IT’S CALLED “CATASTROPHIZING”—lying awake, fretting about your job or the kids or the dumb thing you said to the neighbours and whether they’ll ever speak to you again and could you be a pariah and is it time to move so that your family has a fresh start…
Whoa. Relax. Think of your Happy Place, snuggled beneath a blanket of white. A heavy blanket, thanks to that last storm. How strong is that roof, anyway? The ice dams alone could be a disaster. What if the power goes out and the pipes freeze? Or next week’s polar vortex gives the deck the heave-ho?
We get it—it’s easy to fret about the cottage on a stormy night, especially when you’re not around to keep an eye on things. But a little planning and maintenance will help you sleep better, and ensure your cottage toughs out another winter. Let’s focus on the likely outcomes, not just the worst-case scenarios. And remember your coping skills and your ability to learn, adjust, and fix things. Trust us, you’ve got this.
CRUMBLIN’ down
Catastrophe No. 1: Roof collapse!
THE WORST CASE Pointy thing on top of the cottage suddenly becomes flat or concave, and is much less useful.
It’s not—if you’ve followed the building code. Canadian codes require that roofs outmuscle the worst combined snow and rain load encountered over 50 years. In Sudbury, Ont., that’s a robust 2.9
