How to Protect Your Home During Extreme Cold Weather

Extreme cold weather can be hard on both you and your home. Here are some tips to put into practice when freezing weather, snow, and ice hit your area.

How to Deal with Frozen Pipes

• Disconnect and drain garden hoses.
• Cover outside faucets with insulating foam covers.
• Turn off water to outside faucets, if available, and open valves on faucets to allow them to drain.
• Turn off sprinkler system and blow compressed air through the lines to drain them.

• Close or cover foundation vents under house and windows to basements.
• Close garage doors.
• Insulate exposed pipes (both hot and cold) under house with foam pipe insulation.
• Open cabinet doors under sinks.
• Drip hot and cold faucets in kitchen and bath. Drip single control faucets with lever set in middle.
• Set icemaker to make ice if the water line to it runs under the house.
• Don’t forget to check on pipes to your washing machine in the laundry room
• Locate water main cut-off valve, and have a cut-off key handy.
• Use a hair dryer, heat lamp, electric heat tape, or a portable space heater to thaw frozen pipes that have not burst.
• Keep the faucet open when thawing frozen pipes to allow water to begin flowing through it.
• After the weather has warmed above freezing and any frozen pipes have thawed, turn off dripping faucets and monitor your water meter to check for unseen leaks.

How to Keep Warm in Your Home

• Have your furnace inspected before cold weather arrives. Inspect the heat exchanger for cracks, install a clean air filter, and check the thermostat to see if it’s working properly.

• Inspect fireplaces, and chimneys before using, and have them cleaned if needed.
• Keep drapes and blinds closed, except when windows are in direct sunlight.
• Put up storm windows, or install sheet plastic window insulation kits on the inside of windows.
• Cover or remove any window air conditioners.
• Insulate electrical outlets and switches on exterior walls with foam seals available at home centers.
• Caulk any cracks or holes on the outside of your house.
• Repair or replace weather stripping and thresholds around doors and windows.
• Run paddle ceiling fans on low in reverse (clockwise when looking up) to circulate warm air.
• Put draft snakes on window sills, between window frames, and against doors.
• If you heat with propane or fuel oil, make sure the tank is full.
• If you heat with wood or coal, have plenty of fuel on hand.

How to Protect the Outside of Your Home

• Clean your gutters and downspouts before cold weather arrives to prevent ice from forming in them.
• Spray an ice repellent solution on steps and walks before freezing weather arrives
• Check antifreeze levels in cars. Add if needed, then run the engine to circulate the new antifreeze through the radiator and engine block.
• Add freeze resistant windshield wiper fluid, and spay to circulate it in lines.
• Check air pressure in tires, since cold weather causes the pressure to lower.
• Bring in container plants, add mulch around plants, and cover plants that are prone to frost damage. Remove covering when temperatures warm above freezing.
• Drain birdbaths and fountains
• Gently sweep snow off plants and shrubs in an upward motion with a broom.
• Use rock salt, sand, or clay based kitty litter on walks and drives (NOTE: Salt can damage grass and other plants).
• Don’t overdo it when using a snow shovel.
• Stay off your roof during freezing weather, but once the ice and snow have melted, inspect your roof for any damage.

How to Stay Safe in an Ice or Snow Storm

• Stockpile nonperishable food and water.
• Refill prescription medications in advance of storm.
• Fill car with gas.
• Charge cell phones.
• Have flashlights, batteries, a weather radio, and a manual can opener on hand.
• A portable generator can come in handy when the lights go out, but take precautions to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning when using.
• Make sure you have working smoke and carbon monoxide alarms and the batteries powering them are fresh.
• Have a working fire extinguisher on hand for emergencies.
• A chain saw can come in handy for removing broken limbs after an ice storm.

Board Unable to Amend Declaration Without Proper Owner Vote

Kawawaki v. Academy Square Condominium Association, No. 42982-9-11 (Wash. Ct. App. Sept. 24, 2013)

Powers of the Association/Use Restrictions: A Washington appeals court affirmed that an association board did not have the authority to adopt a rule that altered the application of a leasing restriction in the declaration.

Academy Square is a 36-unit condominium in Clark County, Wash. that is governed by Academy Square Condominium Association (association).

Keith and Nicole Kawawaki purchased a unit from Academy Square Apartments, LLC (Academy) in December 2005 with the intention of using it as rental property. Before they purchased, the Kawawakis were informed by Academy’s realtor, Diane Sines (also a member of the association board), that the declaration of condominium and covenants, conditions and restrictions (declaration) limited rental units to 25 percent of the total number of units (9 units) and that the rental cap had already been reached. The declaration provided that, if an owner desires to rent a unit when the 25 percent cap has already been reached, such owner “shall be added to a waiting list, first-come, first-served.”

Sines told the Kawawakis they would be put on a waiting list, and as soon as a rental property sold, they would move off the waiting list. Within a week of their purchase, the Kawawakis submitted their request to be placed on the waiting list.

In February 2006, Sines bought a unit in the condominium that had previously been rented. Sines ignored the waiting list and continued to use the unit as rental property. Based on the declaration and what the Kawawakis were told at the time of purchase, they expected to be removed from the waiting list and to be able to rent their unit. In April when they were still on the waiting list, they asked the association for clarification on the declaration’s rental provisions.

In February 2008, nearly two years after the Kawawakis’ request, the association’s board of directors recorded a purported amendment to the declaration (house rule) that allowed rental status to pass with the unit from one owner to the next without association review or approval.

The Kawawakis had already begun renting their unit and received a violation notice from the association in June 2008. In January 2009, the association recorded a notice alleging the Kawawakis were in default for renting their unit.

Both parties filed motions for summary judgment (judgment without a trial). The Kawawakis argued that the board did not have the authority to adopt the house rule as a declaration amendment because the board did not obtain the owner vote required by the declaration. They also claimed that it was an unreasonable interpretation of the declaration that the rental status would stay with a unit after it had been sold rather than terminate and pass to the next person on the waiting list. Additionally, the Kawawakis argued that creating a waiting list and rental status for some units and not others was much the same as a use restriction, which cannot be changed without a declaration amendment.

The trial court found in favor of and granted summary judgment to the Kawawakis. The association appealed.

The association asserted that the board had authority to adopt a rule to implement and monitor the 25 percent rental cap, provided the rule did not conflict with the declaration or the condominium act. The appeals court agreed with the Kawawakis that the house rule created a new use restriction that must be included in the declaration to be valid. The appeals court determined that the house rule would allow a new purchaser of a rental unit to bypass the declaration provisions of “first-come, first served” and continue to rent the unit while prior owners remained on the waiting list.

Accordingly, the trial court’s grant of summary judgment to the Kawawakis was affirmed.

Preventing Frozen Pipes

When water freezes, it expands. That’s why a can of soda explodes if it’s put into a freezer to chill quickly and forgotten. When water freezes in a pipe, it expands the same way. If it expands enough, the pipe bursts, water escapes and serious damage results.

Why Pipes Burst

Surprisingly, ice forming in a pipe does not typically cause a break where the ice blockage occurs. It’s not the radial expansion of ice against the wall of the pipe that causes the break. Rather, following a complete ice blockage in a pipe, continued freezing and expansion inside the pipe causes water pressure to increase downstream — between the ice blockage and a closed faucet at the end. It’s this increase in water pressure that leads to pipe failure. Usually the pipe bursts where little or no ice has formed. Upstream from the ice blockage the water can always retreat back towards its source, so there is no pressure build-up to cause a break. Water has to freeze for ice blockages to occur. Pipes that are adequately protected along their entire length by placement within the building’s insulation, insulation on the pipe itself, or heating, are safe.

Regional Differences

Generally, houses in northern climates are built with the water pipes located on the inside of the building insulation, which protects the pipes from subfreezing weather. However, extremely cold weather and holes in the building that allow a flow of cold air to come into contact with pipes can lead to freezing and bursting.

Water pipes in houses in southern climates often are more vulnerable to winter cold spells. The pipes are more likely to be located in unprotected areas outside of the building insulation, and homeowners tend to be less aware of freezing problems, which may occur only once or twice a season.

Pipes in attics, crawl spaces and outside walls are all vulnerable to freezing, especially if there are cracks or openings that allow cold, outside air to flow across the pipes. Research at the University of Illinois has shown that “wind chill,” the cooling effect of air and wind that causes the human body to lose heat, can play a major role in accelerating ice blockage, and thus bursting, in water pipes.

Holes in an outside wall where television, cable or telephone lines enter can provide access for cold air to reach pipes. The size of pipes and their composition (e.g., copper or PVC) have some bearing on how fast ice forms, but they are relatively minor factors in pipe bursting compared with the absence of heat, pipe insulation and exposure to a flow of subfreezing air.

When is it Cold Enough to Freeze?

When should homeowners be alert to the danger of freezing pipes? That depends, but in southern states and other areas where freezing weather is the exception rather than the rule (and where houses often do not provide adequate built-in protection), the “temperature alert threshold” is 20°F.

This threshold is based upon research conducted by the Building Research Council at the University of Illinois. Field tests of residential water systems subjected to winter temperatures demonstrated that, for un-insulated pipes installed in an unconditioned attic, the onset of freezing occurred when the outside temperature fell to 20°F or below.

This finding was supported by a survey of 71 plumbers practicing in southern states, in which the consensus was that burst-pipe problems began to appear when temperatures fell into the teens. However, freezing incidents can occur when the temperature remains above 20° F. Pipes exposed to cold air (especially flowing air, as on a windy day) because of cracks in an outside wall or lack of insulation are vulnerable to freezing at temperatures above the threshold. However, the 20°F “temperature alert threshold” should address the majority of potential burst-pipe incidents in southern states.

Mitigating the Problem

Water freezes when heat in the water is transferred to subfreezing air. The best way to keep water in pipes from freezing is to slow or stop this transfer of heat.

Ideally, it is best not to expose water pipes to subfreezing temperatures, by placing them only in heated spaces and keeping them out of attics, crawl spaces and vulnerable outside walls. In new construction, proper placement can be designed into the building.

In existing houses, a plumber may be able to re route at-risk pipes to protected areas, although this may not be a practical solution. If the latter is the case, vulnerable pipes that are accessible should be fitted with insulation sleeves or wrapping (which slows the heat transfer), the more insulation the better. It is important not to leave gaps that expose the pipe to cold air. Hardware stores and home centers carry the necessary materials, usually in foam rubber or fiberglass sleeves. Better yet, plumbing supply stores and insulation dealers carry pipe sleeves that feature extra-thick insulation, as much as 1” or 2” thick. The added protection is worth the extra cost.

Cracks and holes in outside walls and foundations near water pipes should be sealed with caulking to keep cold wind away from the pipes. Kitchen and bathroom cabinets can keep warm inside air from reaching pipes under sinks and in adjacent outside walls. It’s a good idea to keep cabinet doors open during cold spells to let the warm air circulate around the pipes. Electric heating tapes and cables are available to run along pipes to keep the water from freezing. These must be used with extreme caution; follow the manufacturer’s instructions carefully to avoid the risk of fire, and check to make sure the product conforms to UL 2049. Tapes and cables with a built-in thermostat will turn heat on when needed. Tapes without a thermostat have to be plugged in each time heat is needed, and may be forgotten.

Letting the Water Run

Letting a faucet drip during extreme cold weather can prevent a pipe from bursting. It’s not that a small flow of water prevents freezing; this helps, but water can freeze even with a slow flow.

Rather, opening a faucet will provide relief from the excessive pressure that builds between the faucet and the ice blockage when freezing occurs. If there is no excessive water pressure, there is no burst pipe, even if the water inside the pipe freezes.

A dripping faucet wastes some water, so only pipes vulnerable to freezing (ones that run through an unheated or unprotected space) should be left with the water flowing. The drip can be very slight. Even the slowest drip at normal pressure will provide pressure relief when needed. Where both hot and cold lines serve a spigot, make sure each one contributes to the drip, since both are subjected to freezing. If the dripping stops, leave the faucet(s) open, since a pipe may have frozen and will still need pressure relief.

If You Suspect a Frozen Pipe

If you open a faucet and no water comes out, don’t take any chances. Call a plumber. If a water pipe bursts, turn off the water at the main shut-off valve (usually at the water meter or where the main line enters the house); leave the faucet(s) open until repairs are completed. Don’t try to thaw a frozen pipe with an open flame; as this will damage the pipe and may even start a building fire. You might be able to thaw a pipe with a hand-held hair dryer. Slowly apply heat, starting close to the faucet end of the pipe, with the faucet open. Work toward the coldest section. Don’t use electrical appliances while standing in water; you could get electrocuted.

Going on a Trip

When away from the house for an extended period during the winter, be careful how much you lower the heat. A lower temperature may save on the heating bill, but there could be a disaster if a cold spell strikes and pipes that normally would be safe, freeze and burst.

A solution is to drain the water system. This is the best safeguard. With no water in the pipes, there is no freezing. This remedy should be considered even when the homeowner is not leaving but is concerned about a serious overnight freeze.

To drain the system, shut off the main valve and turn on every water fixture (both hot and cold lines) until water stops running. It’s not necessary to leave the fixtures open, since the system is filled mostly with air at that point and not subject to freezing. When returning to the house, turn on the main valve and let each fixture run until the pipes are full again.

Source: Institute for Business and Home Safety. IBHS is a national nonprofit initiative of the insurance industry to reduce deaths, injuries, property damage, economic losses and human suffering caused by natural disasters.