Why Coastal Houses Freeze Differently

Fairhaven has a housing stock that makes winter plumbing failures more likely than the temperature alone would suggest. Older homes near the harbor were often built and added onto in stages, which leaves supply lines running through crawl spaces, unheated additions, and exterior walls that were never insulated with freezing in mind. Wind coming off the water pulls heat out of those spaces faster than a thermometer on the porch will tell you.

The result is that pipes here tend to freeze at specific, findable places rather than randomly. Knowing where those places are in your own house is most of the work. This article covers what to check before cold weather, what to do differently if the house sits empty for part of the year, and what to do in the first minutes of an actual freeze.

Find Your Freeze Points Before December

Walk the house and trace where water actually runs. You are looking for any pipe that is outside the heated envelope or close to its edge.

• Crawl spaces and unheated basements. Look for supply lines running near vents or foundation openings that stay open through winter.
• Exterior walls. Kitchen sinks on outside walls are a common failure point, especially where the cabinet blocks warm air from reaching the pipes.
• Additions and enclosed porches. Spaces that were converted from unheated to heated often kept their original uninsulated plumbing.
• Attic runs. Any supply line above insulation is in an unheated space by definition.
• Garages and outbuildings. Utility sinks and hose connections here freeze first.

For each one, decide on a fix now rather than in January. Options range from air sealing the space, adding insulation around the pipe rather than only around the room, opening cabinet doors during cold snaps, and in some cases rerouting a run so it sits inside the heated envelope. Rerouting is more work up front and eliminates the problem permanently, which is often worth it on a line that has frozen before.

Outside Connections

Hose bibs cause a lot of damage because the split often happens inside the wall while the visible fixture looks fine. The break is only discovered when the line is pressurized again in spring, sometimes with nobody home.

Before the first hard freeze, disconnect every hose. A hose left attached traps water in the bib and defeats a frost free design. Then shut off the interior valve serving each outside connection if you have one, open the outside spigot, and let it drain fully. Leave it open through the winter. If you have an irrigation system, have it blown out rather than assuming it drained on its own.

If the House Sits Empty

Seasonal properties and houses left empty during a long trip need more than a lowered thermostat. A heating failure in an occupied house is an inconvenience. The same failure in an empty house can run water for days.

There are two reasonable approaches, and mixing them halfway is what causes trouble.

Keep it heated and monitored

Leave the heat on at a temperature that protects the coldest part of the house rather than the part where the thermostat hangs. Add a temperature alarm that will contact you or a neighbor if the house drops below a set point, and arrange for someone local to check in and to have access. Make sure that person knows where the main shutoff is and how to use it.

Shut down and drain

A full shutdown means closing the main, draining the supply system from the lowest fixtures, draining the water heater, clearing traps and adding the appropriate antifreeze made for plumbing systems, and addressing anything that holds water including washing machines, dishwashers, ice makers, and boilers. If the house has a well, the pump and pressure tank need attention as well.

Done properly a shutdown is the more reliable option for a house that will be empty for months. Done partially it is worse than doing nothing, because the remaining water sits in a system nobody is watching. If you have not done it before, have it done once with you present so you learn the sequence for your specific house.

When a Pipe Freezes

If a faucet gives you nothing or only a trickle on a cold morning, treat it as a frozen line and act before it becomes a burst line.

1. Open the affected faucet so melting water has somewhere to go and pressure can release.
2. Find the main shutoff and be ready to use it. If the pipe has already split, you will not know until the ice clears.
3. Warm the area gently. A space heater in the room, a hair dryer along the pipe, or towels soaked in hot water all work. Start near the faucet and move back toward the cold section.
4. Do not use an open flame. This is a common cause of house fires during cold snaps, and it can damage the pipe as well.
5. Watch for water once flow returns. A split often does not reveal itself until the ice melts.

If you cannot reach the frozen section, if the line runs inside a wall, or if you see any sign of a leak, shut the water off at the main and call for help rather than continuing to thaw it.

Salt Air and Long Term Wear

Coastal air is hard on the visible parts of a plumbing system. It is worth looking once a year at exposed fittings, shutoff valves, and the water heater's connections for corrosion, particularly in basements and crawl spaces that stay damp.

Shutoff valves matter most here. A valve that has corroded in place is useless in the moment you need it, and that moment is usually an emergency. Exercise the main and the fixture stops once a year by closing and reopening them. A valve that will not turn, or that weeps after being moved, should be replaced on a calm day rather than discovered during a leak.

Talk To Us

If you want your freeze points identified, a seasonal shutdown handled properly, or a corroded shutoff replaced before winter, contact our office and we will schedule a visit.