Bathroom sink stayed liquid overnight with just dripping, but the kitchen sink is on an exterior wall and froze solid last night. I got under there with a heat gun and got the water flowing again, fortunately the whole system didn’t freeze so nothing burst. I also installed a heating cable with a thermostat on the pipe, got it wrapped up snug under some foam insulation, hopefully that’ll keep it liquid as long as I keep some water running through it. gonna monitor tonight and see how it goes.
Sorry for no pics, it is very cold and I went as fast as possible.
Lucky. That could have been a real big mess… (you don’t need the whole system to freeze to get burst pipes)
For sure, I was sweating as soon as I realized the water wasn’t flowing. I’ve had pipes burst in winter before and I am not eager to repeat the experience. Fortunately for me I caught it and started applying heat quickly enough. it thawed out really quickly, so I’m guessing there wasn’t much ice in there, just enough to plug the pipe. Definitely felt like a close call.
Keep that kitchen cabinet open and a fan moving warmer air into the space. Just had to go check on some pipes in a shop nearby… Hellish getting there. Snow knee high. Ugh.
Maybe a dumb question but how does the water company not have more issues with water pipes freezing which connect underground to peoples houses?
Water pipes are burried far enough down that the ground around them is always above 0°c/32°f.
Fun fact: large grazing animals lower the frost line in the northern Asian steppes.
Lower as in deeper or lower as in less depth?
Deeper. They help maintain the permafrost and prevent global warming
Good effort!
Thanks! I’m quite pleased with it, mostly relieved that all the faucets are flowing and nothing under the house is leaking lol. I’m not sure how narrow an escape it was in actuality but it felt a bit like defusing a bomb.
It is amazing that there are houses in the 21st century where installations run outside on walls like this.
Yes, but that’s not what they said. On an outer wall, yes. But not on the outside of that wall.
Correct, it’s just inside the exterior wall under the house, but the crawl space under the house is quite well ventilated so a brisk wind can bring it down to the same temperature as outside. My floors are currently very uncomfortable to walk on with bare feet.
How cold did it get where you are? I’m currently dripping my only sink on an exterior wall due to 26°F temps. It’s right next to my washer, so hopefully it’ll cover both.
I think the night the pipe froze it got to about 10F? I don’t know for sure but definitely colder than my house was designed for.
