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ali-s

Frozen Pipes, and again in 2010

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:shock::shock::( We have no hot or cold water coming from the shower or the sink in the little WC, there is still water coming through the taps in the kitchen and the sink in the bathroom. It is bitterly cold here and the temperature was -10c at 6.30am this morning.

 

The stop cock is in the loft. I have no means of getting up there as the ladder has been removed due to the loft conversion work. The size of the loft hatch has been reduced as a result of a flooring joist being placed right actross the centre of the hatch, you have to be an acrobatic contorsionist to get through the hatch. Andy is trying to get away from work but may be a few hours yet.

 

I had to wash Natalie's hair over the bathroom sink using a plastic jug :roll:

 

Andy has told me that the pipes are plastic so hopefully a little more forgiving when they start to thaw :pray:

 

I blame the loft conversion which I wasn't over enthusiastic about from the beginning. Last week a 5 foot by 3 foot section of the kitchen ceiling came down after the builders removed some of the roof for a dormer window. they replaced the roof with chipboard and a tarpaulin, it then rained heavily and the water got in and the ceiling colapsed. The bathroom ceiling was also damaged slightly. I am now worried the pipes will burst and yet more ceiling will be destroyed.

 

I hope the temperature stays well below freezing today until Andy can get home.

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I hope you manage to get the pipes sorted as soon as possible Alison. As soon as the temperature rises slightly you will find out if you have a problem - best to be prepared.

 

Plastic pipes can be more forgiving......but they also have a tendency for any ice to blow the fittings apart! We found out in one of the outbuildings last year!

 

Being able to get to the stoptap will be a priority - do you know any small children you could shove into the attic? :wink:

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I am contemplating phoning round for a slim athletic plumber :wink: . No small children only Jack who is still in bed, for now :twisted:

 

Andy has phoned suggesting I go to B&Q to get a couple of oil heaters and get Jack to put them in the loft..... how :?:twisted:

 

The roof slaters are here, they might be conscripted to doing a bit of emergency plumbing.

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I would be interested to know just how cold it got here last night. I have just been in Natalie's bedroom and her canvas roman blinds are frozen to the windows :shock: Her bedroom heater was on between 8pm and 11pm last night and on between 6.30am and 8am this morning. The condensation on the porch windows and door is frozen and my plastic clogs were frozen to the porch doormat. I can't get into my car as all the doors and the boot are frozen too.

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Gosh Ali, I hope that you get it sorted and there aren't any horrendous leaks when it thaws.

 

That is very cold indeed!

 

I was reminiscing last night about the cold winters when we were young and only had 2 bar electric fires to keep us warm.... the inside of the leaded windows in my bedroom used to freeze, and the milk used to freeze out of the top of the bottles.

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yup, remember all that .. I was reminiscing about ice on the inside of the windows ('Jack Frost's been') and only having lino on the bedroom floor - no walking about without slippers on, you'd leap from the carpet square to the bed!

 

My double-glazing is defective, and has moisture in between the panes (keep meaning to get it fixed). I was amused to note that this had turned to ice-crystals yesterday morning.

 

It sounds VERY cold where you are ali-s - hope the friendly roofers can be persuaded to help.

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Fingers crossed the pipes have thawed out without them bursting :pray: with the help of a fan heater and an oil filled radiator.

 

Andy got home at 3.45pm :roll:

 

It is actually not that cold in the loft and we think we have found out why the pipes froze. As part of the loft conversion :twisted: we have had air vents fitted along the roof, the vents are directly below the pipes so lots of lovely freezing coldness gets in :twisted: I am wondering if the vents are necessary :? they probably are due to some regulation or other :roll:

 

It did get warmer today, at one point it was a balmy -7c :lol:

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We have had vents fitted on both sides of the house. Its the vents on the North side where the pipes are that are the problem. Andy is going to put extra lagging round the pipes and extra loft insulation underneath the pipes as well, it will be a shame if the vents accidently get completly covered over :wink:

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Hope you get it all sorted. The kitchen waste pipe from our two sinks, dishwasher and washing machine all comes together and then goes into a pipe that is outside for about 3 feet before it goes into the drain. It isn't a fab design and this morning it was frozen, so when I washed up the water didn't drain away. Luckily I'd only used warm water and it gradually melted the pipe and there was no burst.

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My neighbour is in India and I am going in to check house out. Put her heating on constant as it was so chilly in there. Big heating bill or frozen pipes I know which I'd prefer. i was saying to OH every time I go in her house - having mastered alarm I hear a "thump" like something being dropped on floor :anxious: I get really spooked. I dont think theres anyone in house, but will be glad when shes back.

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Woke this morning to find the temporary plaster board on part of the kitchen ceiling wet and a pool of water on the worktop. Frantic phone call to Andy who assured me it wasn't the pipes leaking but the chipboard in window space of the new dormer. The snow is now melting and the so called watertight dormer is not watertight at all :twisted: Andy had already been in the loft mopping up before he went to work. Later I found another pool of water in the bathroom on the floor and on and around the electric storage heater :shock: , the heater is now switched off.

 

I had a lovely warm shower this morning :D

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Nearly a year ago since I posted about our frozen pipes.

 

Got up this morning and we have frozen pipes again, affecting the little WC and the shower. OH made sure there was extra insulation around all the pipes after they froze last year. guess I will be washing DD hair over the kitchen sink as she will not go to school if her hair in not perfect :roll:

 

I was out last night with OH and when we left town at 9.30pm the car was registering a temp of -9c, five mile drive home and the temperature dropped to -17c as we parked outside our house.

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I have decided to take a day off from work. I have gone to work on foot for 6 days and walked home again on 4 of those days in minus temperatures. I want to keep the water flowing in the kitchen and the bathroom so I am running the taps now and again.

 

The frozen pipes run under the floor of DS bedroom, formerly the loft so getting to them is going to be tricky :? OH went over the top with the insulation round the pipes because of of the difficulty getting to them if they froze again. OH will probably have to lift the flooring to gain access - nightmare :(

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