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With this cold weather comes frozen pipes… Some tips to keep your water flowing!

JJ McLellan

JJ McLellan – Broken Pipe – Froze and burst!

When water freezes it expands, this is why if your pipes freeze they can and will burst – such as in the photo!

Open your cupboard doors – If you are worried about your pipes freezing and the potential of bursting… If you have pipes/taps on outside walls, open your cupboard doors to allow heat from your home in.

Heat from a lamp – If that doesn’t help plug a lamp in and put it under the sink (safely… not near anything flammable!) the heat from the bulb will help.

Run water – If you are really concerned, turn on the tap and let it run, a small consistent stream will help prevent freezing.

Insulate – If your home is very old and does not have a lot of insulation in the walls you could add some foam board insulation to the back of your kitchen cabinet to help prevent freezing.

What if I dont have a basement? If you live in a mobile home or a home with a crawl space, ensure you have heat tape for your pipes and that the underneath of the home is properly insulated and sealed! If your home was built on a slab on grade most likely you will have in floor heating, ensure the heating system is kept at a consistent temperature and have your system maintained regularly.

Getting away from the cold – If you are going away ensure you have someone checking on your home at least once a day – twice in cold weather like this.

Consistency – When the weather turns cold it is very important to keep your thermostat at a consistent temperature even during the night. Set your thermostat at a comfortable level and leave it.

Its too late… what should you do?

If your pipes have froze you can try to thaw them yourself. First open your taps, second use a heat source such as a hair dryer or a small portable heater. Be very careful to ensure you remove anything flammable prior to applying heat – especially in the kitchen if there are cleaners in the cabinets.

If you are not able to get your pipes thawed its time to call the professionals. Our plumbers have dealt with many frozen pipes! Either way once you get your problem solved – ensure you will be ok for the next deep freeze with proper insulation such as wall insulation, floor insulation, pipe insulation and heat tape.

Do not wait until you have issues to take preventative action. Ensure you have proper wall insulation, ensure the underside of your home (this includes basements) is insulated properly. If you are already planning a renovation pipes can be re-routed to lessen the chance of freezing. Unless you are considering gutting an older home back to the studs to completely re-insulate the home, sometimes in an older home re-routing the plumbing is the best option to get the pipes off of an outside wall. The costs for preventative maintenance will be well worth the costs you could face if your pipes freeze and burst!

Unsure of what you should do? Feel free to give Mike our Comfort Advisor a call he would be happy to recommend some options for you to ensure your home is safe!

Stay Warm!!!

How to prevent water pipes from freezing and breaking!

How to prevent water pipes from freezing and breaking!

-Ensure you have a source of heat in the location where pipes are located.

-If your pipes are located in a crawl space without heat ensure they are properly insulated.

-Have a small heater to use in an emergency if you need to thaw lines.

-Leave your cupboard doors open if your pipes are located on an outside wall.

-Check your pipes during very cold weather. If the pipes freeze, thaw, freeze, thaw they could cause a breakage such as the one in the photos where the pipe was literally broke apart.

-Ensure that you have water shut off valves (such as the one with the blue handle) so that IF you did have a leak or breakage you would not have to shut off all your water to your entire home.

-If you know you are going to be away for an extended period of time OR are without hydro/heat ensure you have some antifreeze on hand to winterize your pipes and prevent any breakage.

Thinking of fall… think of a Regency Gas Fireplace to cozy up to!

Regency new direct vent L965E & HZ965E - May 2012
Photo courtesy of Regency.

Fall is upon us, along with cool evenings! What better way to warm up than with a gas fireplace from Regency! Enjoy the convenience and ease of an energy efficient gas fireplace, comfortable heat with the flick of a switch!

You can also rest assured that your Regency Fireplace will provide you with years of comfort as they have a lifetime warranty on some of the very important parts of the fireplace.

Directly from the Regency Website below…

The Regency Limited Lifetime Warranty covers:

Gas Products:
Combustion chamber
Heat exchanger
Burner tubes / pans
Ceramic glass
Brick panels
Gold plating
Embers, pebbles, crystals, stones