Question About The Cold Weather (how much, home builders, buy)

[blakeb99]

I live in the south so I am not used to the extreme cold temperatures and was wondering a few things before i move to MN. do y'all guys do anything when the temp gets below freezing? over here when it gets below freezing, which is maybe one or two days out the whole year, everyone always says to let the faucets run so the pipes don't freeze. so, do y'all let the faucets run all winter long over there? what about rain water getting frozen to the gutters or something like that i heard? and, also my dad who worked up north for a year told me one guy mentioned something about chains on the tires? i never heard of this and thought it was crazy until i seen it on rocky 4...lol. so what's the deal with that? and if there is anything else important that i need to know please warn me. thanks.

[guinness212]

I come from Northern Minnesota, and we definetly see our days of cold weather. My husband has put chains on our tires, we have a very long driveway and a truck that's isn't a 4 wheel drive, so we would use the chains only to get through our snowy driveway, however most people up here don't need them. And no we don't leave our water on all the time. Most of the time just general use of the water keeps the pipes from freezing. Actually my inlaws were out of town for the weekend, and since the lack of snow we are having, the ground isn't as insulated as it usually is, so their pipes did freeze. Usually when folks go away, it is suggested to leave a drip going, to keep the water flowing. However in most cases you're fine! Sounds great up here, huh? But seriously we adapt, and living in the cold is just second nature. Put on that extra layer of clothes and long undies and head out to the cold world! I don't want to scare you though, Minnesota is great! And remember there are a few months that aren't winter =-)

[Need_affordable_home]

is leaving a steady drip on every faucent enough to keep them pipes from freezing? I could collect the drops and fill a bucket then use that to water my plants(if possible) or use it to flush the toilet or wash my cloth and dishes. Whats the minimum temp id need to heat the house? 50? 55?

[Yorkie_Mom]

As far as temps in the house, it depends if you are going to be home or not. I say 50 55 is ok, most people here keep it at about 65, but as long as it stays above freezing (32) you will be ok, but to keep it safe don't go lower then the 50 area. The drip it is not running, it is like having a bad leak where it will drip every few seconds, could be 20 seconds, but as long as you get a drip that keeps on dripping.

It isn't that bad in Minnesota, and you only have to worry if you are going away for a few days, if you are just talking about being gone for the day and going to work then everything will be fine, and you don't have to leave a drip going, most people turn the heat down when they leave home, or they have a thermostate that will set itself like on a timer to lower your heat at a certain time, and before you return home it will bring the temp back up so you don't have to freeze when you walk inside. They are really nice. Good luck and come and see our state, you may love it.

[yellowsnow]

Below freezing? Freezing is balmy for here. There are some hearty souls who are intimidated by nothing. -30 is fine weather for skiing, snowmobiling, whatever. These are the real Minnesotans who probably belong here. The rest of us just suffer through it. It is suffering and winter can be 1/2 the year here. There are months where they track our sunlight in hours.

I tend to go out as little as possible. I combine my trips and make as few as possible. I still have to go to work every day, complaining bitterly. It's hard to stay warm, even in the house. Even my dog doesn't want to go out. I dress in layers of polar fleece and I am never really WARM. I miss running and exercise outdoors but the cold is too much.

I don't have to leave my water running. It depends on how cold it is and how much insulation you have. When I lived in the south, we did occasionally leave a faucet dripping but homes there weren't insulated like they are here. I don't have chains on my tires. The roads are pretty well plowed and I keep decent tires on my car. In very rural areas, chains may be necessary.

I hope you spend time here before you move. Minnesota is not for everyone!

[golfgal]

In most parts of the state having chains on your tires is illegal, they chew up the roads although 30 years or so ago it was pretty common in the winter to use chains.


As for going out in the cold, you get used to the weather. It usually comes on fairly gradually so your body adapts to the cold. It might take a winter or so to adjust if you are from the south. YOu also have to realize that we don't walk around in shorts and t-shirts in the winter so the extra clothing helps keep you warm.

Houses in MN tend to be insulated better then those in other areas of the country so having your pipes freeze is not a common occurrence if you are using your plumbing. You can buy pipe wrap to insulate your waterlines if you do have problems but for the most part you don't need to leave faucet on.

[jwmn]

Water pipes in the south are more susceptible to bursting when it's freezing because they are often located in more vulnerable areas. In the north, they take greater care to place water pipes in areas that are well insulated, whereas in the south, they probably don't think about these things, so some pipes could be located in unprotected, uninsulated areas. I also think that we bury the pipes deeper up here, which makes them less likely to freeze.

[DaninEGF]

I live in northwest Minnesota...one of the colder areas of the state. Freezing??? If we hit 32F people would be jumping in the streets and in shorts We have been below zero most of the past two weeks...not too uncommon. But I have lived up here for 8 years now and in other colder climates before that and the previous post was correct, home builders up north use much more insulation and know how to protect pipes, etc from freezing, especially true of newer homes. So never had to worry about pipes freezing and never had to run water. Cold is just that....cold people adapt and just throw on a good coat, hat and gloves...obviously for those outside a lot either doing winter sports or just working outside, they have to dress much warmer and use the long johns, insulated overalls, etc. But we adapt and it is not a big deal. The wind is the main issue up here in the Red River Valley and so far this year hasnt been a big deal and had not had any ground blizzards unlike in some years due to snow depths only in the 2 to 5 inch range.

So....would not worry about preparing to live in Minnesota. Come up sometime and see if you like it. Some hate the cold and cant wait to get out while I am the opposite and cant wait to get out of the summer heat.

Dan

[BJB817]

I would have to second yellowsnow's comments. I would have to suggest sumeone in your situation visit MN in the dead of winter for a week to see what it's all about. I would give the same advice to someone considering Phoenix who's never been there in the summer...

As mentioned it's not only the cold itself that gets to me, but the duration. Here we are in the middle of February and it'll probably be a couple of months before we get nice weather again. Definately wears me down-I just hibernate when it's this cold.

For what it's worth, I'm a native and have finally had enough. MY wife and are are hoping to relocate to TX in the near future. Long hot summers are ok by me!

As you can tell by your responses so far, opinions vary from people like me to folks that actually embrace the cold and engage in all kinds of outdoor winter activities. I think the prevailing attitude up here among most natives is they put up with the cold as a necessary evil as they don't want to move away from their friends and family.

My $.02

[blakeb99]

well i'm the type who def rathers the cold. i already visited two months ago to check it out and loved it. i did notice that as cold as it was up there, it wasn't as bad inside over there as it is inside my house down here. i thought that was strange, b/c at night it will sometimes get in the forties and be really cold inside the house over here. but up there it didn't seem nearly as cold. i guess we don't know too much about insulation down here. also, what about at night...y'all don't have to leave the faucets drip then since it will be 8 or 10 hours without it running? I don't know too much about plumbing, but i am pretty sure our water pipes are above ground over here.