Pipe froze

[Kman34]

So I’m up trying to thaw out the cold water pipe to my kitchen sink.. Stupid plumber piped it out under the outside overhang in my house.. Need to thaw it before it spilts.. I always leave the water running overnight to avoid this but was up looking at highlights and Cp till midnight.
Came up to go to bed and turn the faucet on and Shit.. I knew immediately..
Just waiting for it to thaw out.. Spent a half hour building a tarp tent and setting up a heater.. I can see how the players could stay warm playing cause I am sweating when i came in.. I’m going to have to babysit this damm thing till who knows when..

[wazu]

Damn, that sucks. The next 36 hours or so are pretty brutal. Hopefully your efforts at least keep it from bursting and doing lasting damage.

[Womble]

It thawed when I saw the 2nd Rashee Rice TD.

[BWillie]

I don't think my pipe has ever froze. I ejaculate too frequently

[Titty Meat]

I got a few different methods to warm up your pipe PM me

[Kman34]

I got a few different methods to warm up your pipe PM me

I could try soaking it in cider..

[Titty Meat]

I could try soaking it in cider..

Or anti freeze think about it what does anti mean in the word anti freeze?

[Kman34]

Been up all nite. still froze.. Damm you winter..

[ChiefsFanatic]

Been up all nite. still froze.. Damm you winter..I am sure people have given you all sort of advice.

When my pipes froze I used a blow dryer, and just walked the pipes for about 30 minutes, and it was good.

Then I actually wrapped all the pipes in pool noodles that had some flame retardant gel smeared on the inside. It creates a very effective insulation, and I never had an issue after that.

[Skyy God]

Rookie.

My pipes froze for like a week straight in 2021 during the polar vortex.

Handyman added a custom cover to a hidden crawlspace and the floors (tile and hardwood) are much warmer.

[displacedinMN]

that sucks. Hope you get it taken care of and fixed so you dont have to go through this crap again.

Also hope you have Monday off so you can catch up on sleep

[HonestChieffan]

what sucks is lots of times the pipe bursts as a result of the thawing. then its the suck.

[Bwana]

I rented an old farm house way back in the day and the insulation in that place was pretty much nonexistent. The insulation was newspaper. I had to deal with a frozen sink pipe all the time, on a north west facing wall. I would put a space heater near the opening and let it do its thing, which always cured it but what a pain. I would use some kind of pipe wrap when it's thawed, or go with something like this, if you have an outlet near?


https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71ih3mbdlFL._AC_SL1500_.jpg

[displacedinMN]

We did the same thing in a house we rented as a kid.

North facing, dad piled snow up to the house to stop air flow, along with hay bales.
I got the job of crawling in to plug in the tape. Old houses suck. That house is now gone.

[crayzkirk]

This happened to me last year and my house flooded because I was away. This year, I turn off the water and open the faucets to let the water drain out.

It only has to happen once. And yeah, same issue. Pipes go into overhang into the kitchen. Little insulation and west facing wall with the garage underneath. Pipe froze under the floor and split above.

[Rain Man]

Been up all nite. still froze.. Damm you winter..

I'm dealing with the same thing here. The weird part is that it's an internal pipe that is not even close to an exterior wall. But the pipe goes next to the vent pipe of the house that goes up to the roof, and the cold air comes down that vent pipe and freezes the water line. I just drilled a hole in my baseboard to try to get some hot air in there.

[notorious]

https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/MCAAAOSwazhlF00E/s-l1600.jpg

Blowtorches have a ton of uses.

Don't use one if it's PEX, though.

[Rainbarrel]

On the bright side, you find drafts that need closed off.

[Kman34]

https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/MCAAAOSwazhlF00E/s-l1600.jpg

Blowtorches have a ton of uses.

Don't use one if it's PEX, though.

It is Pex.. I finally got it done at 2 today.. Going to fall asleep to playoff football..

[notorious]

It is Pex.. I finally got it done at 2 today.. Going to fall asleep to playoff football..

Thank goodness it was pex. If not you might have a huge mess right now.

[ChiliConCarnage]

It is Pex.. I finally got it done at 2 today.. Going to fall asleep to playoff football..

Damn, that sucks. Glad its taken care of

[Titty Meat]

Welp water isnt draining in my shower now so imagine my pipes are freezing as well

[Rain Man]

I solved my problem with a major MacGyver move. The frozen pipe is in a vertical service tunnel and we can't reach it. So we got our shop vac and turned it on to blower mode and poked a hole in the wall to put the nozzle in. I blew ambient air from my home office down into the tunnel and within 10 minutes the pipe thawed.

I'm going to be running the shop vac every half hour for the next 2 days, but at least the pipe isn't frozen.

[Rain Man]

It took me a few tries to realize that there was no way to get to the frozen pipe. The other side of this wall is decorative wainscotting, so I couldn't go in from the other side. But pumping air into the wall did the trick.

[Titty Meat]

It took me a few tries to realize that there was no way to get to the frozen pipe. The other side of this wall is decorative wainscotting, so I couldn't go in from the other side. But pumping air into the wall did the trick.

Bet your wife wasn't happy with those holes in the wall

[neech]

I rented an old farm house way back in the day and the insulation in that place was pretty much nonexistent. The insulation was newspaper. I had to deal with a frozen sink pipe all the time, on a north west facing wall. I would put a space heater near the opening and let it do its thing, which always cured it but what a pain. I would use some kind of pipe wrap when it's thawed, or go with something like this, if you have an outlet near?


https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71ih3mbdlFL._AC_SL1500_.jpg

That looks like a great idea.

[Katipan]

It took me a few tries to realize that there was no way to get to the frozen pipe. The other side of this wall is decorative wainscotting, so I couldn't go in from the other side. But pumping air into the wall did the trick.

Do you live in the Marijuana Mansion?

[Rain Man]

Bet your wife wasn't happy with those holes in the wall

She's happy that there's not a waterfall of ice flowing down the back of our house right now.

It was kind of fun to saw holes through the wall. I never get to do that.

Do you live in the Marijuana Mansion?

The walls are apple green, not weed green. I live in the Apple Estate.

[displacedinMN]

Rain man- Can you leave it open this winter. Make a cut next summer and wrap it in heat tape then put in new wall.

[notorious]

Welp water isnt draining in my shower now so imagine my pipes are freezing as well

It's clogged by all the hair from the chicks you've been banging.

[Rain Man]

Rain man- Can you leave it open this winter. Make a cut next summer and wrap it in heat tape then put in new wall.

I went out and bought heat tape today, and was surprised that it wasn't sold out. But once we figured out the problem, there's no way to put heat tape on this pipe. It's got a vertical 20-foot run squeezed in with three plumbing pipes/vents and at least one electrical conduit. We decided that it's best to trim off the hole and put an antique furnace vent grate over it. When the temperature drops below zero, we can then blow warm air into it, or I may even consider putting some sort of vent fan in it that we can turn on in extreme weather.

We've lived in the house for 28 years, and it's been a problem the whole time, but only when we have two or more days of consistent subzero weather. It's always been temporary enough that we sweated it out, but it's stressful. We finally decided to bite the bullet and poke through the plaster, and it was enlightening. The pipe was coming from a completely different direction than we've always thought.

[R Clark]

Bet your wife wasn't happy with those holes in the wall

Better than a flooded house

[Shiver Me Timbers]

I went out and bought heat tape today, and was surprised that it wasn't sold out. But once we figured out the problem, there's no way to put heat tape on this pipe. It's got a vertical 20-foot run squeezed in with three plumbing pipes/vents and at least one electrical conduit. We decided that it's best to trim off the hole and put an antique furnace vent grate over it. When the temperature drops below zero, we can then blow warm air into it, or I may even consider putting some sort of vent fan in it that we can turn on in extreme weather.

We've lived in the house for 28 years, and it's been a problem the whole time, but only when we have two or more days of consistent subzero weather. It's always been temporary enough that we sweated it out, but it's stressful. We finally decided to bite the bullet and poke through the plaster, and it was enlightening. The pipe was coming from a completely different direction than we've always thought.

It probably just needs some air flowing.
If it is a vertical pipe run (between 2 studs) cut the plaster and put a vent up high and one down low. A small return air type vent cover will hide the plaster you cut out.

[srvy]

https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/MCAAAOSwazhlF00E/s-l1600.jpg

Blowtorches have a ton of uses.

Don't use one if it's PEX, though.

Yep

[tyecopeland]

I solved my problem with a major MacGyver move. The frozen pipe is in a vertical service tunnel and we can't reach it. So we got our shop vac and turned it on to blower mode and poked a hole in the wall to put the nozzle in. I blew ambient air from my home office down into the tunnel and within 10 minutes the pipe thawed.

I'm going to be running the shop vac every half hour for the next 2 days, but at least the pipe isn't frozen.

Eliminates the need for trash bags too. Win/win.

[cabletech94]

Gat Danged sump pump not pushing water out. Submersible pump to the rescue!! Except now the hose I put through the basement window has frozen outside!! Lol
(Outside discharge line has frozen)

Next option is to run hose to an empty aquarium. Winter is so much fun!!

Happy Monday!!

[R Clark]

It probably just needs some air flowing.
If it is a vertical pipe run (between 2 studs) cut the plaster and put a vent up high and one down low. A small return air type vent cover will hide the plaster you cut out.

Wouldn’t this work on a horizontal run as well?

[Shiver Me Timbers]

Wouldn’t this work on a horizontal run as well?

the framing (studs) will prohibit the (natural) convection effect. My suggestion utilizes the space between the studs as a "box". A horizontal pipe runs thru too many "boxes" that would need vented.