Colder than normal in Memphis at near zero. We're down for Christmas . Got in the shower here at our son's house and no cold water . He didn't know about that outside faucet on the same water line ... we got lucky , no busted pipes.
Easy to do when freezing is not the norm. Up north we had the freeze proof faucets to eliminate that problem.
He has that type back in his carport . He never goes over to the west side of his house and didn't know there was a faucet there . Looks easy to change to a frost proof , it's a straight run thru the exterior wall with the tub cold teed off . 15 minutes with a tubing cutter and a sharkbite coupler .
I've had a slow stream of hot water going in the bathroom sink. it's paired with the cold water line and the heat is enough to keep them both from freezing. There's a corner near the tub that's vulnerable when it approaches 0.
Lotta business for plumbers this time of year.
It was in December in our new house when pipe supplying water to laundry room that went through unheated space broke.
I had look out of curiosity. Heat tape is still available. Some bored bureaucrat hasn't banned it yet.
You gotta TEACH that young feller - oh wait - the same unteachable son that pretty much destriyed you truck - right????
We're fortunate in that none of our plumbing is on an outside wall, except the hose bibs (both of which are frost-free sillcocks).
Every fixture in the house has its own shutoff. My obsessive-compulsive husband even labeled at least some (maybe all) lines with direction of flow and whether it's hot or cold. The basement reminds me of a submarine.
The pipes run in a "wet wall" as my plumber son calls it , open to the attic space . I think that plus the faucet outside is what let it get cold enough to freeze . It's been several years since Memphis has seen temps near zero .
I plumbed our house in Arkansas, it's all under the house in the crawl space . I have shutoff's in the lines to the kitchen and to the master bath , and a main cutoff downstream from the yard (frost prof) hydrant . I also have cutoff valves on all sinks , toilets , and the tub . Since we heat with wood , we have a propane wall mounted heater for when we're not home for more than a few hours. Hooked to a 250 gallon tank that was just topped off Tuesday .
Nope ,this is the responsible one. The other one isn't stupid , just lazy.
It was a small storage area built into raised basement and unheated that pipes passed over. I had put a light bulb in there left on for warmth but did not do it. We rerouted pipes through heated space.
On Fri, 23 Dec 2022 22:12:53 GMT, Cindy Hamilton posted for all of us to digest...
15 deg down-bubbleHomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.