These arctic type temperatures following a front can move into our region of Ohio and cause severe damage to homes & businesses. Water damage resulting from frozen/broken pipes can cause tremendous damage if not detected as well as potential serious health & safety risk if not mitigated properly.

Certainly prevention is the main defense against broken pipes and water damage. By installing thicker grades of insulation in attics and between ceilings and walls a homeowner runs less of a risk but this requires added costs and not always the route taken. The fact is frozen pipes break and water spills into residential and commercial living spaces each year.

Early detection and quick water mitigation can save literally tens of thousands of dollars for homeowners and insurance companies alike. One of the first assignments for any water damage restoration company is taking moisture readings of inside areas. Water that is visible is easy to detect with the naked eye. But untamed water can pass between walls, under floors and go undetected. This can pose a real problem because moisture undetected will be the incubus for water-borne mold spores to germinate and grow after the first 48 hours. Mold poses not only a health risk to occupants but also an enormous added cost to eradicate. Thereby mapping water migration and determining the levels of moisture in walls, ceilings, and floors paves the way for proper equipment set in place to dry out all structures, restore all contents and end the threat of further damage caused by mold.

Forces of nature are unpredictable at times and absolutely untamable. Just as swiftly a storm blows in it can blow out again. Unpredictable weather is a way of life here in Cleveland. Dealing with the aftermath is the part we can control. Local certified water damage restoration companies carry the knowledge, skills and experience to answer tough questions and develop a drying plan with desired results successfully restoring any building compromised by broken pipes. Look for the IICRC Certification to insure your calling the right company.

How to Not Have Your Hose Bib Freeze and Break

Winter temperatures in the Cleveland area can cause an outdoor hose bib to freeze and interior pipes to burst, something you can avoid by taking action before winter starts. If allowed to freeze, the water in the pipe increases in volume and is likely to leak into your basement, causing damage to floors, walls and insulation. Include protecting the hose bib in your list of routine autumn home-maintenance tasks, such as replacing furnace filters & wrapping exposed water lines with proper insulation.

Instructions

1. Prepare for freezes by purchasing foam insulator caps for your hose bib at a plumbing-supply or home-improvement store well before winter sets in. When a freeze is predicted, it’s usually too late to buy supplies, as stores quickly run out.
2. Caulk around pipes where they enter the house, to seal any open spaces and stop cold air from entering. Close any vents in the foundation, but remember to open them again in spring to prevent mildew and rot.
3. In late fall, after the watering season is over, remove the hose from the hose bib, drain it and store it indoors. Close the shutoff valve to the outdoor water supply, which is located inside the house, near the spot where the pipe to the hose bib exits the wall. Go outside and open the hose bib to allow any water still in the pipe to drain out. Close the bib.
4. Cover the hose bib. Use insulated covers with foam edges that attach with string or rubber bands to the bib and snug up to the wall around it. If you don’t have those, cover the bib with an old bath towel, newspapers or a thick layer of rags. Secure a plastic bag over the insulating material with rubber bands and duct tape, to prevent it from getting wet and freezing.

Pipe breaks are a leading cause of winter flood damages to your home or business. In most cases, pipes break during freezing weather. As temperatures fall, water expands and causes localized pressure. When the pressure becomes too great, a break or fracture occurs. This may create a pinhole leak, hairline break or large crack.

Thawing is the first step.

Frozen pipes must be thawed out. To do so, locate the coldest part of the pipe with your hands. The coldest part indicates the location of the block and where heat should be applied. Heat can be applied by a number of different ways. These include:

Heat gun – Set the gun on low and move the nozzle back and forth near the frozen section. Do not place the nozzle directly on the pipe. If your heat gun is equipped with a shield, use it. Be careful when using heat guns around flammable materials or near plastic pipes to avoid overheating.

Hair dryer – While it generally cannot reach the same temperature as a heat gun, a hair dryer may be used as an alternative for thawing frozen pipes. Always keep the nozzle of the hair dryer moving back and forth and do not place the nozzle directly on the pipe. Be careful when using a hair dryer around flammable materials or near plastic pipes to avoid overheating.

Electric space heater or heat lamp – Both of these appliances may be used to thaw out frozen pipes. Again, do not allow the heater or lamp to touch the frozen pipe. Be careful when using these appliances near flammable materials or plastic pipes to avoid overheating.

Electric blanket – This is considered a relatively safe method for thawing pipes although it may take longer than some other methods. Wrap the blanket around the pipe and turn it on.

Electric heat tape – Also known as heat cable, this is plastic-coated wire that is wrapped around a surface to keep it from freezing. NOTE: Use extreme caution when using electric heat tape. The US Consumer Products Safety Commission has issued a safety advisory on electric heat tape, noting that it can cause fires if not installed correctly or if it is allowed to deteriorate. There are different types of electric heat tape. Be sure to use the correct type for the job. Always read and follow installation directions carefully.

Light bulb – Take the shade off of a lamp and place the lamp and light bulb near the pipe. Again, do not let the light bulb touch the pipe. Be careful if using the light bulb around flammable materials or plastic pipes to avoid overheating. Hot water – Wrap rags or towels around the frozen pipe and pour hot water over them.

Regardless of the thawing method used, continue to apply heat until water begins to drip from the facet. As the ice melts, drips of water will also appear at the break site.

Caution!

Never thaw frozen pipes with an open flame as this may cause a fire. Always use caution when thawing out pipes with an electrical appliance such as heat gun or hair dryer. If the pipe should burst while thawing, there may be a risk of electrocution. Never use electrical tools or appliances to heat a pipe if you are wet or if there is standing water nearby.

An Ounce of Prevention

The best way to deal with frozen pipes is to keep them from freezing in the first place. Here are some important tips to follow to help prevent pipes from freezing during cold weather.

• Wrap foam pipe insulation around pipes. This material is readily available in hardware and home stores and may be precut to match the diameter of pipes. Installation is relatively easy: Just slip the insulation around the pipes and seal the seams with duct tape.
• Install electric heat tape. Use extreme caution when using this product. Be sure to use the correct electric heat tape for your particular pipes and always read and follow installation directions carefully.
• If a sudden cold snap catches you off guard, here’s a quick solution to help protect your outdoor pipes and faucets: Wrap them with rags or newspapers. Cover with plastic and secure with string or wire.
• Seal up small cracks and holes around doors and windows with caulk to keep cold air out. Be sure to use high-quality, long-lasting caulk.
• Remove all hoses from outside faucets. Drain and shut off the water supply to these fixtures.
• Shut off and drain all underground irrigation systems. While you may be able to shut off the system yourself, draining will likely require the services of an irrigation or maintenance company to pump out the water.
• During extremely cold weather, give your pipes added protection by opening the highest faucet in your house and allowing water to trickle out. This will help prevent freezing pipes because running water, even a minor trickle, has a lower freeze point than static water.
• To warm pipes below sinks, open the cabinet doors to allow warm air to move around them.
• If you leave your house empty for long periods of time during cold weather, consider winterizing your plumbing.

What is an ice dam?

An ice dam is a ridge of ice that forms at the edge of a roof and prevents melting snow (water) from draining off the roof. The water that backs up behind the dam can leak into a home and cause damage to walls, ceilings, insulation, and other areas. Figure 1 shows a cross section of a home with an ice dam.

What causes ice dams?

(Left is a cross section of a one-and-a-half story house with an ice dam.) There is a complex interaction among the amount of heat loss from a house, snow cover, and outside temperatures that leads to ice dam formation. For ice dams to form there must be snow on the roof, and, at the same time, higher portions of the roofs outside surface must be above 32°F while lower surfaces are below 32°F. For a portion of the roof to be below 32°F, outside temperatures must also be below 32°F. When we say temperatures above or below 32°F, we are talking about average temperature over sustained periods of time.

The snow on a roof surface that is above 32°F will melt. As water flows down the roof it reaches the portion of the roof that is below 32°F and freezes. Voila! — An Ice Dam.

The dam grows as it is fed by the melting snow above it, but it will limit itself to the portions of the roof that are on the average below 32°F. So the water above backs up behind the ice dam and remains a liquid. This water finds cracks and openings in the exterior roof covering and flows into the attic space. From the attic it could flow into exterior walls or through the ceiling insulation and stain the ceiling finish.

Non-uniform roof surface temperatures lead to ice dams.

What causes different roof surface temperatures?

Since most ice dams form at the edge of the roof, there is obviously a heat source warming the roof elsewhere. This heat is primarily coming from the house. In rare instances solar heat gain may cause these temperature differences.

Heat from the house travels to the roof surface in three ways: conduction, convection, and radiation. Conduction is heat energy traveling through a solid. A good example of this is the heating of a cast iron frying pan. The heat moves from the bottom of the pan to the handle by conduction.

If you put your hand above the frying pan, heat will reach it by the other two methods. The air right above the frying pan is heated and rises. The rising air carries heat/energy to your hand. This is heat transfer by convection. In addition, heat is transferred from the hot pan to your hand by electromagnetic waves and this is called radiation. Another example of radiation is to stand outside on a bright sunny day and feel the heat from the sun. This heat is transferred from the sun to you by radiation.

In a house, heat moves through the ceiling and insulation by conduction through the slanted portion of the ceiling (Figure 1 above). In many homes, there is little space in regions like this for insulation, so it is important to use insulations with high R-value per inch to reduce heat loss by conduction.

The top surface of the insulation is warmer than the other surroundings in the attic. Therefore, the air just above the insulation is heated and rises, carrying heat by convection to the roof. The higher temperatures in the insulation’s top surface compared to the roof sheathing transfers heat outward by radiation. These two modes of heat transfer can be reduced by adding insulation. This will make the top surface temperature of the insulation closer to surrounding attic temperatures directly affecting convection and radiation from this surface.

There is another type of convection that transfers heat to the attic space and warms the roof. In Figure 1 above, the winding arrow beginning inside the house and going through the penetration in the ceiling, from the light to the attic space, illustrates heat loss by air leakage. In many homes this is the major mode of heat transfer that leads to the formation of ice dams.

Exhaust systems like those in the kitchen or bathroom that terminate just above the roof may also contribute to snow melting. These exhaust systems may have to be moved or extended in areas of high snow fall.

Other sources of heat in the attic space include chimneys. Frequent use of wood stoves and fireplaces allow heat to be transferred from the chimney into the attic space. Inadequately insulated or leaky duct work in the attic space will also be a source of heat. The same can be said about kneewall spaces.

The photograph above left shows a single story house with an ice dam. The points of heat loss can be clearly seen as those areas with no snow. The ceiling below this area needs to be examined for air leakage, missing or inadequate insulation, leaky or poorly insulated ductwork, and the termination of a kitchen

The photograph below left illustrates unusually high heat loss from the roof. There is very little snow left on the roof and at its edge is both an ice dam and a “beautiful” row of icicles.

So it is primarily heat flowing from the house that is causing the non-uniform temperatures of the roof surface leading to ice dams.

Preventing and dealing with ice dams

In all Northeast Ohio communities it is possible to find homes that do not have ice dams. This is commonly found with older homes in our area. Ice dams can be prevented by controlling the heat loss from the home.

Immediate action:

• Remove snow from the roof. This eliminates one of the ingredients necessary for the formation of an ice dam. A “roof rake” and push broom can be used to remove snow, but may damage the roofing materials.
• In an emergency situation where water is flowing into the house structure, making channels through the ice dam allows the water behind the dam to drain off the roof. Hosing with tap water on a warm day will do this job. Work upward from the lower edge of the dam. The channel will become ineffective within days and is only a temporary solution to ice dam damage.

Long-term action:

• First, make the ceiling air tight so no warm, moist air can flow from the house into the attic space.
• After sealing air leakage paths between the house and attic space, consider increasing the ceiling/roof insulation to cut down on heat loss by conduction.
• Both of these actions will increase the snow load that your roof has to carry because it will no longer melt. Can your roof carry the additional load? If it is built to current codes, there should not be a structural problem. Roofs, like the rest of the home, should have been designed to withstand expected snow loads. In N.E Ohio, plans showing design details to meet expected snow loads are usually required to receive a building permit. The plans for your home may be on file at your local building inspection office. To help you understand the plans, or if you cannot find plans for your home, you may want to contact an architectural engineering firm. A professional engineer should be able to evaluate the structure of your home and answer your questions about the strength of your roof.
• Natural roof ventilation can help maintain uniform roof temperatures, but if the long-term actions described here are done effectively, then only small amounts of roof ventilation are needed to maintain uniform roof surface temperatures. If heat transfer has been reduced substantially, then snow will build up on the roof and cover natural roof ventilation systems, reducing attic ventilation rates. Natural attic ventilation systems are needed to dry the attic space and remove heat buildup during the summer.Mechanical attic ventilation IS NOT a recommended solution to ice dams in the N.E Ohio region. It can create other attic moisture problems and may cause undesirable negative pressure in the home.

WARNING!

• Any person on the roof during the winter or performing work on the roof from below is risking injury and risking damage to the roof and house. It is important to contact professionals to carry out this job.
• Whenever a house is tightened up, ventilation systems, exhausting devices, and combustion devices must have enough air to operate safely and effectively!

Weatherization contractors, who may be listed under Energy Management and Conservation Consultants or Insulation Contractors in the Yellow Pages, are professionals who can deal with the heat transfer problem that creates ice dams. A blower door test should be used by the contractor you hire to evaluate the air tightness of your ceiling. In addition, they may have an infrared camera that can be used to find places in the ceiling where there is excessive heat loss.

Interior damage should not be repaired until ceilings and walls are dry. In addition, interior repair should be done together with correcting the heat loss problem that created the ice dam(s) or the damage will occur again.

Preventing ice dams in new homes

The proper new construction practices to prevent ice dams begin with following or exceeding the state code requirements for ceiling/roof insulation levels.

The second absolutely necessary practice is to construct a continuous, 100% effective air barrier through the ceiling. There should not be any air leakage from the house into the attic space!

Recessed lights, skylights, complicated roof designs, and heating ducts in the attic will all increase the risk of ice dam formation.

Mold, mildew, and air quality

Moisture entering the home from ice dams can lead to the growth of mold and mildew. These biological invaders can cause serious respiratory & health problems. It is important that the growth of mold and mildew be prevented. This can be done by immediately professionally drying out portions of the house that are wet or damp.

IICRC technicians are trained in the use of psychometrics which is the scientific standard for monitoring the moisture levels of the air & structure in a water damaged structure. These standards help them evaluate the drying process & how much equipment to use. Restoration technicians document moisture readings to show that the structure has been dried properly. The final documentation is a psychometric drying log which is how the technician tracks the progression of the dry out.

The industry standard has changed recently from drying out a home in an uncontrolled environment to focusing on significantly controlling the environment with state-of-the-art moisture detection meters, thermo- hygrometers, specialized commercial grade dehumidifiers & high velocity air movers. Knowing how to properly manipulate the indoor environment will facilitate a faster dry-out which will minimize or eliminate any potential health risk associated with mold infestation.

A quick dry time of 3-4 days can be achieved with five constants:

• EXTRACTION: Extracting water quickly & thorough is the key to drying an area properly.
• AIR MOVEMENT / EVAPORATION: Air movement will turn water into vapor and is used in conjunction with humidity and temperature control.
• DEHUMIDIFICATION: Humidity is measured in grains per pound of air. Various dehumidification tools may be used depending on the conditions.
• TEMPERATURE CONTROL: Managing the temperature ensures the complete drying of wet building materials and allows dehumidifiers to work efficiently.
• MOISTURE MONITORING: Utilizing moisture meters and thermo- hygrometers as well as proper daily documentation of moisture levels.

These 5 keys will ensure that your water damaged structure will be dried down in a timely, professional manner. This will provide you & your family with peace of mind that your home is being returned to a safe & healthy environment.