Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I have pipes in my master bedroom that will freeze when the temp drops below 18F. The pipes are on the outside wall and the house is only 7 years old. I have 2 sinks that are 3 feet apart and when the pipes froze, both hot and cold froze as well as the water to the toilet which is next to the sinks. How is the best way to fix this and keep it from happening again. Should I go to it from the inside or outside? Thanks for the help.
By the way, the outside of the house is aluminum siding.
What did you do when you fixed them the first time? Did you add insulation?
If you have a crawlspace and you can get under this part of the house, it might be easier to re-locate the pipes to come up through the floor instead of inside the wall.
To fix it from the inside will require some drywall repair. maybe not all that much considering there is probably a cabinet in front tof the sink, and the toilet is in front to the other.
To fix it from the outside would require taking some of the siding off, and getting into the wall sheathing, etc.
You may want to replace the pipes with PEX if you can.
We don't get that kind of problem here. I live in a trailer and wrapped my outside pipes as best I could with what I had. It's good for a light freeze. But if it's a hard freeze coming I shut off the water to the home just after the water meter (installed a valve after the meter for this purpose). The pipes may still freeze but they won't burst. Doesn't stay "hard freeze cold" for long. Some neighbors who never wrapped their pipes had them bust.
In the wall pipes, it may be better and cheaper in the long run to remove the drywall entirely to get to all the pipes. Try to insulate the pipes and seal the source of any drafts getting into the walls.
Last time I got lucky and just put a heat source on the wall and it thawed without busting the pipe. I live on a slab and the cabinates under the sinks make it difficult to access the pipes. Als I am not entirely sure where I need to cut out the back board and drywall to access the pipes from the inside.
Around here they tell us to keep our under-the-sink cabinets open to allow the heat to help keep the pipes from freezing. I'm lucky in that my bathroom floor vent will blow air right into the cabinet when the door is open.
Last time I got lucky and just put a heat source on the wall and it thawed without busting the pipe. I live on a slab and the cabinates under the sinks make it difficult to access the pipes. Als I am not entirely sure where I need to cut out the back board and drywall to access the pipes from the inside.
Great Stuff spray foam insulation can be applied by inserting applicator thru 1/4" holes drilled in drywall. Tube on can can be inserted deep enough to get insulation around the pipe. Care must be taken not to put in too much. It expands and could make bulge wall.
Great Stuff spray foam insulation can be applied by inserting applicator thru 1/4" holes drilled in drywall. Tube on can can be inserted deep enough to get insulation around the pipe. Care must be taken not to put in too much. It expands and could make bulge wall.
Bad thing about spray foam is if you get a leak its a real pain to deal with. If you can wrap it with rigid fiberglass insulation it would be better. Like what was said leave the faucets running with a small steady steam.
Insulation doesn't solve the problem in the most severe cases. You need a source of heat that is dependable.
Best to install heat tracing tape. Those are a set of wires designed to generate heat along its entire length.
You see it used a lot in places like trailer parks, out in garages, down in basements, any place where pipes are not directly in some source of heat. In New England it was common in older houses not to put the pipes in walls, they were run exposed in the corner of rooms. Sort of ugly but it worked. Folks would box they in and then started having freezing problems. Heat tracing is used all over the place in industrial applications.
Heat tracing is the more fool proof method up to a point. You wrap the pipes in a spiral fashion. Directions are on the package. They plug into a 115 VAC receptacle, there is a thermostat built into the tip of the wires. Normally comes on around 36F, so normally is not active, uses no power. Protection is automatic if you are getting into freezing danger.
If you are going to open up walls to insulate, go the extra mile and install heat tapes. Again common problem in colder climates. Pipes can freeze in outside walls even if there is insulation. Depends so much on a particular set of circumstances, but if you have them freezing in the past, excellent insurance policy to have the heat tapes. Places like house trailers, houses on pier foundations it is a must in colder climates for pipes run underneath no matter the amount of insulation used.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Heat tapes......
