[Auctioneer]

This is a house that was built in 1841.

It has been cold here where I live and when its cold and windy I will cut on the heat in the dinning room and the above bathroom. I will also drip the water in the bathroom. I did everything I needed to to keep the pipes from freezing.

I got up at 6:30am and everything was fine. I got back at 6:30pm and found this in the dinning room.

I don't know if the pipe failed or it froze. I will know more once I take down the sheet rock.

But the question I have right now is should I put up sheet rock again or should I put a trap door up so to have easy access to the pipes that are there?

 

[birdogs]

If the pipes have frozen you might want to put up ceiling registers so that heat from the living space can get into the voids where the affetced plumbing is. I have had this happen twice and that is how I solved the problem. The registers can be closed in warm weather.

Also, insulating the voids on outside walls and ceilings is extremely helpful.

 

[Auctioneer]

The pipes that go up the wall to the upstairs bathroom are insulated. Where I think the brake is is halfway from the wall to the light from the ceiling. So they are the inside pipes. The vents are a good idea. I will have to see how they would look when up but yes that is a good idea. Thanks

 

[Bob Hawkes]

Temperature had to be some cold for the pipe to freeze in the ceiling. Is there somehow a small hole/draft to the outside? Good luck, not fun.

 

[Catpower]

I would guess the drain line has developed a leak, if it was a supply line there would be water gushing when it thawed out

Or possibly condensation on the lines from the cold water running through the drain and possibly high relative humidity

 

[Grade VI]

How about installing a suspended ceiling? That way you could access the pipes at any time by removing one of the ceiling panels. The ceiling tiles also provide good insulation and if a leak does occur, just replace the water stained tile. Just a thought.

 

[over the hill]

You might try some high quality heating tape around the pipes.

I lived in a house years ago where it worked good.




Regards.....Gerald

 

[Auctioneer]

I took the ceiling down just enough to get to the pipes. A friend went to the basement and cut on one line at a time. None of the water pipes leaked at all. I think the problem is is the cast iron drain pipe. There is a lot of rust on the bottom of it and on the sheet rock mold. I will replace the wax ring n the toilet and see if time how it looks with water running.

 

[ctreay]

My house was built in 1845-47. All the rooms here have ceiling registers. They would look correct to the period. Your woodwork looks nice, most of ours was trashed before we bought the place.

ctreay