of the robbers’ visit, something is missing from the house or barn, do not be lazy – call the police. Yes, you can be skeptical and assume that no one will find anyone anyway. However, if nothing is done, the criminals will continue to quietly rob the dachas left for the winter. You may be able to contact the police to prevent other such incidents..

In the house itself, the following problems may await you:

1. The roof is leaking. You will immediately notice this if you arrive at the dacha after the snow has melted and spring showers and go up to the attic. In this case, nothing can be done – you will have to urgently repair the roof, eliminate the consequences of a leak.

2. Persistent damp odor. This is easier to deal with than the current roof. All windows at once for airing and general spring cleaning in the house. It is advisable to heat the stove, if there is one, in order to finally drive the dampness out of the rooms.

3. Water in the basement. Even if you have never had this before, there is a risk. Severe flooding, high-rise groundwater can flood the cellar. In this case, you will have to dry the basement and deal with its waterproofing, without waiting for next winter..

4. Problems with electricity. The light in the country simply does not light up after the switches have been turned on. First of all, check the bulbs, they suddenly burned out or the contacts deteriorated from dampness. If it doesn’t help, there is no electricity, go to your neighbors – maybe this is a global problem, repairs are underway, for example. If only you do not have light, contact the specialists. Finding the cause can be difficult, although a branch that fell on the wires and cut them off, you are sure you will notice. In this case, you cannot do without power engineers either..

5. Stove smokes. A common problem after a long absence of the owners, what to do with it, we already wrote.

6. Traces of rodents.

7. Peeling paint on the facade and wooden windows. We’ll have to update, tint. At the same time, check if there may be some cosmetic repairs in the house somewhere..

8. Clogged sewerage and water supply. The entire water supply and wastewater system should be checked, using special cleaning agents if necessary. And not only in the house, but also on the street.

Problems can await summer residents and on the site:

1. The greenhouse was damaged. This structure cannot be called capital and reliable, greenhouses suffer from strong winds and snowfalls in the first place. Repair, renovation – there is no other way out.
2. The trees have suffered from frost and pests. You may not replace the frostbites until summer, but seriously damaged trees and fallen branches will be visible immediately. You may even need new seedlings, walk around the garden to assess its condition.

The main advice: when faced with the problems listed above, do not try to do everything at once! Don’t make it in one weekend, that’s for sure. There are the most important tasks, for example, to restore the electricity supply to the country house, there are minor ones – the renewal of paint on the facade and windows definitely refers to them. Do everything gradually in order to enjoy working in your country house. And if you have properly prepared the house and the plot for the cold weather, you are sure that you will have much less problems in the spring.!