Our house was repiped several years ago and the PVC pipes run through the attic (almst no space up there)We have never had it freeze before and this morning there is zero water coming out (hot or cold) and the hot water heater is gurgling a bitWe havea different water line in our porch that freezes quite easily unless we trickle the water overnightIt usual fixes itself by mid-day as it warms upRight now we are a houseful or 6 with no water excepts bottles in the fridge! Should I.turn off water heater? Open faucet? Hot, cold, or both?
Generally when you run new water lines through the attic they use PEX water linesThe PEX water lines will hold up real good when frozenOpen both cold and hot water valves if they thaw during the day let them run slow / trickle until you get the freezing problem fixedTurn off the water heater if it’s electric, turn it back on when they thawThe reason they have frozen now and not before is we are experiencing a colder tempdrop than usualThe tube type insulation that most plumbers use and that LOWES, Home Depot EctSell have an “R” value of 2 that’s right (“R” Two) you will need to better insulate the plumbing or remember to trickle the water on the colder nightsI have just gone through the exact same problem and I researched the “R” Values to better understand why my previously never frozen pipes frozeI rolled a layer of Pink Panther “R” 30 across the pipes and they did not freeze againThey froze two nights in succession but not the third after rolling out the “R”30 insulation.
How will this affect me in my future life?
