Plan ahead!

@sushipup1, thanks! great tip. I hope it's not too late.

@Virgil Carter Fine Art, LOL, yeah, we are a little slow on the uptake, obviously. This was a rush remodel...after pondering it for 20 years! :-D

There are a lot of practical things you can do to reduce risk.

If you are away for more than a day or two, consider turning off the water to the whole house. That way if anything is ready to bust, it won't do it while you're gone and flood the house. In many places there is a valve where the main water line comes into the house. Some have it in under a metal cover in the yard, which may be more trouble than you want to deal with. I have a nice valve in my basement right on the wall.

Of course if you have friends coming over to water, or automatic sprinklers, this may not work.

I have frostproof spigots on the outside of the house but in the middle of winter I put these little styrofoam cups over them that are designed to help insulate against cold winds. I once left a hose connected during the first really cold snap and ice got back into the valve (which is inside the house on the frostproof spigots) and burst the pipe. Didn't find out till spring when we turned it on and water began spraying into the basement pantry.

Electric appliances should really be unplugged when not in use. Most people do not do this, including me, but circuits and switches can fail even when something is turned off. In particular, don't charge batteries unattended. Occasionally a short can occur and the charger or battery goes up in flames.

Make sure your house has a good electrical ground, too.

Have fire extinguishers handy. One in the kitchen, garage, near the bedrooms, etc.

Smoke alarms installed and up to date? If 10 yrs old or more, replace em.

Clean your dryer vent hose or piping! A huge number of fires are caused by lint deposits. Pull out the dryer every couple years, remove the hose from its attachment point and clean out inside there. Your dryer will work more efficiently, too.

Spend the money up front to design properly. Otherwise you lose out on opportunities that you just haven’t thought about until you open walls. And you don’t backtrack. Or plan non compliant features. You end up with a better functioning project, done less expensively. Design saves money. It doesn’t cost money. Only those who have been through the battle truly understand how true that concept is.

@toxcrusadr- that’s true that electrical switches sometimes fail. I’d never had it happen until recently, but this weekend hubby turned the bathroom light on, and then it would NOT turn off no matter the switch position. Thankfully he’s very handy and replaced the entire switch right away. Actually, it’s not entirely true, I’ve had switches fail, but the other two failed in the off position and would refuse to turn on (they were those programmable switches) but this weekend was the first time I’ve ever seen a switch fail and stay stuck in the on position, that could be really bad with the wrong thing plugged into it!

In our kitchen remodel, we installed drain pans under all the appliances that can theoretically leak (i.e. beverage center, dishwasher, and steam oven). The drain pans have a dry stand pipe that empties into a utility sink on a floor below. If there ever is a leak, it hopefully won't cause much damage.

> had low-cost water leak alarms installed

One of those caused us to drive back 500 miles when misbehaved reporting that leak detected.

So my list is:

- Whole house water shutoff valve, except for sprinkler system

- Well, water heater, water softener power down breakers together.

- Shutoff power to the exterior of the house breakers together

- If you have exterior NG gas grill.... Shutoff NG

- Shutoff water to the exterior of the house.

- Shutoff interior sprinklers

- Shutoff the water to lawn sprinklers on interior

- Leak detector automatic shutoff valve.

- Exterior portable generator pre-wire

- Remote viewing interior and exterior cameras

- Automated garage door opener with notifications and autoclose if opened after 10 pm.

This allows to power off, shutoff exterior NG, water and sprinklers ... remote viewing in case of disaster reporting. Malfunction IP water detector made us drive 500 miles because of non-stop cell paging and with no cameras we weren't able to verify.

Speaking of drain pans, a couple of things I never see in US homes that would be a good idea:

Kitchen undersink cabinet drain pan - you've got not only water pipes but drain pipes, water filter supply lines, and leakage from the sinks themselves if they fail. Yet we use wood or particleboard cabinets under there. These should all have a built in drain pan with a drain.

Bathrooms and laundry rooms should at least be sealed all around and it would be nice if they had floor drains too. Even if the floor is vinyl, water can get under the baseboards and leak down to the floor below, if it has nowhere else to go. Seems to me that baseboards should be caulked in.

Aw, you took all the good ones I was about to say:

Have fire extinguishers handy.

Yes, this is one of the easiest, cheapest things you can do to keep yourself safe. I don't love the spot I keep mine now ... but in my new house, I have a great spot planned "behind" the trash can. Not visible every day, but easy to reach. Good point to keep one in the garage and bedroom area as well.

On the subject of fire, be sure your exterior doors are easily accessible. For example, some bedrooms are "buried deeply" in the house and aren't at all close to an outside door -- this isn't safe, especially if you intend to be elderly in your house.

Smoke alarms installed and up to date?

Don't neglect Carbon Monoxide alarms too. About two years ago a friend's husband died of Carbon Monoxide poisoning. He had just retired, had a newborn grandchild -- tragic.

Clean your dryer vent hose or piping!

Yes! Refuse to place your dryer on an interior wall. A short, straight-to-the-outside vent will be easy to clean, so you'll actually do it! Stacked machines and machines with a countertop over the W/D are attractive, but they do complicate cleaning your vent.

A few you left for me to discuss:

- Trim back big trees so that their limbs don't hang over your house.

- Plan a simple roofline (though such things seem to be out of style today), and you'll reduce the possibility of leaks.

- Remember that some disasters come in human form: Install a solid deadbolt lock, and think twice about pier glass windows next to your front door -- they both give a thief a way to reach in and they reduce the amount of strong wood in which the deadbolt can be set. Be sure your front door /windows are completely visible; don't hide the front door in a deep tunnel or allow shrubs to grow up too high. Consider a place to hide a safe in your home.

The suggestion of a floor drain in a bathroom is outstanding. They're standard in Asian bathrooms. Older homes there, especially small places, usually don't have separate shower stalls. The shower head is attached to the sink, so the entire bathroom gets the spray. (TP holders are covered.) However, I've seen floor drains even in newer, fancier homes that have larger bathrooms with distinct shower stalls.

I also agree 100% with not making your home inviting to burglars, but if someone is determined to break in, no lock will stop him. However, a large and vocal dog.behind that door will make him think really hard about how badly he wants in.

If you can't or don't want to shut off all the water when you go away for a week or two, at least close the stops for your washing machine. Learned that one the hard way. :(