Not trying to derail another thread , but trying to put some information out there.

Keeping a faucet dripping during very cold weather helps a lot during cold spikes.



I've posted this here before , but I've got to post it again to help others.


If you have an automatic ice maker in your refrigerator , dump the ice out so it makes more. Having it doing that is like turning on the faucet every half hour or so , keeping the water flowing. Dripping is still good , but a full type flow every 30-45 minutes or so , is a huge help.

What do you do ? Or tips you have that help ?

Have a house with the plumbing located in the basement and in interior walls. Avoid exterior wall placement as much as possible.

80-100 year old farm house (two different builds). Our rural water is cheap so mine is a real light flow versus drip. Leave kitchen and bathroom sink cabinet doors open. Pray.

If we have the snow I bank around the house the main water line coming in is wrapped with heat tape. I built a retaining wall in front of the house that faces north with treated lumber and old cedar decking material. Here in the flats lot of trees around the home places it makes a big difference they grow faster then I expected they would.

Wood boiler I ran the line where the plumbing runs so the heat from the Pex heats the plumbing so it won’t freeze.

My hot water lines from the outside wood burner run under the house. Between that and the duct work it stays above freezing bat least the last 10 years. I do drip the downstairs tub and sink. It would require ma ripping out the floor to access that room and its on an exterior wall further away from the rest of the heat source. Just precaution.

Its an over 10 year old farm house with 4 additions that look like Fred Sanford planed them over the years. The furnace and extra heater in the living room won't shut off when its gets below 12 and the house will be cooler than I prefer. Once you not in th center of the house. Single digits really notice the old houses drafts. Its 71 inside now but im feeling cool. Probably just chilled from being outside.

Obviously there is huge difference in what needs to be done on 100 year old farm house Vs houses built to code in the south, Vs codes in the north. I've custom built homes for 35 years and the number 1 thing I would invest in on a build is air sealing and insulation detail/practices that far exceed minimal building codes. Hard to swallow sometimes investing an additional 6-10K up front, but the payback is awesome. I have a 2000sqft elevated ranch with 2x4 walls and only burn 2 tanks of LP a year. I did a re-build of a house that burnt down that was 3900 sqft. The old house burnt 5-6 tanks a year. New house is barely 3 tanks and the average electric bill is less than half.

On some old farm house additions I've done, we added a circulation lines that went to the furthest fixture in the house. Keeps water flowing in the lines 24/7 with a low voltage DC pump. Keeps hot water at the fixtures all the time and cold water flowing so it doesn't freeze.

Our incoming water line is on the northwest exterior wall of the house. The house is on a slab. Never understood why the previous owners let the builder do that. Didn't even have pipe insulation on it when we bought it. I put pipe insulation on it and wrapped it with tan duct tape (matches the siding). I built a 3 sided box out of treated plywood and put a heat lamp in it every winter to keep it from freezing. Never had it freeze yet. Did the same thing for my exterior faucet at my shop. I keep a heat lamp under my shop sink to keep it warm too.

Never had a problem (so far) with freezing pipes. I do get a tad concerned about the line from the well to the house and yard hydrants if we have cold but no snow. Snow insulates well.
I sometimes wonder about septic system issues.

Around here letting a faucet drip would likely freeze the sewer line before it got to the septic tank.