Cottage winter care, answered.
The questions cottage owners across the Bruce Peninsula and Grey-Bruce ask us most — about closing up, winter checkups, roof snow, and keeping an empty cottage safe until spring. Don't see yours? Give us a call.
What areas do you serve?
We look after cottages across the Bruce Peninsula and the Grey-Bruce shore. That covers South Bruce Peninsula, Bruce County, Saugeen Shores, and the Owen Sound area. On the Northern Bruce Peninsula, we serve cottages located south of Edenhurst. Not sure whether your cottage is in our area? Give us a call and we will tell you right away.
Do you offer driveway snow removal?
No — we do not clear driveways. Our snow work is focused on the parts of your cottage where a missed snow load costs the most: the roof, decks, porches, and the paths right around the building. For driveway plowing, you will want a local plow contractor.
Do you service houses, or only cottages?
Cottages only. Everything we do is built around seasonal properties — the kind that sit empty and unwatched through a Bruce Peninsula winter. That focus is why our checkups and winterizing work the way they do. We do not take on year-round houses.
Do you offer seasonal checkup plans?
Yes. We offer winter checkup plans you can set to your own schedule — weekly, monthly, or a single on-call visit when you just want eyes on the place. Every plan covers the heat, the pipes, the roof snow load, and any sign of a break-in while you are away. You will find the plan details and pricing on our winter checkups page.
Are you insured?
Yes — Cottage Hero is fully insured. That matters most with the higher-risk work, like clearing snow off a roof: you are covered, and so are we. We are happy to confirm our coverage before any job starts.
Why does regular cottage maintenance matter?
A small problem in an empty cottage does not stay small. A slow leak, a heavy snow load, or a cracked seal can turn into thousands of dollars in damage before anyone notices — because no one is there to notice. Regular care catches these things early, while they are still cheap and easy to fix. That is the whole idea behind "one ounce of prevention."
What are the most important things to do before winter?
For a cottage left empty through winter, a few tasks matter most: draining and winterizing the plumbing so no water is left sitting in the lines, clearing heavy snow off the roof before it builds up, trimming trees and shrubs so storms have less to grab, and sealing gaps so animals cannot move in. Regular checkups tie it all together by catching anything that slips through. We can handle each of these, or all of them together.
Why does the plumbing need winterizing, and how do you do it?
Frozen pipes are one of the most common causes of serious winter cottage damage. When water in a pipe freezes it expands and splits the pipe — then floods the place when it thaws. To prevent that, we drain the water lines, shut off the supply, and add antifreeze to the traps and fixtures so no water is left standing in them. Done right, there is no water sitting in the lines for a hard freeze to split.
What is a cottage checkup, and how often should it happen?
A checkup is a scheduled visit to make sure your cottage is fine while you are away. We confirm the heat is holding, look for leaks or pipe trouble, check the roof snow load, and watch for any sign of a break-in. Through a Bruce Peninsula winter we recommend regular visits — weekly or monthly — rather than a single look once a year. The more often we check, the sooner we catch a problem.
How do I keep my cottage safe while I am away all winter?
The two big risks are frozen pipes and damage that no one catches in time. Winterizing the plumbing removes the water that freezes and splits pipes, and regular checkups mean someone is actually laying eyes on the place all season. Together they are what stands between a clean cottage in spring and a flooded one. If anything looks off between visits, we let you know right away.
What is the Cottage Hero Promise?
The Cottage Hero Promise is about how we work, not a claim about the weather. We commit to three things: we close your cottage right in the fall, we check on it through the winter on the schedule you set, and if we spot a problem — a failing furnace, a leak, a heavy snow load — you hear about it fast, with photos and a plain-language explanation. We cannot control a deep freeze or a big storm, but we can make sure someone is actually watching your cottage and that nothing we find sits unreported. That is how small problems get caught before they turn into big ones.
When should snow be cleared off my cottage roof?
Sooner than most people think. Heavy, wet snow and ice put real weight on a roof, and it builds up fast in a lake-effect winter. It can also form ice dams that push water up under the shingles. As a rule, do not let it pile deep — especially on flatter roofs, over porches, or where snow slides and stacks. If you are not sure, call us and we will take a look. We clear roofs, decks, and porches, and offer emergency response when a storm hits hard.
There is already an animal in my cottage — can you get it out?
Our animal work is prevention only: we seal up entry points and set up bear-proof bins so wildlife cannot get in while your cottage sits empty. If something has already moved in, that is a removal job, and it is handled by our sister company, The Critter Guy. They do humane wildlife removal across the same area — start at https://thecritterguy.ca. Once they have cleared it out, we can seal the cottage so it does not happen again.
Hand us the keys. Forget the worry.
One call and your cottage is looked after all winter — closed right, checked on schedule, and every problem caught early and reported to you fast. Phone answered 7 days a week.