Well when the temps get below freezing here in the High Desert of Southern California, pipes start to freeze. Normally that’s not too big of a deal as we just keep the water flowing through the night. But this year, even the hot water pipes froze! That’s never happened in the 17 years I’ve lived here. Anyways, I had a pipe break under the foundation this past Thursday so I had to bypass the entire run to get water flowing again -and that meant nearly re-plumbing my entire house. I had to do it as a temporary fix since I’m planning on hiring a plumber for my remodeling project in the summer but it also means that the pipes will have to remain outside in the frigid cold for the rest of the winter…
Well that means GARDEN HOSE!!
More pictures are below if you care to see how it went down…
Here’s where the problem started. 1/2″ copper pipe that broke below the concrete. Since it is the cold water line, that means that the feed to the hot water line is also cut off.
Here’s where I start. The feed from the main currently runs under the slab and emerges in the middle of the house right in this corner. From there, the pipes run underground again and go to the bathrooms, kitchen, hot water heater, and washing machine. If you’re facing plumbing issues, it’s a good idea to seek professional help, such as the experts at Sarkinen Plumbing in Vancouver, if you can’t handle it yourself.
This is what I turned it into! Custom-fab’d garden hose. The kid at the hardware store told me it was “easy” to make these ternimations. HE LIED! My hands were so sore the next morning I couldn’t make a fist. The were all swolen too. Uhhhh…
Running over the back door…
Heading into the hot water heater…
Over the hot water heater and on to the washing machine…
…and finally into the washing machine!
Here’s the hot water heater “Before”
Here’s the “After”
All in all, it’s been working flawlessly for about 4 days now. I’m fairly sure it will last the rest of the winter. Now we can focus our attention on fixing the furnace blower motor. For this we consider hiring an expert in furnace maintenance in North Florida. You may also consider hiring a team of experts like rochester air conditioning repair services. If you need a new ac installation, make sure that you contact professional HVAC techs.