There's nothing like that first drive up the coast in May — windows down, salt air, your house waiting at the end of the driveway. But before you kick off your shoes, give the house an hour of your attention. Opening weekend is when you find out how the winter treated your place, and catching problems now beats discovering them in July.
Here's the order we recommend, refined over many spring openings along the Midcoast.
1. Walk the outside first
Before you even unlock the door, circle the property. Winter is hard on exteriors: look for missing or damaged shingles, clogged or detached gutters, cracked siding, and any limbs that came down near the house or on power lines. Check the foundation for new cracks and make sure snowmelt is draining away from the house, not pooling against it. Peek under the deck and around the crawl space vents for signs that animals moved in — droppings, nesting material, chewed insulation. If something looks structural or electrical, call a professional before you go further.
Clear away storm debris, fallen branches, and anything blocking drainage paths. Your gutters did a winter's worth of work; make sure they're still attached and flowing.
2. Air it out and power up
Open the windows and let the house breathe — it's been sealed for months. Head to the breaker panel and restore power if it was shut off, then test lights and outlets room by room. Replace the batteries in every smoke and carbon monoxide detector; this is non-negotiable and takes five minutes.
3. Bring the water back — slowly
This is the step where most spring damage happens, so don't rush it. If your home was winterized:
Make sure all faucets are closed before you turn the main supply back on.
Turn the water on slowly and walk the house listening and looking for leaks — under every sink, around every toilet base, at the water heater, along exposed pipes in the basement or crawl space. A hissing sound or a damp spot means stop and investigate.
Flush every toilet several times and run water at every fixture for several minutes. This clears out the non-toxic antifreeze left in the traps over winter and flushes stagnant water from the lines. (Don't be alarmed by some discoloration in the first flushes — it clears.)
Do not turn on the water heater until its tank is full. An electric element will burn out in seconds if fired while dry. Wait a good 20 to 30 minutes after the water is flowing, confirm water is coming out of the hot taps, and only then restore power to the heater.
If you have a well, check the pump and pressure tank, listen for the pump cycling when no water is running (which signals a leak), and inspect the well cap and seals for winter damage.
4. Check the systems
Heating: Schedule your annual furnace or boiler service now, before the fall rush, and replace the filter.
Propane: Inspect the tank, hoses, and connections before turning appliances back on.
Appliances: Reconnect the refrigerator, run the dishwasher empty once, and check washing machine hoses for bulges or cracks — a classic source of slow leaks.
Septic: If it's been a few years, spring is a good time for an inspection before the busy season.
5. Look for winter's calling cards
With everything running, do a slow interior walk-through. Sniff for mustiness, look for water stains on ceilings and walls, check window sills for soft wood, and look in the attic for daylight where it shouldn't be. A small stain found in May is a repair; found in August, it's a renovation.
6. Make it livable again
Restock the basics, put the outdoor furniture back out, reconnect hoses (checking exterior faucets for freeze damage first), and reset the thermostat and water heater for the season.
One more thing worth doing
Take dated photos of each room and the exterior once everything's up and running. If anything was damaged over the winter, you now have documentation. And if everything's perfect, you have a baseline for next year. A few minutes with your phone now can save real headaches later — especially if an insurance question ever comes up.
Opening weekend takes a little discipline, but it's the cheapest home maintenance you'll do all year. An hour of prevention in May is worth far more than a week of repairs in July. And if you'd rather arrive to a house that's already been opened, aired out, and checked over — well, that's a phone call we love getting.
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Sources consulted
Better by the Lake, "How to Open Up Your Great Lakes Cottage this Spring – Checklist" — https://betterbythelake.com/open-up-your-great-lakes-cottage-this-spring/
Arnouts Insurance, "Tips for Opening Up Your Cottage in the Spring" — https://arnoutsins.com/blog/2022/01/tips-for-opening-up-your-cottage-in-the-spring
Cottage to Cove, "Cottage and Trailer Season: A South Shore Opening & Closing Checklist" — https://cottagetocove.ca/blog/cottage-trailer-checklist.html
UF/IFAS Extension, "Closing Your Seasonal Home" — https://ask.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/HE887.pdf
