C
cronos
Hi,
After discovering there was no mains water this morning, I've traced the problem part of the way. Looks like the blue plastic mains is frozen somewhere between the street mains and the stopcock under my sink. I've tried gently warming the 6 inches or so of the blue mains that I have access to - after that its under the floorboards. Set up a fan heater in that cupboard for a couple of hours today in the hope of getting some thawing - no joy. Also checked out the 2 feet or so of copper pipes to the sink but I'm 99% sure the blockage is in my crawlspace or garden.
I have a closed CH system so that still works, as does my hot water to the taps - with one exception.
The hot water to my sink is also off - I've traced that back and it goes under the floor at the same spot as the mains enters. My theory is that both pipes have frozen at the same spot - under the floor around the kitchen sink.
To add to the problem theres no hot or cold water to the downstairs cloakroom at the front of the house - they split from the hot and cold (mains) in the cupboard under the kitchen sink and disappear under the floor at the same spot as the blue mains.
Steps I've taken so far are:
- turned off mains at stopcock
- spoken to British Gas about my HomeCare agreement, although their stance was they only do burst pipes, not frozen (I see their point) - in any case they dont cover the mains
- thought about looking for the mains cock in the street to turn that off, but been put off by the 2 feet of snow covering the whole garden and pavement
- not using hot water taps at all to keep the water thats there for the CH
- using absolute minimum of cold water from tank for washing etc
- considered phoning Scottish Water to point out that even though the frozen pipe is likely on my property, if it bursts they'll be losing a lot of water.....
Been thinking as to why this has happened. House is reasonably new (10 years), in good condition, well maintained, heating hasnt been off for over a week now. It was bitterly cold today and Monday night (it was -14c at 3pm today), but it was a lot cold than that last winter.
Any hints, tips or advice would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers
After discovering there was no mains water this morning, I've traced the problem part of the way. Looks like the blue plastic mains is frozen somewhere between the street mains and the stopcock under my sink. I've tried gently warming the 6 inches or so of the blue mains that I have access to - after that its under the floorboards. Set up a fan heater in that cupboard for a couple of hours today in the hope of getting some thawing - no joy. Also checked out the 2 feet or so of copper pipes to the sink but I'm 99% sure the blockage is in my crawlspace or garden.
I have a closed CH system so that still works, as does my hot water to the taps - with one exception.
The hot water to my sink is also off - I've traced that back and it goes under the floor at the same spot as the mains enters. My theory is that both pipes have frozen at the same spot - under the floor around the kitchen sink.
To add to the problem theres no hot or cold water to the downstairs cloakroom at the front of the house - they split from the hot and cold (mains) in the cupboard under the kitchen sink and disappear under the floor at the same spot as the blue mains.
Steps I've taken so far are:
- turned off mains at stopcock
- spoken to British Gas about my HomeCare agreement, although their stance was they only do burst pipes, not frozen (I see their point) - in any case they dont cover the mains
- thought about looking for the mains cock in the street to turn that off, but been put off by the 2 feet of snow covering the whole garden and pavement
- not using hot water taps at all to keep the water thats there for the CH
- using absolute minimum of cold water from tank for washing etc
- considered phoning Scottish Water to point out that even though the frozen pipe is likely on my property, if it bursts they'll be losing a lot of water.....
Been thinking as to why this has happened. House is reasonably new (10 years), in good condition, well maintained, heating hasnt been off for over a week now. It was bitterly cold today and Monday night (it was -14c at 3pm today), but it was a lot cold than that last winter.
Any hints, tips or advice would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers
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