Buying Your Home in the Snow

A ski trip leads many to think about the joy a snow country home could bring to their lives. Access to winter sports, picturesque scenery and a warm fire every night seem like marvelous lifestyle additions. Flatlanders and beach bums visiting winter weather can make serious mistakes, however, when they build or buy homes in freezing winter climates. Here are some of the things to consider when purchasing property where it snows on a regular basis.

Sun is Everything

The exposure a home has to the sun is essential to your winter happiness. Will the driveway and walkways sit in shade from trees or the house itself, or can solar rays reach them and melt away ice and light snow on a regular basis? Do windows face the sun to add warmth and light during winter’s shorter days or is the house facing the wrong direction to benefit from natural light? Are the trees deciduous or evergreen and will they block light and heat that you will want in the wintertime?

The Driveway

A short driveway with access to sunlight is essential. Long, meandering drives may look picturesque, but they collect more snow. The longer the drive, the more time someone must spend out in the cold shoveling, snow blowing and scraping. Also, unless you have snowmobiles or plan to travel by sleigh, go for a paved drive. Unpaved drives are ice rinks before winter’s end and should not be tackled by beginners.
Steep slope, either on the drive or on access roads, only compounds your problems. Imagine your drive home when the road is covered with ice before you purchase any property. Buy too steep a drive and only all-wheel drive with studded tires get you home.

Underground driveway heating systems deal with very light snowfall and uncovered, thin ice fairly well. Remember again the expense, however, as heating the piping is not cheap. Plus, they won’t deal with heavier storms—you still need to remove your snow.

The Garage

Carports are for sunny California. If your house has no garage, you will regret it. Think about the steps you take to get a car ready to go in the winter, usually in freezing temperatures: remove snow, remove ice from windows, remove ice from door, start car, warm up car, hopefully go. Add another half-hour to your morning drive, or get that time back with a garage.

The Roof

Avalanches are not just for the ski slopes. They happen with snowfall off roofs too and the consequences are potentially deadly. Hundreds of pounds of snow can turn to crushing ice falling on you and friends or family. That could be a quick end to winter festivities.

Avoid some of these dangers by purchasing a house with an entry that is not under a sloped portion of the roof. Another option is an entry with its own protective gable that shunts snow away from the doorway. This will lend your entrance a protected corridor safer from icy disaster.

While metal roofs were popular for their strength and durability, they also tend to create large snow curls. Icy snow slides slowly off the roof, still attached to the main mass above. It often curls inward, towards the building, as it reaches the edge of the roof. Windows can be placed at risk and the avalanche threat can be considerable. If such roofs slope over commonly used walkways or entrances, the danger is considerable.

The Mudroom

A good snow country house has an antechamber or enclosed porch before the entryway that can be used as a mudroom. Boots and shoes will be wet and dirty from November to April or even longer. Without a place to remove and store them and the wet outer garments that come with winter weather, your entryway and household cleaning duties will be greatly increased.

Household Heating

It goes without saying that no winter home should rely on electrical heating. Gas-based central heating will be cheaper and easier in the long run. Propane or gas tanks should be sheltered and easily accessible for servicing. Assist your main heating unit with alternate fuel stoves. Fireplaces may look beautiful, but a stove insert will keep you warmer with less wood or fuel. On another design note: vaulted ceilings are gorgeous, but you have to heat all that air too.

Speaking of heating air, check the insulation in the home. All water-carrying pipes should be insulated, especially if they are in exterior walls. Exterior piping should be next to non-existent. Examine crawl spaces or attics. If the insulation is insufficient, you might as well imagine your dollars flying through the roof and heating the atmosphere. Finally, a bathroom that does not have an exterior wall is much warmer on a winter morning. A house with at least one such room is a bonus.

This is not an exhaustive list of things to consider for homes in a winter wonderland, but it will certainly get you started. Things that seem of little or no consequence in summer are major comfort factors in December. Buy and build smart when you plan for life in wintry weather.