Prescott - First Freeze Hits Tonight

[DellNec]

Originally Posted by Esenjay

Homeowners can take it upon themselves to correct the problem.

How do they go about doing that?

One would have to trench & excavate the main water line, then remove it, trench deeper, and solder in a new water line. Depending on the length of the main line you could be looking at tens of thousands of dollars.

The average do it yourself CANNOT accomplish such a feat. You would have to hire someone, and you are probably looking at $10,000+ to fix the problem.

[Esenjay]

I guess you weigh the cost now vs the cost when your water lines explode. It's not a mystery that it gets freezing up here in the winter--anyone who bought a place should have considered at the time of purchase that frozen pipes are a possibility and factor that into their decision.

You're often a proponent of not living with your head in the sand. You're not arguing the other side now, are you?

[DellNec]

Originally Posted by Esenjay

I guess you weigh the cost now vs the cost when your water lines explode. It's not a mystery that it gets freezing up here in the winter--anyone who bought a place should have considered at the time of purchase that frozen pipes are a possibility and factor that into their decision.

You're often a proponent of not living with your head in the sand. You're not arguing the other side now, are you?

No such thing is being argued. My point is that the codes need to be rewritten to reflect better placement of the water lines. The codes up here are lax, even my builder admits to that.

The water line depth for this area is too shallow. Almost every winter someone I know gets frost damage to their lines.

The other issue is winds & hail, up here we can get 70MPH+ gusts. Many roofs and buildings are not designed too well to withstand such winds and hail. They use a lot of clay tile roofs here and they will shatter and break in any good hail storm. Once broken, the underlayment gets destroyed, and you will get water penetration.

[BriansPerspective]

Originally Posted by DellNec

The water line depth for this area is too shallow. Almost every winter someone I know gets frost damage to their lines.

Current code requires the water yard line (from the meter to the house) to be burried at least 18 inches below native soil for elevations above 4,000 feet. Frankly, I would be quite surprised if a water line burried 18 inches froze. Granted, many Prescott houses were built many years ago and perhaps the builders did not burry their lines deep enough back then. However, I would guess that most of the water line breaks are not the actual yard line, but irrigation lines or hose bibs that burst.

[motormaker]

Originally Posted by DellNec

The average do it yourself CANNOT accomplish such a feat. You would have to hire someone, and you are probably looking at $10,000+ to fix the problem.

I had my main water line replaced a few years ago (hand dug and under a sidewalk) for less than $2000.

[keninaz]

I know it's old fashioned, but when you expect a very unusual hard freeze not common to your area you can always leave the water on a little.
It relieves the pressure and it won't freeze.