There might be a better way to do it, but the only place we have a problem is with the line to the sink. Upstairs, downstairs, bathrooms, refrigerator etc are all working fine. As pumps said, I suspect there is an ice block in one of the bends that just hasn't melted enough yet. I'm getting a few drips but no flowing water. we're putting extra insulation between the barn doors and the house tonight and will leave some heat going inside the cabinet. As soon as it warms up a little next week we'll pull the boards off the front of the house, remove the foam and batt insulation, insulate the pipes and add the heat tape like we have in the barn, replace the insulation and the exterior boards. We have a 6" wall insulated, then the pipes are in an additional 6" wall which the plumber had built with plywood and insulation. To move anything we'd have to tear out the cabinets. True to MO, we had record heat in November, and almost overnight, record cold. A south wind brought 54 degree temp yesterday morning, dropping to 2 degrees last night with a freezing wind coming down from Alaska by way of Canada, bringing our first real snow with ice.
I agree with Dave about PEX. It's the best pipe to use in areas with freezing weather.
The problem, however, is that the connections are not breakproof. If they freeze, they just might cause a big problem. There's 2 ways to solve this: either a) have a manifold in one location with pipes going throughout the house from there, or b) have the pipes branch under the sinks so that there are links from one to another, similar to wiring outlets: one linking to another to another , and so on. In both cases, the connections are inside the house.
The main differences, I can see, is that to shut off the water to any sink or fixture, you have to have a centralized location for the manifolds and you will be running more PEX if you go the first route. Since you will be going from a central location to every sink, toilet, and bath, it's more time consuming. ALso, you need a place that is easy to get to in case you have to shut off the pipes for working on anything.
There is more pipage under the sinks in the second method - if you do this DO NOT use the plastic quick couplings that only need a squeeze to release: if you accidentally hit them when pushing your cleaning supplies toward the back of the vanity, you might accidentally disconnect and it makes a big mess; use the brass couplings as you need a special tool to disconnect. It would also be wise to put in valves on the pipes coming in and out, making this method a little more expensive, but faster to work on.
Sent: Sunday, December 18, 2016 4:25 PM
To: DoIt_Yourself@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [DIY] Need advice on insulating pipes inside wall to avoid freezing
OK, based on this theory — the kitchen forms an L with the short side on the south, the long side where the sink is to the west. The water to the refrigerator, to the left of the incoming pipes - is working fine. I know there is a bend behind the cooktop, where the pipes turn the corner and another at the sink area where they have a bend to accommodate the plumbing there. There is a ¼" gap in the wall where the pipes for the sink come out. I rigged a funnel to force heat from the hair dryer into this area. Since the insulation is all on the outside of the pipes, drilling into the exterior wall would entail pulling out all the insulation to access the pipes.
Posted by: "oakridgefarm@gmail.com" <oakridgefarm@gmail.com>
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