So...how cold must it be to worry about frozen pipes?

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I can't say that we have ever let a faucet drip in the winter. Do you not have insulation in your walls or why would you need to do this?

Well...I did just move from Florida where I lived since 1992. I got a tip sheet in my utility bill and was seeking clarification as I don't want my house to turn into a skating rink. It mentioned nothing about insulated pipes.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Drip the faucet. I am a refugee from the great white north to FL and I can assure the northerners that FL pipes would not meet code in say MN. They are not far underground, and have no protection. A friend of mine had their pipes freeze last night at 24F.

And when you get right down to it, a faucet dripping a few nights when it didn't need to is nothing when compared to a burst pipe. Play it safe.

Sorry---I forgot to mention we are in Virginia. I know absolutely nothing about winter living.

I will double check on the insulation. We have a basement which is concrete. I guess.

 

[golfgal]

I still say drip. Always better safe than sorry. Just b/c some of these posters have never done it, it doesn't mean thier pipes will never freeze.

In over 40 years we have never had a frozen pipe in a house I have lived in, including the days when we get well below zero. It is just odd hearing this from people in the south. The homes in the north are better insulated though so that is the difference. The only time I have heard of anyone having frozen pipes is at a cabin that is rarely used in the winter or if their heat went out when they were gone for several days.

 

[SAHDad]

Grew up in central IL, and we had a couple burst pipes when I was growing up. Of course, the house was built in 1890 (or so), and, when I was growing up, had a coal furnace and steam heat, so take it as less than helpful advice.

For new construction, and temps in the high teens, I would not worry about it.

 

[Daisy14'sDH]

In over 40 years we have never had a frozen pipe in a house I have lived in, including the days when we get well below zero. It is just odd hearing this from people in the south. The homes in the north are better insulated though so that is the difference. The only time I have heard of anyone having frozen pipes is at a cabin that is rarely used in the winter or if their heat went out when they were gone for several days.

The southern homes should be just as well insulated to keep the AC in... IMHO...

 

[jen0610]

From IN and we have heat-tape wrapped pipes. We have a wide open field to the west of us, so we get the full brunt of the western wind. Because of this, the back side of our house is lined with bales of hay, to help insulate and block the wind. And we leave the cabinet doors open in both the bath rooms and the kitchen and drip in all three sinks.

You would think that would pretty much remove a freezing issue for us. WRONG... we froze up last year just before Christmas and it was the pipe leading into the hot water heater that burst - in two places. One just inside the house and one just under house.

Do whatever gives you peace of mind.

 

[robinb]

I've never done this and we live in MA. We do however have the water pipes in the basement insulated so maybe that's why we never have needed to drip the faucets

We've never done this either and we live in Wisconsin where it was below 0 last night.

 

[mjkacmom]

I live in the NE, in a 100 year old house, and never had to drip the faucets (although I did have to do it in my old apartment). I grew up in a 200+ year old home, and we never did it then. We do turn off the outside water.

 

[msjprincess]

The pipes in our half bath have frozen a few times. My house is 100 years old and the half bath was added on the 70's. It's built above a crawl space and not well insulated.

 

[Colleen27]

In newer construction it really shouldn't be an issue, since the house was built to modern codes in the north (I'm assuming you're in the north, but I suppose with this weird cold that might not be the case - Southern codes are different when it comes to insulation, and often there is a need to drip simply because homes aren't built for extreme cold the way they are up here).

Ultimately what it comes down to is whether your pipes run though unheated or uninsulated spaces. Our old home was on a crawl and we did leave the pipes dripping when the temps got down to low-teens or colder. Now we don't, because we're on a basement and the pipes don't run through any unheated/uninsulated spaces, plus they're all wrapped. Our house is very old (130 years) but well built and we haven't had an issue even through the extreme cold we had last year.

 

[SaraJayne]

We've never done this either and we live in Wisconsin where it was below 0 last night.

It still is.

 

[palavra]

The southern homes should be just as well insulated to keep the AC in... IMHO...

The homes are well insulated. The pipes aren't. And in many houses, the pipes are in the crawl space under the house. Not many houses in the South have basements.

 

[C.Ann]

At the lake, I have a section of exposed pipe outside and the night before I left it got down in the teens.. I let it drip, but the pipe (outside) busted anyhow..

In my former home (that my dad built and I also grew up in as a child), we had a full basement - which is where the furnace and hot water heater were.. (Also the oil tank for the boiler.. There were radiators in the living areas of the first floor of the house..) This was in upstate NY - where we can get some pretty frigid temps for long periods of time and we never dripped - no matter how cold it got.. The pipes were fine (none exposed outside..)

If it would make you feel better (safer), go ahead and drip.. But remember one thing - if you pay for your water by usage, even just a "drip" for 8 hours at a time can cause a significant difference in your bill..

Best of luck!

 

[keetmommy]

It still is.

And it will be for the next 4 months, if I left my H20 drip our water bill would be even more then it already is!!!!

 

[bellebud]

we're in NY, built our house 9 years ago, and had a problem once w/ the pipes during the cold (we didn't think it would be a problem since the house was "new", so we didn't drip).

Growing up (in NY), we always had to drip, and sometimes the pipes would freeze anyway. I remember my mom having to blow-dry a pipe in the attic (had to remove everything from the linen closet to get to this attic) many, many times.

anyway, we take no chances now. we drip any cold water 'outside wall' faucet, and open the cabinet doors for every faucet, even if it's not outside (probably not necessary, but I just do it anyway).

 

[Daisy14'sDH]

we're in NY, built our house 9 years ago, and had a problem once w/ the pipes during the cold (we didn't think it would be a problem since the house was "new", so we didn't drip).

Growing up (in NY), we always had to drip, and sometimes the pipes would freeze anyway. I remember my mom having to blow-dry a pipe in the attic (had to remove everything from the linen closet to get to this attic) many, many times.

anyway, we take no chances now. we drip any cold water 'outside wall' faucet, and open the cabinet doors for every faucet, even if it's not outside (probably not necessary, but I just do it anyway).

I can't beleive that in NY its legal to have any water lines potable or not in an outside wall! It sounds incredulous to me! Later I am going to start looking at some of the US building codes.

If you had a problem right away you could of went after the builder and or plumber to correct the error...

 

[manning]

Drip.

When we were working on this house before we moved in (Jan'10) we had the temp set at 60 while we were gone. Right before we left for the night we heard a pop and saw water all over the floor of the laundry room. A pipe in the wall had burst and I never would have imagined it would. I never would have thought it would need it, but it was on an outside wall and it just got too cold.

Odd. Normal practice is not to run pipe on outside walls, if possible.

 

[bellebud]

I can't beleive that in NY its legal to have any water lines potable or not in an outside wall! It sounds incredulous to me! Later I am going to start looking at some of the US building codes.

really???? I'm SO surprised that you're surprised. I think everyone I know that has a house built in the past 20 years has a kitchen sink with a window over it (outside wall). Many bathrooms I'm thinking of have the sinks on the outside walls... it would be great if it weren't allowed to begin with. But yea, I honestly can't think of someone I know w/ the kitchen sink NOT on an outside wall. something to think about if i ever build a house again, for sure!

 

[manning]

drip the faucets.

Also realize that houses in the south don't need heavier insulation like we do here, even though you have been having our kind of temps.
http://www.energycodes.gov/training/consumer_ed/insulation.stm

Years ago the company relocated a bunch of people from Chicago to Houston. Some had new houses built and insulated like Chicago. The natives were amazed how much was saved on energy bills.

 

[Jennasis]

Consarnit! We had a pipe freeze and bust in the barn today. I would LOVE to know what fool thought it would be a good idea to use PVC pipes for the plumbing in an uninsulated barn?? Essentially, it's outdoor plumbing!!

DH and I had to run to Lowes and buy pex pipe to replace the 10 foot section that busted. Grrr. We also bought this heater strip that you tape or wire-tie to the pipe and it keeps it from freezing up to -40.