Anyone worried about the freeze? (Nash: neighborhood, cabinets, floor)

[Leonard123]

I question whether covering exterior pipes is of any advantage. A towel or piece of foam can't really do that much.



My house was built with the pipes are under the slab. I have had countless problems with the pipes from the soils and foundation but never in 33 years had them freeze knock on wood. I'm more worried about electricity, but at least if there's no ice on the roads, I can drive somewhere that has power.

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by bluescreen73

My garage here in Denver is better insulated than both of my crappy tract houses in DFW were.

That makes sense. More energy by a factor of 3 - 5 is required to heat a cold climate home than to cool a hot climate home.

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by escanlan

Yes I'm worried that Santa's GPS and sleigh might freeze over and get damaged rendering him unable to deliver presents to all the kiddies!

Haha! I needed a laugh.

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by Leonard123

I question whether covering exterior pipes is of any advantage. A towel or piece of foam can't really do that much.



My house was built with the pipes are under the slab. I have had countless problems with the pipes from the soils and foundation but never in 33 years had them freeze knock on wood. I'm more worried about electricity, but at least if there's no ice on the roads, I can drive somewhere that has power.

You may have "frost free" outdoor spigots or good heat flow nearby.

I assure you thousands of people in DFW will suffer broken solder joints, split pipes, pool failures and other cold driven problems this weekend.

[rabbit33]

Most houses have SOME pipes in exterior walls. Kitchen sinks, for example, are usually (though not always, not in new construction) located with a window above.

Of course hose bibbs by definition are on exterior walls. And depending on how the hose bibb is connected to the water supply, heat can conduct right out the hose bibb, cooling the pipes way up into the wall and leading to freezing.

Cover (wrapping, or the styrofoam caps) your exterior hose bibbs. Or, best of all, if you've got shutoffs, shut them off altogether for winter. Any plumbing on an exterior wall, you don't know for sure how much insulation is between the pipe and the sheathing. At a minimum open the cabinet so the warm interior air can get in. If the forecast continues to call for single digit temps Thursday night I'll be dripping faucets on exterior walls.

Up north people often wrap sensitive pipes in heat tape. It's a lot easier to do this when you have a basement.

[SanJac]

Originally Posted by Leonard123

I question whether covering exterior pipes is of any advantage. A towel or piece of foam can't really do that much.



My house was built with the pipes are under the slab. I have had countless problems with the pipes from the soils and foundation but never in 33 years had them freeze knock on wood. I'm more worried about electricity, but at least if there's no ice on the roads, I can drive somewhere that has power.

Why risk it? It’s not expensive, nor hard to do. I’d rather be safe than sorry.

On a more positive note the Harris County judge assures us this weather event will be nothing like February 2021. She said there could be scattered power outages but nothing widespread. Merry Christmas!

[KTXMove]

of course it wouldn't, but Texas is not like up north. The grid is terrible and homes aren't built like up north.

Originally Posted by widespreadfan

I have lived in North Dakota. Freezing weather does not scare me.

[widespreadfan]

Originally Posted by KTXMove

of course it wouldn't, but Texas is not like up north. The grid is terrible and homes aren't built like up north.

My 25 year old custom built brick home is better insulated and constructed than the frame home I had in North Dakota.

[serger]

Originally Posted by widespreadfan

My 25 year old custom built brick home is better insulated and constructed than the frame home I had in North Dakota.

Real brick? Not veneer?

[jaysan89]

I looked at the forecast. People should not worry. It is not as bad as it was in February 2021.