How to keep my water pipes in the attic from freezing (plumber, kitchen)

[mojo101]

if we still have water and natural gas,wont it work if we keep running hot water thru the pipes?
let water run into the bathtub,kitchen sink and shower?bathroom sinks?

[jerbear30]

According to all my research last winter, this is what I came up with:

--Your best bet is to insulate the pipes like they do up north, but even this can fail if the freeze goes on for too long, and the rest of the house doesn't have heat.
--The second best bet is to leave the water running at just a trickle for the entirety of the freeze but even this can fail if the city loses water pressure.
--The third best bet is to turn the water off at the street with a wrench designed specifically for that purpose and then drain your pipes by opening all the faucets for the length of the storm. This too can fail if the freeze goes on for too long, or if water gets stuck in the pipes even after you've drained them, which does often occur.

In short, there is no absolute guarantee but there are some things you can do. FWIW, after a lot of deep dives into nextdoor and consulting a lot of family members, the consensus among plumbers seemed to be to let the water run at a trickle. That's what I did and it worked for me--at least it did last winter. We'll see what happens next time...

[kreeyax]

Originally Posted by jerbear30

According to all my research last winter, this is what I came up with:

--Your best bet is to insulate the pipes like they do up north, but even this can fail if the freeze goes on for too long, and the rest of the house doesn't have heat.
--The second best bet is to leave the water running at just a trickle for the entirety of the freeze but even this can fail if the city loses water pressure.
--The third best bet is to turn the water off at the street with a wrench designed specifically for that purpose and then drain your pipes by opening all the faucets for the length of the storm. This too can fail if the freeze goes on for too long, or if water gets stuck in the pipes even after you've drained them, which does often occur.

In short, there is no absolute guarantee but there are some things you can do. FWIW, after a lot of deep dives into nextdoor and consulting a lot of family members, the consensus among plumbers seemed to be to let the water run at a trickle. That's what I did and it worked for me--at least it did last winter. We'll see what happens next time...

The trickle method worked for us, EXCEPT we didn't trickle our outdoor spigots. The one pipe in the attic that froze and burst on us was the one going to the outdoor spigot. I think as cold as it was, even if you trickled your outdoor spigots it probably would have frozen over and burst anyways.

Also, a lot of our neighbors with tankless water heaters experienced a burst. I assume because there was no power to the water heater? We have a traditional gas water heater that kept the water from freezing. I'm not sure if there's a way to drain a tankless heater, but it's a consideration for next time for folks that have them.

[mojo101]

Originally Posted by kreeyax

The trickle method worked for us, EXCEPT we didn't trickle our outdoor spigots. The one pipe in the attic that froze and burst on us was the one going to the outdoor spigot. I think as cold as it was, even if you trickled your outdoor spigots it probably would have frozen over and burst anyways.

Also, a lot of our neighbors with tankless water heaters experienced a burst. I assume because there was no power to the water heater? We have a traditional gas water heater that kept the water from freezing. I'm not sure if there's a way to drain a tankless heater, but it's a consideration for next time for folks that have them.

why cant you insulate the outdoor spigots?
the 4th option is to get a generator and keep the pipes warm

[mojo101]

one horrible idea is to turn on the oven and heat the whole house,( if it is a gas oven )and keep boiling water on the stove,without covering the pots

[Dopo]

1. letting water drip doesn't always work, there's a temperature where the water will freeze. It happened in my house and about one hour later I heard the pipes bursting.
2. I think the best thing thing that can be done

Originally Posted by NTT

I used water pipe foam insulation for the exposed pipes in the attic, like this one: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt...7812/204760815.

3. Together with this one, which is what I did the next morning after my pipes busted.
Pipes might bust, but your house won't get destroyed.

Originally Posted by houstonlmao

If it gets that cold again, I'll shut the main valve off at the street and drain the pipes. I had one like op bust in the garage. The pipe guy put sharkbites on, and I heard those things pop off easily. blah. Too late to change anything. I've covered them with insulation and boxes. It was the lack of electricity that messed me up.

[Raider Scott]

I was told to do this when temps get to 20 or below, by my plumber neighbor. He is originally from MI, so his origin and profession made me feel safe in doing this procedure...and turned out he was right and we had no burst pipes, while all my neighbors dealt with that problem.


First, do this at night, before bed or before the 20 degree temps begin. Have everyone use the toilet, brush their teeth and do everything you would use the water for, before bedtime.



Go out to the curb and turn off the water to the house. Then, go back inside and open all your faucets and leave them open. Be sure to get the hose bibs on the outside as well. Let them drain all the way out and leave the faucets open.The next morning, after the temps get to around 30-32 degrees, go back and close up all the faucets. Then, you can go back out side and turn the water back on at the curb/meter.


Then, go back inside and check to make sure your faucets are closed and you might want to test-flush a toilet or run some water in the kitchen sink.


By shutting off the water, taking the pressure out of the lines and leaving the faucets open to allow for expansion, you will not have a pipe burst, as you are giving the freezing water room to expand.



Yes, this is kind of a pain, but it is WAY less pain than dealing with burst pipes.

[Oskar_Z28]

Originally Posted by houstonlmao

how much did that cost?

Big house was about 5k, small about 2k for pex (but it was part of total replumb job)

[mojo101]

Originally Posted by Raider Scott

I was told to do this when temps get to 20 or below, by my plumber neighbor. He is originally from MI, so his origin and profession made me feel safe in doing this procedure...and turned out he was right and we had no burst pipes, while all my neighbors dealt with that problem.


First, do this at night, before bed or before the 20 degree temps begin. Have everyone use the toilet, brush their teeth and do everything you would use the water for, before bedtime.



Go out to the curb and turn off the water to the house. Then, go back inside and open all your faucets and leave them open. Be sure to get the hose bibs on the outside as well. Let them drain all the way out and leave the faucets open.The next morning, after the temps get to around 30-32 degrees, go back and close up all the faucets. Then, you can go back out side and turn the water back on at the curb/meter.


Then, go back inside and check to make sure your faucets are closed and you might want to test-flush a toilet or run some water in the kitchen sink.


By shutting off the water, taking the pressure out of the lines and leaving the faucets open to allow for expansion, you will not have a pipe burst, as you are giving the freezing water room to expand.



Yes, this is kind of a pain, but it is WAY less pain than dealing with burst pipes.

so when do you re open all your faucets?
BTW,to turning off water on the street curb requires a special instrument,your household plyer wont do,you can get it on AMZN or Ebay,cant recall the name,

[Listener2307]

I provided the attic with a heating vent just like the rest of the house has.
The duct work went through the attic anyway, and it didn't change anything downstairs.


If I was really concerned I'd put a wireless thermometer in the attic with the read out downstairs.