Hello, the bitter cold weather ruptured a water pipe in the attic of my home the first week of January. The water wiped out nearly everything in my home office while I was at work and the experience was pretty devastating.
Even though the damage has been repaired and the weather has warmed up I've been so worried about it happening again I've been turning off the water at the street every morning when I go to work.
Question: is there any reason why doing this could cause some long-term problem or is turning off the water at the street every day okay?

turning the water off does no harm but it depends on what fixtures or appliances you have that may need water. example would be the ice maker in the refrigerator or a humidifier in a warm air heating system.

Just turning off the water does not guarantee it will not break, just that it will not cause a flood, at least until the water is turned back on. The water has to be drained out of the pipes so it cannot freeze and crack the pipe.

If I were going to turn the water off every morning, I'd install an electric valve so that I could just flip a switch on the way out the door.
Unless something has been done about the insulation - heating of the attic, the pipes will freeze again when it gets that cold again.

Many thanks packy - I do have an ice maker but it makes so much ice I keep it turned off most of the time.


Thanks hj - yes, my main goal is to prevent a flood. That raises an interesting question - is it good practice to turn off the water at the street, open all the indoor and outdoor faucets and flush the toilets when the weather gets terribly cold?
Will doing these things remove enough water from my home's system to prevent the cold from rupturing pipes?
Around these parts, dangerously cold weather (this bad year) only lasts a couple of days then warms back up in the 50's until the next "blaster".


Thanks also North Carolina Plumber - the pipe that broke had a 1 inch foam rubber sleeve but was mounted across the top of unfinished flooring in the attic, unlike all the other pipes that were mounted below floor level and covered with a thick layer of blown-in insulation. I've added an extra thick 2 foot layer of blown-in insulation on top of the pipe that broke.



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re-run it below the flooring like all the others

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"Measure Twice & Cut Once" - Retired U.A. Local 1 & 638

if the pipe in the attic lays flat then shutting the main and opening faucets will not drain that pipe and it could/will freeze again.
laying a thick blanket of insulation on top of it will help since you are not fighting severe cold.
chances are that if you put a thermometer in the attic that you will only see temps in the 20's. this is cold enough to freeze pipes but no where as bad as below zero temps outside.

Many thanks, bernabeu. I'll have a plumber give me an estimate on re-running this pipe under the floor as you suggested. This pipe feeds an outside spigot on the front of my house. I'm thinking about having a plumber install a shut off valve on this pipe in the attic so I can turn it off during the winter months and hopefully avoid this awful situation again. Your thoughts?

when/if you 'valve it' use a 'stop and waste' ball valve

your specific piping arrangement will determine the installation in a WARM area



the valve will allow the complete draining by either breaking an 'air bind' or be an actual drain point - THINK before valve installation



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"Measure Twice & Cut Once" - Retired U.A. Local 1 & 638



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Thanks packy - I did put a thermometer in the attic out of curiosity and saw temperatures in the high 30's when it was 20 degrees outside.

Tell me if this sounds right -- from what I can gather, ruptures are caused when an ice blockage forms in the pipe and causes extreme pressure in the pipe by forcing water against an unopened downstream faucet. The expansion of freezing water in the pipe is less likely to cause a rupture than the pressure caused by a growing ice blockage pushing water against an unopened downstream spigot or faucet.

Is it safer to let all the faucets in the house drip or to turn off the water and open all the faucets? Both methods would appear to prevent pressure from building in the pipes.


Many thanks to all for their knowledge and experience - it's greatly appreciated!



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Much obliged, bernabeu. I've saved your post and photo to show a local plumber when he comes to give me estimates. Your professional insight is appreciated!



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quote; That raises an interesting question - is it good practice to turn off the water at the street, open all the indoor and outdoor faucets and flush the toilets when the weather gets terribly cold?

Opening a faucet at the "bottom" of the system for drainage and opening faucets at top to break any vacuums, should be enough. An electric "3 way valve" would shut down the system and open the drain for the system.

If you have access to run the pipe under the floor, why was it installed in the attic in the first place?

ruptures are caused when the ice has to expand outward, and that can be caused if freezing occurs at separated points and then works towards each other. You open the faucets so the water can drain out and NOT create a blockage.

Many thanks hj for the professional advice. I'm starting to feel a lot more confident about preventing this type of disaster in the future. Folks in the South are so unfamiliar with the troubles extremely cold weather can bring. This year has been very different from any other that I can remember since the late 70's!

The pipes that feed the bathroom on the second floor of my house appear to be between the floor of the second story and the first floor ceiling. The one that broke appeared to be installed almost as an afterthought and was mounted on top of the unfinished flooring to save time/effort. That's just my guess.

In your professional opinion is it safer to let faucets drip or turn off the water and open all the faucets?

turn off and open

(there is a SMALL, very small, possibility that a faucet left dripping could 'walk' fully open - ? if unattended ?)

also: the expense of making hot water CONSTANTLY

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"Measure Twice & Cut Once" - Retired U.A. Local 1 & 638

turn off and open will NOT guarantee that the pipe laying completely flat in the attic will drain.
if the pipe has some little slope to it, then it will be safe to shut off and drain.
I've winterized many summer cottages in my day, and flat pipes were always a problem..
by the way, Thomas, I laugh when you refer to a temperature in the 20's as 'extreme cold'..

Thanks again bernabeu for the quick, knowledgeable reply.

Thanks again also packy - the advice is invaluable. When you say flat pipes in winterized cottages were a problem, do you mean they ruptured even though the water was turned off and the faucets were open?

p.s. - we had 10 degree temps at night and daytime highs in the teens and low 20's for three days when my pipe burst. These temperatures are almost unheard of in this area of the country. We're used to 50-55 in the daytime and 30-35 at night throughout the winter. Yes, I'll bet it does sound funny to call 20 degrees extreme to folks in most other areas of the country!

quote; I laugh when you refer to a temperature in the 20's as 'extreme cold'..

I agree. Temperatures in the 20's are "sub arctic". Extreme cold is 45 degrees.

hj - you must be from Miami

I'm curious - in your opinion is it safer to let faucets drip or turn off the water and open all the faucets?

Either one, as long as the sink drain is not plugged. Dripping faucet is just easier to do.

I was thawing water a couple weeks ago when the air temperature was - 12, combined with a stiff 30 MPH wind made working conditions outside a bit rough.

hj - thanks once again.

North Carolina Plumber - sounds like the North Pole.


Got a related question if that's okay - the plumber that fixed my ruptured pipe said to let outside faucets drip in dangerously cold weather too. That can't be right??? What's your take?

wrong...
very wrong..

A dripping outside faucet can turn into an ice sculpture as the water freezes on the ground and starts building up from there. Even waterfalls can freeze if it is cold enough.

When i lived in the north land we would leave a faucet dripping when it was20 - 30 below. This worked great! No frozen pipes. I have never inatalled a remote electric valve but the thought has crossed my mind.

Many thanks to all the gurus at PLBG.com!



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