Frozen Pipes

This picture tells a terrible story!

Once every couple of years, I get a call from a Home Owner, Realtor, or Property Manager or Engineer with pipe that had burst as a result of Frigid Cold Temperatures!

The previous owner and relator's had left the water on as well as the heat turned off and the new home owner knew no better.

The water ran for days, all the way from the second floor to the basement, as well as out the brick and siding on the main floor. The walls in the back of the house, under the master bath, were damaged.

The vinyl flooring in the kitchen had to be removed. But the wood floor that wassoaked, was salvaged by the use of rescue mats and circulating air underneath the floor in the flutes on he underside and venting hot dry air from a dehumidifier underneath the ceiling and later was sanded and refinished.







With the advancements in drying technology, the drying would have taken a week less and required only a screening prior to refinishing instead of a full sanding. This would have saved years in the life of the floor by saving it from an additional sanding



















The house was so cold that during the demolition of some of the walls in basement, that the water had frozen on the inside of the wall between the exterior wall and insulation! What a way to get settled into a new house.

The pictures below are from another instance when the house was vacant and the homeowners wife went by the house and before leaving, turned off the

heat to save a few dollars while the house sat vacant.

The supply to the toilet in the master bath burst and flooded the kitchen below and the entire basement. Fortunately, the homeowner went by in the morning saw what had happened and turned off the water to the house before even more damage had occurred!

















So please learn from the mistakes of others and remember to turn off the water in any vacant property, even if the heat is left on! You never know when there is going to be a power outage resulting in in a house getting so cold that the water in the pipes to expand and burst the pipes.




Imagine the agony of knowing the power is off and not being able to get to the house/ property due to the weather. Don't let it happen to you!