Frozen Pipes

Frozen pipes are a major problem if you live in a country that has freezing temperatures during the winter. Not many people realise the amount of damage that can be caused by having a pipe frozen in your home – needless to say it’s a lot. In this article I’ll be discussing some of the best methods of making sure your home frozen pipe proof while at the same time discussing some of the dangers of having frozen pipes.

What are frozen pipes?

In short, frozen pipes are when during a particularly cold spell the water in the pipes freeze. As we all know, when water freezes it expands which causes the pipes to expand and in some cases cracks. When the ice thaws the water then runs out of the cracks and can literally destroy an entire house. I’ve known some people who’ve had to had their whole house demolished just because of a single burst pipe so it’s definitely not something to ignore.

However, how common are frozen pipes in reality? The short answer is; much more common than you think! During the winter months insurance companies have to deal with people having burst pipes each and every day, in fact in some cases they may deal with hundreds on a single day. People just don’t realise the true danger that having a burst pipe can be. You should definitely realise that having a burst pipe is a real problem is something that you need to consider carefully.

How to stop frozen pipes

Stopping frozen pipes isn’t easy but there are several things that you can do. The most effective method is to buy some sort of kit that helps to heat the pipes and will never let the temperature fall below a certain level. These have only recently become available so you should definitely look into them as they are a great piece of kit for not much money.

There are plenty of other things that you can do to try and prevent frozen pipes such as using heat tape and other sorts of insulation. However, these will not be as effective as using a simple tool that heats up whenever the temperature around the pipes goes below a few degrees. Not only that, but if you have one of these pieces of kit in your attic then you can go away in the winter months without having to worry about wasting energy because they will only click on when they need to.

Frozen pipes are a major problem across the globe and you need to make sure that you take the necessary precautions to make sure that you don’t have them as a problem.

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Heating bills go through the roof during the winter and sometimes it is difficult to keep a home warm, especially in older homes. The colder a home is, the more likely it is that the pipes inside will freeze. Inner pipes freezing is relatively uncommon – usually attic pipes freeze first – bit it can happen.

As with any information on this site, you should always hire a professional to help insulate your home. This is not meant as professional advice but may give you an idea of how to improve the insulation in your home.
The mortar between bricks or blocks can be insulated further by adding more mortar into any cracks or any place the mortar has been removed from. By filling the cracks with new mortar it will help to keep the air warmer around the pipes.

There are also spray-in foams that can be sprayed into the cracks and fill them. The spray-in foam sprays in as a liquid and expands as they dry.

Placing insulation on the inside of the foundation is another way to help retain heat in a basement or crawlspace where pipes are located.

There are several types of insulation which can be wrapped around pipes to help prevent them freezing. The insulations are designed to be used in particular places and the most commonly used one in homes is fiberglass. It can be wrapped around pipes whether hidden or exposed, and designed to be used on hot or cold pipes.

Another way to prevent pipes from freezing is to wrap them with heat tape which can be found in several types.

Braided heat cables are usually 18 feet in length. It is attached to the pipe by using application tape and is placed on the pipe length. It has a built in thermostat so that it can be adjusted to turn on or off as needed and can protect the pipes from freeze to minus 40 degrees. It can be used on plastic pipe providing the plastic pipe has been wrapped in aluminum foil first.

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If the worst has happened and you have a frozen pipe (but it hasn’t yet thawed or burst) then what should you do about it? The first thing is that you should probably contact a professional plumber straight away as it can be extremely dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing – not necessarily for you but for your house. In this article I’ll be discussing some basic techniques for dealing with a frozen pipe in your home. Continue Reading»

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