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I remember the old guy who owned the general store here refused to sell any kind of electrical heat tape because of the fire hazard. Reps to GreenScout for mentioning it.
We know how to thaw them on our own, but can't - we can't get to the pipe where it's happening thanks to cabinetry - trying to thaw through the cabinets doesn't work.
We can't get to our pipes. We blow air with a fan down into the wall from the attic or up from the basement. One way or another, there is a way to get heat into that wall. Since your plumber is thawing them without cutting through the cabinets, that means you can thaw them on your own too!
I'm just trying to point out that the person you are hiring to fix this never bothered to fix it while he lived there.
Our plumber is using this crazy device that sends a zap of electricity to unfreeze - one end connects to a working sink and the other to the frozen. It's pretty cool!
Sadly, no crawlspace - we're on a slab. And the attic is accessible, but barely - hatch in the ceiling of the garage, then crawling over the beams for like 15 feet, hoping to not fall through the ceiling...and the kitchen pipes seem to be in the worst possible spot, of course! Assuming that ours are in the same spot where they are in the neighbor's house.
I'm hoping that we can do some blown in insulation in the wall, and wrap the pipes in pipe insulation (which I'd try to do myself if I were less clumsy and likely to go through the ceiling!)
So we've now had the plumber out 3x this month to unfreeze our kitchen and laundry sinks - yay. Plan is to now dribble the water until things warm up in, say, a week. Obviously we want to get to the bottom of WHY the pipes are freezing - the sinks are on exterior walls, so that seems likely. Who can we get to come in and asses the situation and add insulation or what have you? The plumber didn't think it was him, as it'd involve either removing siding from the outside or cutting into the back of the cabinets to get at the pipes. It'd also be nice if said person could tell us if the water pipes run under the slab or if they come through the attic!
Any idea on what sort of person to start calling? A contractor? A not-big-chain plumber?
If you can't relocate the fixture, you might consider a hot water recirculation pump with a timer. It will cost a $2-300 bucks with installation and probably raise your annual hot water costs by a couple of bucks a month, but those pipes will no longer freeze as long as you have hot water and electricity.
As to the slab, it's not that uncommon around here for houses built from the 50s-80s. It's totally foreign to me, but apparently here about 5 feet down is like a giant granite something. Or so the neighbors say!
Thanks, Nonesuch! A backup option is good to have!
That was the first thing I thought of, the granite. At least if you dig deep enough you'll have your new countertops!
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