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dilly_ny_gw

Pipe freeze - Long Term Solution

dilly_ny
10 years ago

Our upstair bathroom was poorly designed with pipes in exterior walls. To make matters worse, the bathroom pipes are in a cantilever which extends 2 feet from the rest of the house. The cantilever is original to our 1948 home. We have oil heat.

When we renovated our porch last year and had the cantilever floor open, we insullated it very well (from below). Nonetheless, it froze this weekend. Everytime it gets frigid cold, about once a year, these bathroom pipes freeze. They have burst 3 or 4 times. We were lucky this time, they froze, but then thawed without bursting.

We have a cesspool that is not working efficiently, so leaving water running is not a practicle, long term solution. I know there are colder places than NY and other homes must have pipes in cantilevers. What is the long term solution to prevent freezing? I've heard heat tape could help?

I appreciate all ideas / help. I need to fix this problem once and for all, preferably, without ripping out the whole bathroom. Thanks

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