Beautiful Home

Every winter, temperatures get below freezing and so far you have been lucky enough to not have frozen pipes. However, what if you went on a trip? Many homeowners don’t think about the possibility of frozen pipes and will totally shut off the heat to the house during their absence. They will also not think about the fact that any remaining water in the pipes could possibly freeze.

If you do happen to forget to take precautions such as leaving the water tricking in the faucets and leaving your heat on, you can expect your pipes to freeze and then burst once they thaw, leaving a big flooding mess. Can you imagine dealing with flooding water, ruined drywall and carpeting during the coldest time of the year? Not only is it a pain, it is quite expensive too!

Prevention is the Best Policy

Why leave water trickling out of your faucet during freezing weather? The reason is water freezes at a lower temperature when it is moving, unlike still water. Consider this theory when you see lakes frozen in the winter while nearby rivers are flowing freely. If you keep a trickle of water flowing from your faucets during freezing temperatures, you will prevent your plumbing pipes from freezing.

A reason why pipes may burst in the winter time is because people who go out of town will forget to leave the heater on, even if it is just on low. Rather, they turn it completely off. During freezing temperatures, it is possible for the inside of your home, ergo your pipes, to reach freezing temperatures as well. Even insulated homes cannot prevent pipes from freezing if the heat is turned off. The best recourse if you are leaving town with possible frozen temperatures coming is to set your thermostat on low, about 55 degrees. While your home will still be cold, it will be above freezing.

You can insulate your pipes for additional protection against freezing. Indoors, you can insulate pipes you can see in your attic or basement using a special foam or wrap. Outdoors, any pipes exposed or vulnerable to the elements should definitely be wrapped with insulating foam. You could potentially save hundreds if not thousands of dollars in repairs with this bit of preventative maintenance.

For the ultimate protection, you can turn your water complete off to the house if you are going out of town during a freeze spell. Be sure though to run the water completely out of the pipes after the main water valve to the home is shut down to make sure no remaining water freezes within the pipes.

Sometimes, despite all the precautions possible, a pipe may still freeze. You will know if this happens when it starts to leak after thawing out. Some pipes will leak slowly while others may burst from the pressure. At this point, the only thing you can do is turn the water off to the house and call a plumber. A professional is the best recourse in a situation like this. 

Tags: frozen pipes troubles, frozen pipes, plumbing

Have you ever had water standing in your yard for days, even after a light rain? Does this drainage issue become a problem with basement leaking? If you have poor lawn drainage, not only can it prevent you from enjoying your yard, it can prevent your kids from playing on it or you performing basic chores like weed eating or mowing. In addition, the foundation of your home can be compromised from repeated drainage issues.

It may seem like your drainage problem is something you have to put up with; however, installing a French drain can make a big difference and solve most of your drainage problems. A French drain is a straightforward channel drain that draws away water from the most vulnerable areas of your yard. It’s a simple, cost effective solution that can garner great advantages for your overall landscaping.

Causes of Inadequate Yard Drainage

There are a number of reasons why you may have standing water on your lawn due to poor drainage; some involve your yard only while your neighbors’ yards could be contributing to the problem as well. In regards to your yard, you may have inadequate shaping or contour in addition to having poor soil content. If your yard has good soil with a healthy blend of minerals and sand, the water is able to soak into the ground; however, if you have hard compacted soil like clay, there is no place for the water to sink into, thereby causing it to stand in the yard.

Sometimes, the neighboring yards are a factor. If their lawns have a slightly higher elevation than yours, it is natural that water will run off from their yards onto yours. And if you have poor soil or a level yard without adequate drainage, the water has no place to go. If you are truly unlucky, you will likely have both a lower level yard as well as poor soil.

Installing a French Drain

Installing a French drain is not difficult, but it is time and labor intensive. You can hire a contractor to do the work for you or do it yourself. It is a bit more involved than just digging a trench and installing pipe but certainly doable for a home improvement plumbing project. Before starting, speak with your neighbor about the project if the drain will be near their property line. In addition, have your cable and electrical company come out and mark where the underground lines are to avoid tapping into them with your shovel, disrupting service for the neighborhood.

Once of the things to make sure of is having a regular slope in order for the French drain to work properly. Therefore, if you have a level yard, the trench you dig for the pipes must slant slightly downward toward the edge of the yard or where you want the water to run off. In addition, you need a layer of washed, drainage gravel both below and above the pipe you install in the trench. The complicated part lies in where to put your French drain and pipe, not in the labor itself. The best thing to do is choose the highest point of your yard and dig a trench to the lowest part. Some people who live in town knock a hole into the curb so the drainage pipes leads to the street and eventually a storm drain. However, the concept works just as well with the pipe leading to a drainage ditch or unused part of the yard. After the first hard rain after the French drain is installed, you will wonder why you didn’t do it sooner!

Tags: french drains, plumbing, plumbing solution