Current score - Pipes 2 Homewner 0

Just call me Plumber PJ. It has been very, very cold here this last week and this week is even going to be colder. This type of weather isn’t unusual for this area, but we haven’t had it for a while. We moved last year to a new home and I am still not completely familiar with all its maintenance issues and quirks, yet. We did find out last year that our bathroom had pipes that ran in an outside wall, or did they? Our pipes froze last year when the outside temp was around 28 degrees. According to the plumber this is unusual as it takes around 22 or so before they freeze. But, what do I know last I checked water started to freeze at 32 degrees. Anyway the pipes last year worked themselves out with some strange method the plumber suggested, or did they?

Ah, where is she going with this? Well, turns out we woke up to frozen pipes on Saturday morning. After trying the last year’s plumber’s “method” for 8 hours I finally called a different plumber. And, yes we do have piping in an outside wall, but turns out not the water pipes the former plumber thought were there. When the kind and knowledge current plumber took my word based on the last guy and cut a large hole in the wall we learned the pipe in question was a drainpipe. So, based on the hunch I had last year, which the first plumber dismissed as just female nonsense this plumber looked and suddenly found the builder for this home did indeed run exposed water pipes in the attic above a non-insulated garage. Before yesterday the farthest I have ever been in our attic was standing on the ladder going “here Honey can you put this up there too?”

So, when I came back from one of the large do-it-yourself retail stores this afternoon with dry wall repair supplies (yes, I’m the handyman in the family) to repair the oversize hole in the wall, I was a little befuddled to learn yet again we had frozen pipes. Only this time it was the hot water not cold. #&*@! Excuse my swearing, but now I had to really buckle down and crawl around the attic into this creepy corner to try a hair dryer and hope the pipe wasn’t cracked. Fortunately for me I had asked the kindly plumber yesterday for tips to help if this happened again. Yes, I did let the water drip from every faucet as I had been doing for the last week. (I forgot one on Friday night, which is why our bath went dry as they say.)

Lesson learned is next time at home repair store get some insulation with the dry wall supplies. Will need sooner than you think. No, I am not going back to the store as it is the current high for the day of 14 degrees. Plus, I just can’t stand the thought of being in that attic again freezing my fingers and trying not to get any more splinters in them for today. So, I am going against my better judgment and running both the hot and cold all night until tomorrow.