Sub Zero Weather

Oh dear, brings back memories of our old family house. Edwardian - lots of lovely room,and nice and cool in heatwaves. BUT.....I think everyyear we were there, the dfainage pipe from the bath would freeze. Very narrow pipe, and I would have to spend some time up a ladder in the open, with my hair dryer on it to get it running again. Then there was the snow (lots of it) which always somehow blew into the loft and settled on the rafters between this and the next house. Always worried about leaving that, as once a thaw came it would have made a great deal of water up there. So, I would have to go up into that loft with a couple of buckets and then pass these down (full of snow), to kids to empty ouside and Pass back to me. Often, about six to eight bucket loads. Equally, despite lagging, the inlet pipe to the water tank would often freeze - again sorted with me and a hair dryer.

It was when that I was doing that last job, one Friday evening, that I slipped on the ladder to loft and fell very hard breaking my collar bone.

I do thank goodness that I have nothing like that these days,.

I live on a 4 acre plot we bought 20 years ago so the pipes that the plumber guessed were frozen is obviously on our land. I assume the pipes outside are as deep as regulations advised. My daughter, son and their families also live on the land. Daughter’s was frozen but has thawed today but mine hasn’t. I’m crossing my fingers it thaws tomorrow, I’ve got all the family coming for Christmas.

We've had problems. The washer would not work the inflow pipe which is in the utility room had frozen. We managed to thaw it and lag.
DH then checked the pipes outside which are from a new oil boiler installed last year. The pipe was horizontal instead of an incline I had remarked on the length when it was first installed. Dh took a screw end off and found the condensing water had frozen all along the pipe. He managed to get a lot out but ended up with acid burns on his hands. We phoned the installer on Tuesday he came and looked in the dark and he has finally been back today to change part of the arrangement. The soil is too hard to put the pipes any deeper.
No mention of cost yet but really it should be nothing this is a mistake on the part of the installer.
I really sympathise with you bobbydog, it is such a worry. The DD,s have phoned to say make sure the carbon monoxide alarms are working and neither of us has had a good night's sleep. Wondering what we will get up to.
They have not gritted here presumably because it is a weekend and the engineer could not get out of his village to come any earlier.
It is worrying to think about what might happen when everything thaws.
As a country, we just seem to wait for the worst and then try to act when it is too late.
Our water often goes off with leaks and the centre for collecting water is 6 miles away in one of the coldest towns in England. The joke is that the big reservoirs for Manchester are only miles away presumably those pipes are deep.It doesn't mater about the local yokels.

If the pipes are frozen before they get to your property line then the Water Company should be providing you with water and sending a repair team out, not letting you wait for the thaw.

If they are on your property then they should be deep enough not to freeze. Not sure if you will be able to drop them lower into the ground without it costing you a fortune, but probably better than not having any water. If it’s a new build then maybe the Developer should be involved?

We have an old bungalow and the mains water pipe is 3 feet down, no problems so far. Fingers crossed.

I hope the thaw comes soon and no burst pipes bobbydog

How awful for you bobbydog I guess you need a plan for when this happens, but how would you manage in a long frozen period? I was watching the programme about 'The Big Freeze' of 1963 and what we have now is nothing in comparison. Goodness knows how people managed out in the country (but they did). Is there a way of protecting your pipes so they don't freeze, or is it the mains that are affected?

Isn't there anyway you can insulate your pipes. Are they running above the surface. It is very rare for water company pipes to freeze, they are usually a couple of feet below ground.

Sympathies Maw, it’s awful isn’t it. You don’t realise how much you depend on running water until it isn’t there. I’m going through lots of bottled water though I’m being frugal with it.

In not on

What a nightmare for you, every sympathy .
If extremes of weather (which, frankly we have not had much experience of in the majority of the country) are to be the norm, it is jolly well time the powers-that-be started thinking about it.
At a trivial level, I am seriously considering replacing the front lawn with gravel and perhaps raised beds. It was like beige carpet for most of the summer. I refuse to waste water by sprinkling, but we may have to rethink our gardens if droughts are to become a regular occurrence.
We should also rethink heating, energy policies,insulation and building practices to cope with the cold.
And don’t get me started on those developers who build on flood plains - the clue is on the name.