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

[Daisy14'sDH]

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!

Lol, now take a look under their sinks and see if the pipes come from the wall or the floor. 9/10 it will come from the floor like any responsible plumber would do.

Having a washing area near the kitchen window has been common practise for nearly 300 years so the wive could watch out for the children while doing their chores ( not trying to sound sexist but it is a common fact, even with hubbies helping as much as they can its still a common design element)

Please take a good look at how people who don't have freezing poblems have their homes plumbed....

 

[Daisy14'sDH]

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.

On a side note their is a system to deal with this. As many Northern Farmers can tell you their livestock do recquire water during fridgid winter months. THey put heat trace on the water and drain lines! They may also install "automatic" fountains for their stock. Yes I have installed these for many clients up here and would reccommend these systems to anyone that may have potential freezing problems...

As Morgan Freeman stated in "Deep Impact" Life will Find a Way....


even in the cold....

 

[SandrA9810]

In Florida, you worry about your house being up to code for hurricanes. Hurricane Andrew put into effect all the new codes, but it wasn't until the past couple of years that everything has finally turned over to the new code.

Most the newer construction is all done on a slab, and many lines are run through outside walls. There's usually not too many lines run through the middle of the house.

I heard it for ages in Florida about dripping pipes for the cold weather.

 

[golfgal]

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!

Lol, now take a look under their sinks and see if the pipes come from the wall or the floor. 9/10 it will come from the floor like any responsible plumber would do.

Having a washing area near the kitchen window has been common practise for nearly 300 years so the wive could watch out for the children while doing their chores ( not trying to sound sexist but it is a common fact, even with hubbies helping as much as they can its still a common design element)

Please take a good look at how people who don't have freezing poblems have their homes plumbed....

I was going to say the same thing, those fixtures on an outside wall come up through the floor.

If your pipes are exposed in a crawl space, crawl in there and insulate them. It's pretty easy to do and will save you money in the long run.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

My kitchen sink pipes run to my basement. (VA)

My Florida house pipes went into the concrete block wall. (as we discovered when we had a pipe burst and they had to chisel out a huge hole to get to the pipes).

Still confused by this pipe thing. I have images of those houses that turn into Popsicles dancing in my heads and they seemed to be more modern construction in a northern climate.

Oh well. They haven't mentioned it on the news, so I guess I won't worry. Perhaps the tip sheet is directed at customers with older homes.

They need a "Living in Cold Climate for southern transplants" book.

 

[Jennasis]

On a side note their is a system to deal with this. As many Northern Farmers can tell you their livestock do recquire water during fridgid winter months. THey put heat trace on the water and drain lines! They may also install "automatic" fountains for their stock. Yes I have installed these for many clients up here and would reccommend these systems to anyone that may have potential freezing problems...

As Morgan Freeman stated in "Deep Impact" Life will Find a Way....


even in the cold....

We have frost free hydrants outside, tank de-icers in every trough. But that's only outside. For the barn plumbing (which is run from the spigot and up through the ceiling of the barn), everything is insulated with foam pipe insulating tubes, and MOST of it is pex (replaced the pvc that used to be there by us after we moved in). We also drain the entire plumbing line every night after we water the horses. However, it seems the guy who works for us neglected to drain one run (the last run made of pvc...about 10 feet of it) and it froze and cracked.

I know how to handle cold weather and plumbing. I was born and raised in NY. The moron who I bought my farm from on the other hand....

 

[bellebud]

Lol, now take a look under their sinks and see if the pipes come from the wall or the floor. 9/10 it will come from the floor like any responsible plumber would do.

Having a washing area near the kitchen window has been common practise for nearly 300 years so the wive could watch out for the children while doing their chores ( not trying to sound sexist but it is a common fact, even with hubbies helping as much as they can its still a common design element)

Please take a good look at how people who don't have freezing poblems have their homes plumbed....

ok, I just looked under my kitchen sink... the pipes go to the back of the cabinet, so that's the outside wall, right? I'm too lazy to go upstairs right now and look at my bathroom cabinet, but I think it's the same. Bad plumber?? We have had a few other plumbing problems w/ the house - ugh! I remember when we were building the house, the main builder was saying how the plumber was having problems w/ his wife... not a good time to be plumbing my house I guess. Same thing happened w/ a hairdresser once... she was talking about her new divorce the whole time she was cutting my hair, and I swear, I left there w/ the shortest, choppiest, craziest haircut of my life. I had to go get it "fixed" (and it was so short there wasn't much left to even fix). A friend laughed at me and said "NEVER let your hairdresser talk about man problems when they're doing your hair!" Funny now - not so funny then!

so now I'm thinking when I'm hiring someone to work around my house (or on my hair), I'll have to interview them and see how their love lifes are - LOL!

 

[bellebud]

As Morgan Freeman stated in "Deep Impact" Life will Find a Way....

Doesn't Jeff Goldblum say that in Jurassic Park too? Good line I guess.

 

[Colleen27]

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!

But usually, in the north at least, the pipes come through the floor rather than being in the wall, which makes a big difference in how sheltered they are from the weather.

 

[Mandychelle79]

We always let ours drip when it gets below 20 or so. Spent way too many mornings thawing pipes. Just had to do that on Tuesday. Luckily ours freezes in one of two places. Where the water goes into the storage from the well ( this is where it froze tuesday, cause DH forgot to put the insulation back around the pipe after this summer). Or under the tub where the lines come into the trailer.

 

[jen0610]

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

 

[Hooked On The Mouse]

I'm from Canada, where it, ahem, gets pretty cool in the winter, and I have literally never heard of dripping a tap. I've also never heard of anyone's pipes freezing, except on a trailer home or something like that. I guess it's all due to building codes. Well, this morning as I'm scraping my car and muttering to myself about how I should be down south where it's warm, at least I can comfort myself with the thought that we have good pipes.