best way to insulate an outside water pipe?

lobbyludd · 13 December 2011 at 11:12PM

hi, wonder if anyone can help? I have an outside water pipe that rums very close to the exterior wall. Have lived here 8 years and it's never frozen yet, but up until this year it had a dripping leak, which I've fixed, and am now worried that the cold temps will freeze the pipe now that there is no drip to allow for expanding water

there isno internal stop !!!! for the pipe, which is a job for next year. I don't mind about it being particularly thrifty if it works, but my only opportunity before new year to get it done is tomorrow, so I need something that I can do myself, and materials that can be purchased from a store (like B&Q or whatever rather than specialist on-line retailers) and more than anything it must work!

I've seen lagging for exterior pipes but really don't know what is the best to get.

sorry if this is the wrong board.

lobbyludd · 13 December 2011 at 11:14PM

Ok, so I'm not allowed to type stop c/ock, bless!

tanith · 13 December 2011 at 11:18PM

I use bubble wrap on mine it seems to work fine...

lobbyludd · 13 December 2011 at 11:42PM

that's great, I have loads of bubblewrap saved so that wouldn't cost a bean. Thank you

squeaky · 14 December 2011 at 10:50AM

Hiya

I'll move your query across to our In My Home (DIY) board for more answers.

Good luck

Forum_Team wrote:

Hi, Martin’s asked me to post this in these circumstances: I’ve asked Board Guides to move threads if they’ll receive a better response elsewhere (please see this rule) so this post/thread has been moved to another board, where it should get more replies. If you have any questions about this policy please email [EMAIL='forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com']forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com[/EMAIL]

Chunks · 14 December 2011 at 12:16PM

I replaced the pipework to my outside tap using plastic piping - no amount of lagging helped and the copper used to freeze most years. This will be the third winter and so far so good......

If lagging with bubblewrap does not work and you don't want to go the plastic route, you can fit a drain plug to the base of the pipe run but if you forget to drain down, it will freeze up.

ps. stopcock works ......

ormus · 14 December 2011 at 12:43PM

plastic pipe will help or insulate the existing copper pipe.
fit a stopcock or service valve now, dont leave it till spring. youll be annoyed if you have a leak/burst over the winter.

tundra%20pipe.jpg

daggy · 14 December 2011 at 2:02PM

Ours is boxed in; the box is filled with bubble wrap and there is an old pair of tights wrapped around the tap etc... it didn't freeze last winter and we're up north, so it must work well..

It was like this when we moved to the house and I see no reason to change it.

mazza111 · 14 December 2011 at 2:11PM

Would bubble wrap work on external drain pipes. Last year we had those frozen, and was rather messy when the part at the bath melted before the one in the kitchen. Honestly didn't think of bubble wrap, spent my time making a small fire round the cast iron waste pipes to try and melt the ice a bit :rotfl:

ormus · 14 December 2011 at 2:33PM

any material that can trap some air will work. up to a point. last year was very testing.
helps to make it waterproof too. so cover any material with say bin bags if required.

daggy · 14 December 2011 at 2:50PM

Thawing the pipes with a heat gun instead of a fire might help :P

Not sure... it might work on drainpipes. It's worth keeping in mind the scale... our tap is encapsulated in the bubble wrap and is also insulated with tights :P

This thread on a plumbing forum has some useful info on it...

best way to insulate an outside water pipe?

Comments

Categories

Get our FREE Weekly email full of deals & guides - and it’s spam-free