I bring in all of my potted tender plants before the first frost arrives. Some go under lights in the basement. There aren't many... a few potted Crinum, a dwarf Banana tree, a few baskets of Oxalis, Society Garlic, and a few others. Annuals in patio pots are allowed to die, pulled out and thrown on the compost pile, and the pots stored in a garage for winter. Any potted perennials or trees or shrubs are allowed to go dormant, then moved into an unheated garage for winter. In early spring, I'll begin opening the garage doors during the day so they can begin to break dormancy, and once the weather stabilizes a bit, they'll come back out into the yard. I never try to save annuals or cover anything to prolong it... I've got too many other things going on to worry about a few posies that I can replace once spring officially arrives. As for the rose and perennial beds... if it can't survive with nothing more than a few inches of mulch protection, it's not for this northern garden. I'm not babying any roses or other plants, and I don't do corms or rhizomes that require digging and storing for winter! And... what about the rest of you guys? Do you run around covering everything with sheets and such? Or do you bring in your tender plants, and let Mother Nature take care of the rest?

Well you could add sugar... that would be good for your plants and prevent a freeze. However is a freeze going to be hard enough to do some damage? I could see it damaging what ever you had connecting your site-glass to the barrel but an open air barrel should be fine in a freeze.

Frost can get under the slab and footings and heave them up. Depending on how much insulation and hay was put down will determine how much frost has gotten under the slab. Was there foam installed under the slab before the pour? Soil condition also control how expansive the soil is when introduced to frost/freeze. There is no way to tell how much frost is in the foundation and if there is any damage until you clean up the blankets and hay. Then, you exposed the foundation is subject to frost/freeze heave while the framing is going on. I would get it capped off as quickly as possible, and some sort of temporary heat n the basement while the upper level is being framed.

Run the machine briefly on a warm fill with the supply hoses disconnected so residual water in inlet valves can drain out. Then pour some RV/marine antifreeze directly into the drum so it mixes into whatever residual water is in the pump/sump. Can run it on Spin Only for a few seconds so the pump runs to mix the water and antifreeze. Run a cycle when the machine is put back into use to flush out the chemicals.