
Serving the Houston Metro Area Since 1996

Cold Weather Preparedness Information

As temperatures fall toward freeze overnight there are things that you need to do to prevent damage to your home.

We have created this “Hard Freeze Homeowners Checklist’ to help with your maintenance.

Preparing for freezing temperatures is easy and takes only a fee minutes and can extend the overall life of many expensive items in your home and can even prevent major costly damage.

As these cooler temperatures approaches, we here at Goodspeed Inspection Services know how important it is to be prepared. If you have any questions about items on this list, please feel free to give us a call.

Thank you,

Goodspeed Inspection Services, Inc.

PS. Please feel free to print out this document for yourself and your clients.

CLICK HERE FOR A PRINTER FRIENDLY VERSION

281-403-1010 office

Cold Weather Homeowner Checklist

Homeowners in the Houston Metropolitan area should give special attention to exposed water pipes during the winter months. Freezing pipes are a problem in warmer climates where they often run through un-insulated or under-insulated attics or crawl spaces. Although we only have a few cold snaps per season, it's still necessary to protect exposed water pipes. The “Texas Insurance Council” recommends taking action to protect your water supply system when temperatures drop into the 20’s. Leaving pipes unprotected can cause them to burst, which can result in a tremendous amount of damage to the home and the contents inside.

You can drastically reduce your chance of property damage by preparing your water pipes before a hard freeze. The following suggestions can help you accomplish this task.

Water pipes have the potential to freeze and burst when the outside temperature reaches into the 20’s °F or below. Pipes that are most vulnerable to freeze are usually exposed to severe cold, such as:

outdoor hose bibs,
swimming pool supply lines,
water sprinkler lines,
water pipes in basements,
water pipes in crawl spaces,
water pipes in attics,
water pipes in garages, and
water pipes that run against exterior walls that have little or no insulation.

Actions to take to protect your property

Insulate water pipes that are exposed in the crawl space, attic, garage and exterior of the house,
Drain your yard sprinkler system backflow device (see below).
Insulate your sprinkler system pipes and backflow prevention device.
Disconnect all outside hoses from the faucet and insulate the faucet.
Keep your pool or spa pumps running while temperatures are below freezing.
Insulate pipes in unheated areas such as the crawl space, attic, and garage. Use insulating tape or molded pipe sleeve, wrap it over the entire length of exposed pipe. Cover all exposed valves, pipe fittings, etc. with insulating tape or fiberglass. (Check your hardware store for supplies).
Let the water run if the temperature dips below freezing. (A stream slightly smaller than a pencil width should be sufficient). Faucets farthest from the street should be the ones left running. Using cold water will save on your gas or electric bill. (Your city of residency and/or Goodspeed Inspection Services, Inc. WILL NOT reimburse you for any water used as a preventative measure during freezing conditions.)
If you do not have foam pipe insulation, you can use newspapers, towels, rags, blankets or any other similar materials to temporarily protect your pipes.

If you are leaving town, you should take the following precautions

Option 1. Shut off and drain your water system if you are leaving home for several days. (Turn off the water heater before draining the system). Leaving your heater on a low setting while you are gone helps, but may not prevent freezing. Turn off the main shut off valve at the meter then go through the house and turn on all faucets, sinks, tubs, showers, etc., and flush the toilets. Turning on the faucets allows the system to expand if pipes do in fact freeze.
Option 2. Open cupboard and closet doors. Leaving the cupboard and closet doors open when the temperature is below freezing, allows pipes behind the cupboard and closet doors to get more heat. Set the heating thermostat to no less than 55 deg. Have someone check on your property daily.

Prepare While the Climate Is Warm

Drain water from the swimming pool and water sprinkler supply lines, following manufacturer's or installer's directions. Do not put antifreeze in these lines. Antifreeze is environmentally harmful and is dangerous to humans, pets, wildlife, and landscaping.
Remove and drain outdoor hoses. Store in a shed or garage. Close inside valves supplying outdoor hose bibs if possible. Cover hose bibs with insulated covers.
Check around the home for other areas where water supply lines are located and are in unheated areas. Look in the basement, crawl space, attic, garage, and under kitchen and bathroom cabinets. A hot water supply line can freeze just as a cold water supply line can freeze if the water is not running through the pipe and the water temperature in the pipe is cold.
Consider installing products made to insulate water pipes like a "pipe sleeve" or installing UL-listed "heat tape," "heat cable," or similar materials on exposed water pipes. Many products are available at your local building supplies retailer. Newspaper can also provide some protection to exposed pipes as long as the cold temperatures are not frequent or prolonged.

Take Action during Cold Weather

Keep the garage door closed if there are water supply lines located inside.
Open kitchen and bathroom cabinet doors to allow warm air to circulate around the plumbing.
Keep the heating thermostat set at a consistent temperature both day and night.
If going out of town during cold weather, leave the heat on in your home. Set the thermostat to a temperature no lower than 55 °F, and open cabinet doors where there is plumbing.
If you are going out of town and have a heat pump system, and if the temperature is forecast to be extremely low, you may need to switch the setting to emergency heat and reduce the thermostat setting to 55 °F.

Thawing Frozen Pipes after the Storm

Open all faucets throughout the house.
If you suspect that the pipe is frozen; keep the faucet open. Water will begin to flow as you treat the frozen area, which will help to melt more ice in the pipe.
Make sure you know where the main water valve is located outside of your home. The frozen pipe may already be broken, and it will leak when the water is thawed. If this is the case, you'll need to turn off the main water valve to your home until the leak is repaired.
Apply heat to the frozen portion of the pipe. This can be accomplished by using the following sources of heat: a heating pad, electric hair dryer, a portable space heater, or wrapping pipes with towels soaked in hot water. Make sure that electrical cords do not come into contact with water. Do not attempt to use a blowtorch, kerosene or propane heater, charcoal stove, or other open flame devices; they present a serious fire hazard as well as release lethal carbon monoxide fumes into the air.
Apply heat until full water pressure is restored. Call a licensed plumber if you are unable to locate the frozen area, if the frozen area is not within reach, or if you can't get the pipe to thaw.
Inspect all other faucets in your home to find out if additional pipes are frozen. If one pipe freezes, others may freeze also.

Miscellaneous

Locate and know how to operate the main gas valve at the gas meter.
Locate and know how to operate the main water shut-off valve at the house and at the street main water meter. You may need to shut off the water into the house if a pipe bursts.
Locate and know how to operate the main electrical disconnect to shut off all the power to the house.
Locate and know how to operate the gas shut-off valves at each gas appliance throughout the house.
Locate and know how to operate the water shut-off valve at the water heater.
Locate and change the batteries in your Carbon Monoxide detectors and Smoke detectors.

What NOT TO DO!

DO NOT attempt to use a blowtorch, kerosene or propane heater, charcoal stove, or other open flame devices; they present a serious fire hazard as well as release lethal carbon monoxide fumes into the air.
DO NOT use a stove or oven as a heating source.
DO NOT use antifreeze in toilets or pipes. Antifreeze is a toxic substance that can harm the environment or you and your pets.

CLICK HERE FOR A PRINTER FRIENDLY VERSION

Sprinkler System Backflow Device
In Houston last year thousands of these device froze and exploded when they thawed.

You need to either drain your sprinkler system backflow device or fully insulate the pipes, valve and the canopy/bell to prevent freezing and damage to the valve, bell/canopy or pipes. It is very easy and only takes minutes. Below are some commonly found devices in the Houston area. All sprinkler systems are required to have a backflow device installed, it may look like these shown below or it may look different. Normally they are located outside on the same side of the house as the underground main water supply line and main water supply valve. If you cannot find this device is may be hiding behind the bushes. If you still cannot find it please call a plumber, sprinkler company or maintenance company.

Water flow through these devices is normally in the upward direction through the vertical pipe into the valve then out of the valve through the horizontal pipe to the sprinkler pipes and heads. That is up through #2 Isolation Ball Valve Inlet then passing through #1 PVB Test Cock then horizontally through #3 Isolation Ball valve. (See Figure 1. below.)

To turn this device off and drain, turn off the automatic controls at the control box. Then rotate #2 Isolation Ball Valve Inlet handle so that it is perpendicular to pipe(handle is in a Tee position to the pipe). Then using a flat head screw driver rotate the #1 PBV Test cock valves so that the slots are parallel or inline with the opening of the test cock, you will know if they are open as water will spray out when they open. This water will stop as the pressure is released from the sprinkler head side of the system. That's it. Wrap the valve and pipes with insulation or towels just to be safe. Turn on system after the freeze event is over.

                                                                                                                 Figure 1.
                                                                                                          1. PVB test Cock
                                                                                                          2. Isolation Ball Valve Inlet
                                                                                                          3. Isolation Ball Outlet

CLICK HERE FOR A PRINTER FRIENDLY VERSION

WARNING!

If you are unsure of how to conduct freeze prevention, it is recommended that you contact a professional. Goodspeed Inspection Services, Inc. will not be held responsible for any information contained in this informative document and for any actions that you do or do not take to protect your home

Robert J.P. Goodspeed

Serving the Houston Metro area since 1996

281-403-1010 office www.GoodspeedInspection.com office@goodspeedinspection.com

Goodspeed Inspection Services Phone QR Code

Mr. Goodspeed has been in the construction inspection industry since 1987. He has conducted thousands of quality fee paid residential & commercial real estate structural/mechanical inspections & light industrial and Wood Destroying Insect inspections in the Houston metropolitan area since 1996.

Memberships & Licenses held by Mr. Goodspeed:
Texas Real Estate Commission, Professional Inspector #4100
American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI), Certified Inspector #204556
Texas Structural Pest Control Board, Business License #12068
Texas Structural Pest Control Board, Certified Applicator #41764
Certified Pool/Spa Operator #77-54953
Texas Association of Real Estate Inspectors, Advanced Inspector
Fort Bend County Chapter of Texas Association of Real Estate Inspectors Board of Directors

Licensed and Regulated by the Texas Department of Agriculture, Structural Pest Control Service,
PO Box 12847, Austin, Texas 78711-2847, (512) 305-8250.

Licensed and Regulated by the Texas Department Real Estate Commission.

Copy write protected by Goodspeed Inspection Services, Inc. 2011