Should I leave the heat on in a house I won't see until March?
Yes, leaving the heat on is the standard advice. IBHS recommends never letting an unoccupied home's thermostat drop below 55°F, to keep pipes from freezing while no one is home.
Winterize a house before the cold
Tom Hanks, owner, 24/7 Express Handyman Service · Updated September 2026
24/7 Express Handyman Service winterizes homes in Salt Lake, Park City and Heber. 15.6°F is the January average low that NOAA's 1991-2020 climate normals record for one of the service area's monitoring stations. (NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020 (Monthly) — Park City, UT)
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Answered 24/7 by Tom or his dispatcher.
24/7 Express Handyman Service confirms the address, the zone rate and the dispatch fee before rolling.
What 24/7 Express Handyman Service does on site
- Insulate exposed supply lines in garages, crawlspaces and along exterior walls.
- Seal draughts at hose bibs, dryer vents and door bottoms.
- Set and label the main shut-off, and write the shut-off card that stays on the panel.
How it works
- Walk the house with you or with the manager's checklist and photograph every exposed line.
- Insulate, seal and label; test that every hose bib is drained and closed.
- Leave a one-page shut-off card and the photo set; the work order states everything done.
- Referred out: any change to the piping itself, boiler or furnace service, and irrigation blow-outs on systems with a backflow assembly.
When to stop and call
If a line has already frozen, this is no longer winterization. 24/7 Express Handyman Service treats a frozen line as an emergency call and rolls the same hour.
What happens next
- The written scope and price come first; the visit is scheduled at a time the house is accessible.
- Photograph the damage before anything is moved and keep every receipt; 24/7 Express Handyman Service provides an itemised invoice your insurer may ask for. The dispatch fee and job cost are paid by you on the day.
Questions people ask
Every job 24/7 Express Handyman Service takes on is under $3,000 including labor, materials and any change orders (Utah Code §58-55-305); a change that would push a job over that line is referred to a licensed contractor, not written up as a second job. plumbing, electrical, HVAC, gas appliance / combustion system work is referred to a licensed trade.
Sources
- NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020 (Monthly) — Park City, UT — retrieved 2026-09-19
- IBHS Winter Weather Ready Guide news release — retrieved 2026-09-19