Frozen pipes

[Kay/NC]

Oh, the joys of living in an old house.  Awoke this mornign to find Mike coming in the back door with a five-gallon bucket of water, drawn from the outdoor frostproof spigot by the poolhouse.

When nighttime temps fall below 20, we usually leave a small trickle running in the tiny bathroom off the kitchen, to make sure the pipes don't set up solid.  This is due to a flaw in the original plumbing we did in 1994, which would be very disruptive to fix because of how we routed the plumbing. 

I've asked about tearing off the siding and protecting it better, but my motion is always met with a veto.  Mike is the weather junkie, so he always knows when it will be cold enough to warrant this little step when he's starting the dishwasher at bedtime (I load it, he runs it, because he tucks his beer glass in last thing.) 

While we were watching TV last night, he said he woud be cracking the faucet, so not to turn it off, since we had a cold night ahead.  I brushed my teeth in the big bathroom, so didn't notice if it was on or off when I was turning in...and it was OFF.   He forgot...and our pipes are frozen this morning. 

Very apologetic, but very frustrated with himself on this 14-degree morning.  One of our coldest nights of the winter.  I am not too bummed, since I had nowhere to go, and it's supposed to go up to 40, so things will thaw.  The pipes are that flexible stuff that won't burst, so no real damage done. 

Our drinking water is in a countertop filtration system, so we had plenty to make our coffee, and he's fixed the flushing issue with his bucket toting.   Will not get my bubblebath until later in the day, but that is no problem...today.

A school morning would be an entirely different story.  I shower and wash my hair every night, but I always take the minimum of a hot shower, preferably a hot morning bath, to get my joints going and wake me up.  I'd really miss it if I had to skip out the door without it.  I wouldn't be dirty, but I'd be stiff, groggy and grouchy. 

I am tired of this minor issue being unresolved, after 16 winters here.  When the boys are here fixing siding this spring or summer, I plan to address it once and for all.  All we need a a six-inch bumpout, or I may ask them to frame a tiny overhang for the entry door on that side, and close in a small storage "closet." that protects that corner.  

This morning will be a good example to point back to, in order to make my case.  I am sure that those of you who live in really cold climates have this problem covered...it's our generally mild winters that have allowed us to get by so long with such a half-a**ed "solution."  

We had employed a similar drip strategy to keep the washdown lines from freezing up in the hog buildings, but Mike finally plumbed the last drainback a month or so ago.  As usualy, the pigs have it better than the people here!

To be honest, living in this old derelict house has made us masters of  the quick-fix, and tied us to several less-than-satisfactory situations over the years.  I have almost (but not quite) forgotten what it was like to live in a troublefree, turnkey modern house.  I would like to have nothing to remember to do when it's going to be cold. 

I am sure that some of you have some similar situations that you deal with daily in the wintertime, or maybe it's a different season that challenges your patience.  If there was one thing you could fix once a for all to make things run more smoothly when the weather is showing off its extremes, what would it be? 

[linda/IL]

Frozen hydrants!  We have 6 or 7 hydrants outside-ONE is working.  "Suggested" to DH shouldn't we use a heat tape on that hydrant I use daily?  "It will be OK this year."  Yeah.  I'm hauling buckets of water to my calves now.  Not that the walking hurts me-but slipping around on the ice is treacherous.  The one hydrant that's open is next to an electric waterer that the calves slop water out of so there's not even a level spot to stand on, just an icy unlevel spot.  Not sure what the answer is but I'd love to find an answer.

The other thing in the house is the heat in the kitchen.  We took out the old radiator to make room for cabinets and plumber put in a blower unit under the sink but it in no way heats the area which is open to the DR also.  DR does have baseboard unit but it isn't enough either.  I'm thinking of getting a small extra heater to sit in the winter.

[Kay/NC]

Just got up to get my third cup of espresso, and found the faucet he left open in the kitchen running, so we had water back by just after nine.  Since I got ahead on weekend laundry yesterday, I can start on the last load before his dirty workclothes need a bath. 

I know he was hoping to get a shower after his morning chores, and to have a quiet afternooon to watch NFL playoff games.  He had to jump the battery on his work truck to get going today, too, so guess that means he needs a new one.    

I am sure he will remember the drip tonight.  You be careful out there!

[ABCD Farmer]

Got the electric bill and it is not pretty, but it is cheaper than a broken hip.  This is the first winter in some time that the heater in the outside waterer is working and all the tanks have heaters working.  My electric company loves me when it gets below freezing!!  We still have to drag a hose to fill all the tanks, but it is better than busting ice.  The barns are all plumbed for heated waterers, but just haven't splurged to put them all in yet.  After all, what did I have kids for??  They are extremely, well talented at dragging water hoses around!!  Do you think that may be why they are joining sports?  Just to get out of chores??

[manureseller]

Knock on wood that we have never had to deal with frozen pipes in this old house.  My parents old house was a bearcat for frozen pipes if there was a south wind.  I've even been able to keep the horse waterer unfroze this season...so far.  I'm hoping it keeps up like that and we've finally found a fix for the small rubber hose that feeds the waterer always freezing up. 

[Kay/NC]

Mike found the water frozne up to the office this morning, too.  That has to do with where it exits the poolhouse, where our pump and well are sited.  That ought to be an easy fix with a small mound of dirt. 

The house is a horse of another color...where we brought the supply out of the ground and up the house wall, is against the outside, with no insulation around it, for a short distance.  It is between the sheathing and the insulation...DUH!!! 

We need to get the guys to frame a thin "warmth" wall, for a few inches of fiberglass to protect it from the cold.  I'd rather do that than tear off all the siding on that section, since it's where all the mechanicals and electric enter, too.  Generator sits in fron to fit, so hard to do a lot of work behind.  I think i will aks them to build somethgin sort of funky/decorative. 

We did that to hide some piping from the boiler up the side corner of the front porch and house joining spot.  Had to go overhead there, since the house has a slab foundation/floor at that point.  I just figured out a way to encase that and blend it into the porch end.  We can do the same thing on this rear corner, and nto really look out of plae at all.  I may structure something along a birdhouse detail or somethig similar.   Son does cool saw cuts, and can build anything, given the time and materials. 

I think I've said here before:  There is not a lot you can do to make this house WORSE!  If we keep at it for another sixteen years and spend another small fortune, we may make it absolutely liveable....

[Kay/NC]

You are probably spot-on about the sports involvement.  I used to always say that school was the easiest thing I got to do growing up...I tried out for EVERY team, didn't you?  

[dairy mom]

Gotten cold here too.  No real problems though.  All the water for the cows  have heat tapes and as long as they don't get silly with the Ritchie waterers and get them open and mess up the float they are OK.  The 2 calf waterers freeze all the time, but they are now my sons responsibility and not that hard to thaw.  It's usually just the float on them, we've never had them freeze on the lines.  The one stupid frost free hydrant always freezes, at least the handle does, so takes a few hot towel applications to get the handle up.  It is also my son's job this winter to drag the hose for the tubs for the 2 pens of calves using them.  I have 12 calves in the hutches that I have to carry water for, but I fill buckets at the milk house and use the truck.  So other than cold on the hands I'm not really risking falling or putting too much more wear and tear on my shoulders.

Also this really cold stuff is suppose to end tonight, then back up to highs in the 20's and low's in the teens which is more doable. 

Biggest problem is the manure spreader had a problem so it's been 2 weeks with very little daily haul (winter time thing only).  So when everything is back in working condition some time this week we'll be shifting jobs around so oldest son can spend a couple of days getting caught back up and things cleaned up so stuff goes where it is suppose to..

The only other thing is my poor old dog witht the pelvic problem.  He was hurting really bad so let him spend the afternoon in the mud room warming up.  Maybe let him spend tonight down there, but he smells so bad.   He's almost 10 yrs old and had his pelvis broken as a pup when he was hit by a car.  Gets really stiff.  But like all the dogs here strickly outside.  Usually in with the calves and they do OK

[chick06]

I just know that I am glad I live where the temperatures are not really COLD. We are having nights in the mid teens. Our home is OK, but the Salon my daughter owns is an old house. She always leaves the water running, hot and cold, since last year the hot froze up. The water bill is cheaper than new pipes, plus losing money from clients.

[Ruby Lou]

we have a neighbor that lives down the road from us part of the year.  She only put her furnace at 40 degrees hopeing it would keep it warm enough.  Well sometime in December, it  froze hard enough to freeze her pipes.  They burst and flooded the house.  When she called us in late December to check her house before she was coming back, we found mold, soaked carpets, floors, etc.  We got ahold of a cleaning company and she called her insurance agent.  They have gutted the inside of the house.  It is a 100 year plus old house.  It is not her family home...actually it is my DH's ancestorial home.  I have not gone down, DH told me the first day, that it was no place for anyone to spend anytime in.  Another neighbor is away for awhile and we checked that house as asked and sure enough, the thermostat wasn't working right.  Could have been another disaster.  We have been told that in our area 52 degrees is the ideal temp if you are going to leave your house for winter.