Franklin County, Georgia · Carnesville
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Franklin County averages 3 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly January, and 15% of its homes predate 1960.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 12.5 times a year here, most often in January. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Franklin County gets about 12.5 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
Roof leaks here come from summer downpours and, with about 45 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
14% of occupied homes in Franklin County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Georgia county median of 7.1%.
Muggy summer nights, lows of 65°F or more, come about 96 times a year in Franklin County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
With 10,905 homes and around 24,234 residents, Franklin County is 261 square miles of northern Georgia. Besides Carnesville, the county seat, the biggest communities are Gumlog, Lavonia and Royston. Much of its housing is recent, with a median build year of 1989.
56/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Franklin County ranks 53 of 159 Georgia counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Franklin County ranks highest compared with other Georgia counties.
Franklin is on the colder side of Georgia for pipes. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 3 nights a year at or below 20°F (25th of 159) and 46 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
Most freezing nights fall from January, peaking in January. Disconnect garden hoses and shut off outdoor spigots before the first hard frost, and keep the heat at 55°F or higher if you'll be away.
On average the first fall freeze arrives around Nov 18 and the last spring freeze around Mar 20.
Rainfall is about average for Georgia. About 12.5 days a year bring an inch or more (64th of 159), most often in January, out of 50 inches of total precipitation. On September 27, 2024, 3.53 inches fell in a single day. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 5.2 inches (through October 4, 2015).
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 45 days a year. Each cycle melts and refreezes water at roof edges and in foundation cracks, which is how ice dams and basement seepage get started.
Housing
Roughly 36% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Franklin near the middle of Georgia's 159 counties.
The mix runs from 15% built before 1960 to 28% built since 2000, so older neighborhoods bring aging pipe while newer subdivisions bring failed appliance lines and water heaters.
About 37% of homes went up between 1980 and 1999. Some houses from the late 1970s to the mid-1990s were plumbed with polybutylene, a gray plastic pipe known for failing at fittings. A plumber can tell you in a few minutes whether you have it.
Manufactured and mobile homes make up 29% of the housing here. Water lines in the underbelly depend on intact skirting and working heat tape, and they're usually the first to freeze in a cold snap.
18% of homes were vacant at survey time. A leak in an empty rental or seasonal house can run for days before anyone notices, which is why those losses tend to be larger.
Beyond water
About 96 nights a year in Franklin County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (126th of 159 counties). January is the wettest month. Keep indoor humidity under 60%, as the EPA advises, and dry any leak within 24 to 48 hours; in a humid month a wet basement left alone won't dry by itself.
Mold remediation: what to expectMain heating fuel in Franklin County's occupied homes: 14% utility gas, 72% electric, 10% propane and 3% wood. Wood and propane heat are more common here than in most Georgia counties. Heating equipment is one of the leading causes of home fires nationally, and the NFPA recommends having chimneys and vents inspected every year.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Franklin County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Franklin gets more pipe-freeze nights than any of its neighbors. Stephens County has the oldest housing nearby, with 44% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Franklin | Georgia median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 15% | 15% | 79 of 159 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 36% | 38% | 93 of 159 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 28% | 27% | 74 of 159 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 29% | 21% | 51 of 159 |
| Vacant homes | 18% | 14% | 50 of 159 |
| Wood or propane heat | 14% | 7.1% | 42 of 159 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 3/yr | 2/yr | 25 of 159 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 13/yr | 12/yr | 64 of 159 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 45/yr | 29/yr | 27 of 159 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 96/yr | 112/yr | 126 of 159 |
Rank 1 is the highest value. Bars run from the lowest to the highest Georgia county; the tick marks the median; orange means higher water damage risk than the median, green means lower.
Questions
Peak risk months in Franklin County: freezing from January, heavy rain in January, February and December.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024 5-year estimates (2020-2024); weather from NOAA nClimGrid-Daily county averages (EpiNOAA), 2015–2024, averaged across the county; county boundaries from Census TIGER. Reviewed 2026-10-21. Methodology