Water pipes freeze 3 times over past few weeks and didnt freeze in 7-8 yrs prior

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chlipps

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Water pipes at my house did not freeze in approx 7-8 years but have frozen 3 times over the past few weeks.

Has anyone had similar problem in the past and have you fixed it, … how? insulate the pipes or increase the depth of soil on the ground?? Etc..

The main isolation stop valve is in the footpath out to front/north of the house. I’m unsure what route the pipes take to the kitchen/south of the house.

Is there some means of establishing the pipe routes and depth with out necessarily digging all the way from the footpath in? I thought that if the pipe was 12’’ under or more it should not freeze?

The temperature in the house approx 15-20 deg at all times so I don’t think it could be frozen in or under the house. Any feedback appreciated
 
Very rarely we get weather this cold.

There isn't a whole lot you can do, except wait. Try pouring hotwater over the stopcock outside in the morning to see if it melts the ice, although the frezze block could be anywhere.
 
jhegarty said:
We have the same issue here.
Click to expand...

The house we bought two months ago has the same issue, and there I was giving the heating and plumbing the all clear. It's ome of those things, unless you want to dig up old pipes, insulate and refit at a deeper level. Probably not worth it considering we don't normally see this very cold weather often.

You could always try insulating where the stop cock is at road, in the off chance it only frezzes there.
 
Must do some further investigation local at the stop cock to check its depth below the footpath... And maybe as you suggest DavyJones insulate it when it thaws again.

I agree, bit over the top to dig pipes up unless they are very close to the surface.
My house is approx 18 yo... does anyone know if pipes to/from stop cock would have been insulated back then?

I could raise the level of the lawn at that side of the driveway.... is there a minimum depth that the pipes should be installed to avoid freezing?
 
I always thought that the pipes have to be 30'' deep!
Apparently,but don't quote me, since the big freeze of 1963 this depth was recommended for all water pipes.
I know this doesn't help but worth knowing.
Good luck
 
I thought it was 18", must check that one up. Pipes nowadays aren't lagged if carring cold water although a heavier gauge pipe is used, (alot more rubber around inner bore).Saying that, it won't matter much if pipes are too shallow and a big frezzw hits.
 
Have just read a council document saying depth of line to be between 750 and 900mm which ties in with Tillyfloss comment on 30'', but not clear if it is to be at this depth to avoid freezing or to avoid damage from traffic or machinery.

I will check the stop cock depth tomorrow as that should give better estimation of depth of the piping at least local to it anyway.. Thanks for the feedback
 
Same problem here with a tap in a utility room off the house. Never frose before in 15yrs. Thankfully it was frozen in the room and not in the ground, so a bit of heat in the room and left the tap to drip, got it going in a little while.

They are saying this is the coldest snap for 50yrs. Dunno how true.
 
It was on the news last night that it was the coldest December since 1986 ( and my grandmother swears its true ! ), so this could explain why people are only having these issues now since moving into new homes etc .
 
I've had the same problem (house built in 1996) - water has frozen 3 times over the past 2 weeks. Did the same once in 2008 as well.

Stopcock is just outside my back door, so tried the boiling water trick yesterday, which seemed to do the trick!
 
I have noticed that some plumbers have not been very vigilant when laying underground pipes. My house is seven years old and I caught the supply water pipe 6 inch down with my spade when digging the garden. I dug it deeper and fortunately only the outside tap has frozen at present. Next doors water pipe comes to the surface for the stop cock.
Be careful when defrosting, burst pipe occur because ice expands at -4 deg, (before it is water) Defrost slowly.
 
Checked the stop cock today and it is just practically under the footpath slab..max 5-6'' under ground... some soil around valve which was solid... tried some water on top of it but no luck.. When weather gets better i must try take away the soil that is up around the valve and somehow insulate it better. I could only see the valve stem which I assume is a short stem so pipe must also be very close to the ground.

Other surprise was that water was very slow to seep away from around the valve... so i suspect a lot of water may be around valve and pipe which is frozen. House is up reasonably high in the estate so dont understand why water is so slow seeping away as water table would not be that high.

Neighbours have water so maybe the problem might be shallow pipes further in.. another chore for 2010 to fix that as we will probably have more winters like this going forward
 
Yippi... water back at last... 2 weeks without water and finally back today

I am going to dig up the water line later in the year. Anyone know best type of insulation to use as dont want to get caught out again for 2 weeks

Also, will water meters become mandatory with water charges so should I also consider installing a meter?

Thanks in advance of any feedback
 
Mains water services are supposed to be buried 760mm below ground level. This is the measurement quoted in all reputable plumbing text books. It is quite unlikely that frost will penetrate below this depth.
The problem is that most water services are installed by builders on sites and in most cases they do not know this measurement. As with most domestic heating and plumbing installations in this country (except gas installations, dry side) there is no regulatory body out there to check for proper work practices.
As for water meters, I can see the mandatory installation of water meters to all city and council supplies in the near future. If you are installing a new service I would fit a water meter.
 
I will probably dig up existing piping and see how deep it actually is and maybe raise the soild to higher level over it to protect it.

Anyone know if meters will become available from councils or will they leave it up to personnel to purchase their own meters? Obviously need meter that satisfies their requirements with serial numbers, customer number etc,, on it so that can bill people for the water used. I assume that they will install them or otherwise open to a bypass around the meter....
 
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