Preventing frozen pipes

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ShadyBrady

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How does one prevent pipes from freezing? Someone said leaving the gas central heating on all the time

Also if there is water from all taps does that mean things are Ok

Thanks
 
We were away from the house a lot during the break - for days on end - and all we did was time the heating to come on twice a day for an hour. We haven't had any problems.

People used to leave taps gently running all the time during very cold spells in the past.
 
The running tap helps to prevent the pipes outside the house from freezing - one tap is sufficient, make sure it's one that's connected to the mains (e.g. kitchen). It doesn't need to be a strong flowing tap, a trickle can work (it did for me last night, -5 and no frozen pipes!).
 
gipimann said:
The running tap helps to prevent the pipes outside the house from freezing - one tap is sufficient, make sure it's one that's connected to the mains (e.g. kitchen). It doesn't need to be a strong flowing tap, a trickle can work (it did for me last night, -5 and no frozen pipes!).
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Thanks. What I do not underestand is a friend of mione nearby said he had pipes frozen in his attic last winter. Would leaving the heat on low all the time prevent that as in heat rising?
 
To help thawing of pipes in the attic, you can leave the trap door to attic open to allow heat to rise into attic, but landing area will be quite cold thereafter. I once remember placing a blow air heater into the attic for a couple of hours, most likely back in '82.

Secman
 
I have been monitoring my attic temperature with a projector clock I bought from Argos. It has a remote temperature sensor which I put near the tank in the attic and it projects the temperature on to the bedroom ceiling overnight.
Even though we have the central heating on all day it got down to 0.8°C last night, and that was only with an outside temperature of minus 5°C. We really don't design houses in this country for low temperatures.
 
roker said:
Even though we have the central heating on all day it got down to 0.8°C last night, and that was only with an outside temperature of minus 5°C. We really don't design houses in this country for low temperatures.
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Are your tank and pipes insulated in the attic?
 
roker said:
I have been monitoring my attic temperature with a projector clock I bought from Argos. It has a remote temperature sensor which I put near the tank in the attic and it projects the temperature on to the bedroom ceiling overnight.
Even though we have the central heating on all day it got down to 0.8°C last night, and that was only with an outside temperature of minus 5°C. We really don't design houses in this country for low temperatures.
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I went to a meeting in Meath today: -7.5 on the N3 on the way there.
-5.0 on the way back then -3.5 in freezing fog until Clonee.
Buy shares in plumbing firms before the "leaks" bonanza.

ONQ.
 
Like I said we don’t design houses for this weather. The pipes are insulated the tank is not, but someone in their infinite wisdom mounted the tank 6 feet up, instead of positioning it above the hot press. The point I am making is the temperature in the attic. How effective will the insulation be when the water is only about 3°C coming in and the air temperature is 0.8 °C?
Should we not be insulating under the roof tile instead of above the ceiling like the Germans and others do? This will also solve the dripping attic problem that myself and a lot of other post are complaining about
 
Just a tip for anyone experiencing -10 like I am here.

I have a well insulated attic space but have removed some extra insulation (fibre glass) in the immediate area under and beside the cold water storage tank to let more heat from the rooms below filter up to it.
 
there should never be insulation on the attic floor below the tank, and the tank should be wrapped too.

Freezing pipes in the attic isn't that common, it the pipes outside that might freeze, which is why people leave a tap dripping (which is using up reservoir supplies).
 
Dealing with frozen & burst pipes


What are the risks of freezing pipes?
It’s a simple fact that when water freezes, it expands. Unfortunately the pipes used for your plumbing are not so flexible, resulting in burst pipes and water damage in your home. Any home with poor insulation is at risk (think many of the homes built in the last 7 years) and any space within the home where pipes are exposed to a cold air flow are vulnerable – think attic spaces, outside walls and cracked wall coverings. If in doubt, check your home out by following the investigative steps below.

How to identify freezing pipes
A frozen pipe does not leak, so the first indication is a disrupted water supply– with little or no water coming from your taps. A quick inspection of your piping may also reveal frost on the exterior of the pipe in question.

What to do if your pipes freeze

If you suspect frozen pipes, turn off the water supply to your home as soon as possible. You can do this by locating the main stop cock (stop valve) in your house, normally located under the kitchen sink.
Where possible also turn off the water supply from your water tank – normally located in your attic. Turn off the stop valve on it’s outlet pipe.
Finally, turn off all water heating systems and turn on your taps to drain the system - this will minimise water damage caused in the event of a burst pipe.
At this stage you should request a plumber to call out and check your plumbing system for further damage.
What to do if your pipes burst

Turn off the water supply to your house and water tank as above.
Where electrics are exposed to water, turn off your electricity supply at the mains.
If your house is insured, contact your insurance company at this point.
Get a plumber out as soon as possible.
Collect any water in buckets to limit the damage
Puncture the plaster in any bulging ceilings to relieve the pressure and limit damage

How to prevent frozen pipes
Insulate all exposed water pipes (both internal and external) with foam based or specialist pipe insulation. Exposed pipes include those in attics, external wall cavities and near damaged walls.
Ensure that the heating comes on for a time in unoccupied homes during cold weather spells.
 
Our cold water tap (mains) is running but our hot water taps are dry, as are the toilet cisterns. Is this indicative of frozen pipes in the attic as opposed to external pipes? All are pipes are insulated but we recently had our external walls pumped with cavity insulation and additional attic insulation so maybe the attic is colder than usual as a result of the insulation. It was around minus 10 last night and hasn't got above freezing all day.
 
Even if you turn off the main supply there is about 60 gallons in the attic, if the leak is before the hot and cold isolation valves in the hot press, that 60 gallons is going to come down. Possibly this could be siphoned out to the outside.
Ney001, will the grey plastic pipes expand enough to prevent bursting?
 
I find Ney 101's tips very helpful re frozen pipes. However, I would be interested to hear recommendation for approx. amount of time that heat should be running (in an unoccupied house - semi d) and is it better have it coming on late at night or even during the night? Thanks
 
During a period that 'frames' the coldest times was my thinking - so therefore, about 9pm and about 5am is what we did anyway, an hour each time.
 
davidoco said:
Just a tip for anyone experiencing -10 like I am here.

I have a well insulated attic space but have removed some extra insulation (fibre glass) in the immediate area under and beside the cold water storage tank to let more heat from the rooms below filter up to it.
Click to expand...

best thing to do is put your insulation between the roof rafters then you do not have that big cold void in your roofspace
 
I know one person whos main water feed to the attic has frozen in the wall over the last few days. Only noticed when the tank in the attic emptied. The pipe is probably not insulated and touching the wall.

Coming in this evening aound 6pm the temp was -6 for me in Dublin. I expect its got a lot colder now.
 
Did you get a reply to your question? We have the same problem (cold tap working in the kitchen but that's it) and as advised by many, have opened the attic door, blasted the heated all day and have held two hair dryers into the attic space but still no result - any other advice?
 
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