Ben woke up this morning to discover we couldn't use the shower because our cold water pipe was frozen solid. No we weren't shocked since the pipes back up to the garage where there is no heat or room for insulation. We had planned on installing heat trace around the pipes anyway, but the temperature dropped a little too quickly and we never actually got to cross that off our list. So as the temperatures dropped way into the single digits (weren't we at 2 degrees last night?) the water began to froze.
So tonight, when Ben got home from work he spent what seemed like hours positioned "in" the wall like so..
wrapping the pipes with heat trace- a wire that conducts heat, then wrapping the wires with insulation in hopes that tonight's 5 degree temperatures don't cause another freeze.
Careful with that tape! Ask any fire safety person and they will tell you that heat tape is dangerous and should only be used as a very temporary solution. You're better off bumping out 6 inches or so into your garage, build a wall, and insulate for real.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the advice! It is a pretty temporary solution as we will be turning the garage into a room- we'll both insulate the walls and install a heat source in the garage. I definitely wouldn't want to use it long term!
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