On 1/7/2014 12:59 AM, nestork wrote:


But, I don't understand why architects can't design homes where the
potable water supply piping always runs up through interior walls so
that people don't have to be concerned about their pipes cracking the
odd time the temperature does drop below 20 deg. F.

Alternatively, why not fasten electric heating cables to those pipes and
insulate the assembly to eliminate that risk? You could have a switch
somewheres that turns on the power to those heating cables, and a
thermostat on each cable that maintains the temperature of the pipe at
45 deg. F, say, for good economy.

It just seems to me that the cost of preventing the pipes from freezing
is small, but the cost of repairing water damage from a cracked water
pipe is large, so why not spend a little bit up front to avoid paying a
lot later on down the road.

Most of the problems are in older homes, not ones built in the past 30
or even 50+ years when good insulation and proper building techniques
are used. The other problems seems to be in homes build in moderate
climates that suddenly have a cold spell normally not found there.
Houses and trailers that have open crawl spaces. With tens of thousands
of older houses in this country there will always be frozen pipes, but
it is a rarity in millions of new homes because they do build them
properly.