Are the pipes frozen? :( need help please.

ShadowHearth

so since yesterday we got no water in bathroom. not in sinks, not in toilet, not in electric shower...

we got water in kitchen thought, with no preasure problems etc.


its an old house so it might be 2 systems, very believable...

It happened yeasterday in the evening, so it might be frozen pipes? or no preasure? It was really damn cold in co. cork...

what would be my plan of actions? i am useless plummer, and i would need to go to basics guys. by the boiler in dark room i have 2 valves coming from attick. so might be those main valves? or where should i even look for them?

there is water in attick reservuar i presume, as i still get water in kitchen, so problem in a trail of pipes from attick in to bathroom?

thanks for anyhelp, really desparate guys, cant even take shawer for work

runawaybishop

Kitchen tap is fed directly from the mains, so it is possible the pipes in the attic are frozen. Nip into the attic and see if you have water in the tank, if not then its possible the pipes froze before reaching there. Could be time to whip out the hairdryer and hot water bottles.

wobbles-grogan

Be careful. If their is water in the tank in the attic then the pipes inside your walls are frozen solid.

Theres a good possibility the ice would have cracked some of them so when the water thaws it will leek and flood your house. Best thing to do is check the tank up stairs, if it has water/ice in it then you can be damn sure your pipes are frozen and you need to ring a plumber.

If theres no water in it then the pipe leading to the tank is frozen and you *shoud* be ok...

Edit:
tbh its best to ring the plumber anyway.

ShadowHearth

so either way its better to call landlord and say the problem, to get a plummer, right?

wobbles-grogan

ShadowHearth wrote: »

so either way its better to call landlord and say the problem, to get a plummer, right?

Yes!

runawaybishop

in rented accommodation yes, call the landlord asap.

ShadowHearth

called twice, not picking up, left a message too... :rolleyes:


thx for advice guys...

ShadowHearth

update:

i couldnt get to landlord, so i started one of fireplaces, which directly heats up boiler. now i got cold/warm water in bathroom taps, but electrical shower still not getting any water. what could i check? maybe theres air in pipes, or that pipe still did not defrosted?

Sparkpea

pipe to electric shower is still frozen. I advise you turn off your water mains over night and when you are not in the house as this pipe will likely burst and you'll have a water fall to deal with when u come home

Mint Sauce

Silly question here. Woke up this morning to no cold water in the ensuite, pressure low in the hot tap, then discovered later lunchtime no flush in toilet.

Filled bucket from kitchen taps to flush toilet, by time got back up stairs cold tap was running, and flush now working.

Now have also had hot water (emersion) on all morning, hot water tank is positioned some where behind ensuite, if in the event pipes were frozen could heat from tank have resloved things or would it have been running of the kitchen taps that done it.

When flushed toliet water was abit grainny and murky, as was water in kitchen tap earlier in morning, usally I would have thought this was a sign that the water had been turned off although council have told me water was not off and no work been done in our area.

runawaybishop

irish-stew wrote: »

Silly question here. Woke up this morning to no cold water in the ensuite, pressure low in the hot tap, then discovered later lunchtime no flush in toilet.

Definitely a frozen pipe somewhere, identifying where is the challenge. If it is outside there is little you can do. If it is in the attic then maybe you have an attic light you can turn on or you may need to leave the access door to the attic open to let some heat in.

irish-stew wrote: »

Filled bucket from kitchen taps to flush toilet, by time got back up stairs cold tap was running, and flush now working.

So the pipes outside unfroze and you had water again? There was a gap between you realising you had no water to you checking the kitchen taps? You shouldnt have to turn on kitchen taps to get water into the attic, might be just a co-incidence.

irish-stew wrote: »

Now have also had hot water (emersion) on all morning, hot water tank is positioned some where behind ensuite, if in the event pipes were frozen could heat from tank have resloved things or would it have been running of the kitchen taps that done it.

If you had water in the kitchen, but none in the other rooms then likely a pipe was frozen in the attic - possibly from your water tank. The hot tank could have indeed heated up these pipes. Easy way to check is to nip into attic and look to see if there is ice in the tank.

irish-stew wrote: »

When flushed toliet water was abit grainny and murky, as was water in kitchen tap earlier in morning, usally I would have thought this was a sign that the water had been turned off although council have told me water was not off and no work been done in our area.

Water was murky because the bottom of tank in attic was reached - results in some nasty material sometimes. Not sure about in kitchen though.

ShadowHearth

so i got in to attick guys, there is no visible ice in tank, but just as it comes to shower pipe, its frozen from tank and down. no ather pipe is frozen in the house now thought, heating up boiler, warmed up pipes, and water was restored to the rest of the house.

can i somehow heat up shower plastic pipe? or maybe i can put a small heater up in the attick, by the tank for few hours? attick is really massive thought ( bangalloo )

Buford T Justice

You can buy frost watch heaters that'll prevent pipes freezing, but i would suggest that you insulate these pipes to prevent them freezing in the future. You can try to defrost the pipe with a hair dryer, but be wary of the potential of a leak from the pipe being burst.

ShadowHearth

Fingers McGee wrote: »

You can buy frost watch heaters that'll prevent pipes freezing, but i would suggest that you insulate these pipes to prevent them freezing in the future. You can try to defrost the pipe with a hair dryer, but be wary of the potential of a leak from the pipe being burst.

Thank you, temp in cork is not too bad today. So ill have heating on full blast plus attick open, may e will work away with hair dryer too. What kind of isolation i need for that pipe? I presume its posible tp get something like sticky tape? If that makes any sence.

runawaybishop

ShadowHearth wrote: »

Thank you, temp in cork is not too bad today. So ill have heating on full blast plus attick open, may e will work away with hair dryer too. What kind of isolation i need for that pipe? I presume its posible tp get something like sticky tape? If that makes any sence.

If the attic insulation is under the pipe simply remove it and use it to cover the pipe - it will allow the heat from the house to keep the pipe free of ice- same with your attic tank, there should never be insulation directly underneath it.

ShadowHearth

runawaybishop wrote: »

If the attic insulation is under the pipe simply remove it and use it to cover the pipe - it will allow the heat from the house to keep the pipe free of ice- same with your attic tank, there should never be insulation directly underneath it.

Thank you once more. I will be heading hime soon, so ill be sorting it out. I wount be suprised if it defrosted allredy as weather prety damm good.

I let all know, how it will, cheers.