Articles - Cold Weather Nightmares: Pipes That Go Bust In The Night

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Cold Weather Nightmares; Pipes That Go Bust In The Night:

Sometimes pipes turn out to be more like nightmares. Hard cold snaps will tend to hit local pipes hard. Some will freeze up and then later thaw on their own but others will freeze and burst while still others will survive because owners are smart enough to allowed taps to drip overnight or take other temporary precautions. Don't expect a pipe to be forgiving twice (copper tubing will usually allow one freeze but burst the second time.) Consider too that next time there is a hard freeze you may not be home to take precautionary action.

Before the next siege of cold weather, remember, there are preventive steps you can take for pipes that have been frozen once and survived.
Start at any fixture that wouldn't produce water. First, you will want to find out exactly where the pipe was frozen. This is the spot around which protection must be applied. If the pipe actually burst in the past and was repaired, there will probably be fresh solder (which is bright silver in color) at the repair site and cleaned copper around the solder.

Pipes in a draft almost always freeze, so locating the source of the draft and blocking it is important. In a crawl space or basement, look for loose fitting window frames, spots where the foundation wall meets the wood framing, spaces around the ends of floor joists, and any small cracks or holes. Eliminate these sources of air by stuffing them with expanding foam or even fiberglass insulation, sealing with duct tape or any caulking. Even old rags or newspapers will do in a pinch.

Protecting the pipe itself is also important. Regular 3 1/2 inch thick foilfaced fiberglass blanket insulation is about as good a pipe insulation as any specialty product. It is also usually easier to apply, especially around bends and fittings. Cut a blanket into strips about four inches wide, fold the strips around the pipe and tape it securely. (Don't skip hard to reach sections, as these are often where a freeze is likely to occur.) Use duct tape; one or two roll usually will do an entire house.

Approximate material cost for a crawlspace job: $20.

In some extreme situations it may be necessary to reroute the pipes to prevent them from freezing. Plumbing fixtures on outside walls are often connected by "vulnerable" pipes running within the outside walls. If these have frozen, have a plumber cut off pieces in the walls and reroute new pieces through the floor. Naturally this is easiest with first floor fixtures. Occasionally a pipe that runs in an outside wall to a second floor fixture should be rerouted to the inside of the finished wall surface.

Pipes that run through or near overhangs often freeze because these "soffit" areas (the horizontal underside of eaves) tend to be very drafty. In this case a pipe can be protected by removing the underside of the soffit, wrapping the vulnerable pipe and then stuffing the entire area with fiberglass or foam to minimize air currents. The underside should then be reinstalled, usually with a lot of caulking at all the joints. WARNING: It is not recommended that unskilled amateurs do any pipe rerouting, soldering or fitting.

Pipes in old turn of the century frame houses (which usually have hollow walls without insulation and a million points where air can enter) and houses with crawl space will often be vulnerable even after all attempts have been made to seal out the air and wrap the pipes. Consider wrapping the vulnerable sections of piping with "heat tape" miniature electric heaters in plastic flat wire and then insulating over the heat tape with fiberglass or another form of insulation. The tapes contain a thermostatic switch that provides a trickle current of electricity to warm pipes when the water temperature drops to about 34 degrees. They are usually wound around a pipe. Care must be taken not to overlap any windings lest the tape itself can burn.

Heat tapes should always be attached to a permanent source of power. They are often applied in inaccessible locations and attached via extension cords or even multiple cords. If your pipes depend on a heat tape, provide them with a permanent source of power the cords can be unplugged inadvertently and never reattached. Heat tapes cost around $1.50 per foot; they come in lengths of 3, 6, 9, 13 and 15 feet and are available from most hardware stores. Look for an Underwriters Laboratory label to make sure the product has been tested.

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