How to Stop Pipes Freezing: Bournemouth Winter Guide
Knowing how to stop pipes freezing feels like a pointless job in mid-October, right up until the first hard frost hits Bournemouth in January and the kitchen tap gives you nothing but a gurgle. We get those calls every winter, from Southbourne terraces to newer homes out at Ferndown, and most of them could have been avoided with an hour or two of work in the autumn.
Frozen pipes do so much damage because of simple physics. Water expands by nearly 10% when it freezes, and a copper or plastic pipe has nowhere to give. The split often doesn't show until the ice thaws, which is why a burst tends to turn up a day or two after the cold snap, when you've stopped thinking about it.
Where pipes freeze in Bournemouth and Poole homes
Our coastal climate is milder than most of the country, and that's part of the problem. People down here don't expect a proper freeze, so pipes that would be lagged as a matter of course in the Midlands get left bare. These are the spots we see trouble most often:
Loft pipework and the cold water tank, especially where the insulation has been laid right across the ceiling under the tank so no warmth reaches it.
Outside taps and the short length of pipe feeding them through the wall.
Pipes in garages, utility rooms and lean-tos that sit outside the heated part of the house.
Supply pipes in the under-floor voids of older houses in Boscombe, Westbourne and Parkstone, where the airbricks pull cold air straight across the pipework.
Combi boiler condensate pipes that run outside. A frozen one won't burst, but it will shut the boiler down on the coldest morning of the year.
What to do this autumn
None of this is expensive. It's mostly about getting ahead of the weather rather than buying anything specialist.
Find your internal stop tap and check it actually turns. It's usually under the kitchen sink or where the main pipe comes into the house. We regularly find ones that have seized solid after twenty years untouched, and the middle of a flood is a bad time to discover that.
Lag exposed pipes in the loft with proper foam lagging and fit a jacket to the cold water tank. Leave the patch of ceiling directly under the tank uninsulated so a little heat can rise into it.
Put an insulated cover on the outside tap, or better, have an isolating valve fitted indoors so you can shut it off and drain it down for the winter.
Fix dripping taps. A slow drip can freeze inside the pipe and block it.
Get the boiler serviced, and if the condensate pipe runs outside, ask about insulating or rerouting it.
If you're working through a longer list of cold-weather jobs, our autumn home maintenance guide for Dorset covers gutters, roofs and drains as well.
Heating, holidays and empty properties
Keep the heating on a low or frost setting through cold spells, even when you're out at work. Running it for an hour or two morning and evening costs far less than a new kitchen ceiling. On really cold nights, opening the loft hatch lets some of that warmth reach the tank.
Holiday lets and second homes are where we see the worst damage, and there are plenty of both around Sandbanks, Christchurch and Swanage. A property left empty over Christmas with the heating off can freeze, burst and run for days before anyone notices. If a place is going to sit empty, either leave the heating on frost protection or have the system drained down. Our property care team does exactly that for landlords and second-home owners, along with a check-in visit after a cold spell.
Frozen pipe or burst pipe: what to do
If you turn on a tap and nothing comes out, check whether your neighbours have water. If they do, it's probably a frozen pipe on your side of the boundary.
Turn the water off at the stop tap before you do anything else.
Open the cold taps to relieve pressure and let water out as the pipe thaws.
Thaw the pipe gently with a hot water bottle, warm towels or a hairdryer on a low setting, working back from the tap end.
Never use a blowtorch or heat gun. It can damage the pipe, and plastic fittings will simply melt.
Once it's thawed, turn the supply back on slowly and check along the run for drips before you relax.
If a pipe has burst, shut the stop tap, open the taps to drain the system, and switch the electrics off at the consumer unit if water is anywhere near sockets, lights or the fuse board. A ceiling that's bulging needs looking at before anyone stands underneath it. Take photos for your insurer, then get the repair booked in.
When it's time to call us
A one-off frozen pipe that thaws without splitting is usually something you can handle yourself. A burst, a pipe that freezes in the same place every winter, or a run of pipework you'd rather not crawl around to lag are jobs for us. We'll work out why it's happening (it's often a section running through a cold external wall or an uninsulated void) and reroute or protect it properly. Our plumbing and heating team covers Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch and across into Hampshire.
Cost depends on access more than anything. Lagging a loft is quick work. A burst behind a tiled wall or under a floor means opening up and making good afterwards, and that's where the bill climbs. We always look at the job first and give you a clear written price before any work starts.
Related reading
Get your pipes ready before the first frost
If you'd like us to lag your loft, fit an isolating valve to your outside tap or sort out a pipe that froze last winter, book a visit with Complete Builds and we'll arrange a time to come and take a look.
Comments