Coastal winters need a different kind of preparation

A cottage a few hundred yards from the sea takes a far harder beating than the same building inland. Salt-laden air eats into metal fixings, wind-driven rain finds gaps that ordinary rainfall never touches, and one storm can undo a decade of gentle weathering in a single night. Add months of emptiness to the mix — no heating running, no windows opened, nobody noticing a dripping overflow — and a holiday home can suffer damage that runs into thousands and isn't discovered until Easter.

The reassuring part is that nearly all of it is preventable. A weekend's work in late autumn, plus a little forward planning, will see most coastal properties through to spring without drama.

Drain down the water system

Frozen water is the single most expensive winter failure in empty coastal homes, and it is almost entirely avoidable. If the property will be genuinely unoccupied, drain it properly rather than hoping for a mild winter.

• Close the internal stopcock and open every tap, inside and out, to let air in and water out.
• Drain the hot water cylinder and any cold water tank in the loft. Old tanks in cold roof spaces freeze first.
• If you would rather leave the heating on, set the thermostat to a frost setting of around 7–10°C and leave the programmer on constant — but only if the supply is reliable and somebody would notice a failure.
• Either drain the radiators fully or leave corrosion inhibitor in the system. A half-drained system rusts from the inside out.
• Empty the washing machine and dishwasher, clean the filters and leave the doors ajar so the seals don't go mouldy.
• Drain toilet bowls, or add a little antifreeze and cover the water surface.
• Isolate and drain outside showers, garden taps and irrigation lines. Coastal gardens tend to have more of these than owners remember.

Storm-proof the outside

Coastal storms don't just bring rain; they bring projectiles. Anything loose in the garden becomes a missile at sixty miles an hour.

• Take in or chain down garden furniture, parasols, bins, planters, hanging baskets and barbecue covers. Store trampolines and paddling pools indoors.
• Latch external shutters from the inside and check that hinges and storm bars are sound. If shutters are removable, take them off and store them flat.
• Check roof tiles, ridge tiles, chimney pots and flashing while the weather is still kind. A slipped tile spotted in October is a leak prevented in January.
• Clear guttering and downpipes of moss, leaves and seaweed, and check that gullies and soakaways run freely. Blocked gutters send water down walls rather than away from them.
• Spray locks, hinges and gate latches with silicone or graphite, and swap any corroded fixings for stainless steel. Salt air will find the cheapest metal on the property.
• Sandbag or seal a low front door if the property sits in a known flood path, and move anything stored at floor level up onto shelves.

Keep the inside dry without sealing it shut

A sealed-up house on the coast can end up damper than one that is allowed to breathe. The aim is steady, gentle drying rather than an airtight box.

• Run one or two dehumidifiers on a continuous drain into a sink or bath, so nobody has to empty them. Choose a model with a humidistat and set it around 55–60%.
• Leave internal doors open and wardrobe doors ajar. Air needs to move between rooms.
• Roll up rugs, lift curtains clear of windowsills and pull furniture a few inches away from external walls.
• Move artwork, photographs and electronics away from windows, and unplug appliances you won't be using — winter power cuts and surges are unkind to anything left on standby.
• Scatter silica gel sachets in cupboards, drawers and the airing cupboard, and leave a couple of air bricks or trickle vents open. On a dry, breezy day, a friend opening the windows for an hour does more good than any gadget.

Arrange checks — and tell your insurer the house is empty

Most UK home policies contain an unoccupied property clause, typically triggered after 30 or 60 consecutive days. Leave the house empty beyond that without telling your insurer and you may find a storm damage claim refused precisely when you need it. Ring them before you lock up, confirm the arrangement in writing, and ask what conditions apply — many insist on weekly or fortnightly inspections, or on the water being drained down.

Then organise those visits properly. A neighbour, a local keyholder or a letting agent can call in every fortnight to check for leaks, storm damage and break-ins, and to run the taps briefly if the system hasn't been drained. Ask them to look at the roof line and guttering after any named storm, and to photograph anything that looks wrong. A dated record of inspections is worth having if you ever have to argue a claim.

Before you turn the key

Walk the property once with a torch and a checklist. Water off and drained, heating set or off as decided, dehumidifiers running and draining, shutters latched, garden cleared, gutters clear, insurer informed, keyholder briefed and contactable. Set a calendar reminder for the first inspection a fortnight from now, and another for a mid-winter visit in January, when coastal weather is at its harshest. Do that, and the house will be waiting for you in spring exactly as you left it — just a little colder, and smelling of the sea.