Heating Solutions & Frozen Pipes Advice please!!

lou06

Thank you
Mikey72, ormus & ema_0 it is very helpful, we are going to wait and give it a try tomorrow when it is daylight again, and worth popping to our local screwfix store before and get the essentials as you have advised.

Still waiting for the plumber to phone us back I know busiest time for everyone)

Will let you know the outcome
Thanks again, Lou x

welda

Your perhaps on a common main, ask neighbours if they can perhaps point you in the right direction for Toby??

Hindsight says for future reference and, when the snow clears, make a datum point, then measure from datum point to toby. same idea as fire department use datums for water main in case of a serious fire, you will see these datums on street, normally concrete with sign containing captial H with numbers, numbers are measurement to main supply.

Hope you get it sorted and all remains dry!!!

:beer:

pennystretcher

Hi,

I live in a top floor flat - without factors. My cold water supply suddenly stopped this afternoon. The water was running OK this morning when I opened all the taps and run the shower for a while to make sure the pipes were open.

It definitely isn't a pipe inside the flat as the pipes that I can get to aren't cold - the hot water tank is in the same cupboard with the main inlet and even that one isn't getting any water, so it has to be the main pipe in the walls. However, the other flats below me are apparently getting water , so the frozen bit must be somewhere between my flat and the flat below me.

Any idea how I can get the pipe thawed? I have had a fan heater pointed to the pipes the past three hours and that hasn't helped yet. (I'm going to leave it on overnight in hope that the heat will transfer via the pipes to the blocked part, but if the blockage is two floors down, the chances of that happening are pretty slim)

Should I call Scottish Water? I have no idea where the main "main" inlet to the whole block is if there is a burst pipe when it thaws...

What I am worried about is if the pipe bursts inside the wall, say, in the first floor level? There is no way I would have been able to stop this from happening unless I got access to their flat....and the worst case scenario - who is going to pay for it... :eek:

ormus

i dont understand scottish housing law, but in england/wales, the water company is only responsible up to your property line.
so its the freeholder or the management company who sorts out this sort of problem. ie common parts of the building.

pennystretcher

ormus wrote: »

i dont understand scottish housing law, but in england/wales, the water company is only responsible up to your property line.
so its the freeholder or the management company who sorts out this sort of problem. ie common parts of the building.

In Scotland that would normally be factors (i.e. management company that the owners choose), however, my block shares the common repairs between the flats equally as per title deeds...i.e. electricity, broken windows etc. the owners just get together and fork out their share.

Not sure what my legal standing would be if they tried to say that it was my responsibility keep the pipe from freezing and then try to make me pay for it - when it could have been frozen because the owner below didn't heat their flat enough and so the walls got too cold..?

Flat owners? What would you do? Or what would your factors do?

ormus

this may help some peeps.
very mse too.

lou06

Morning Guys

Just to give you an update.

Well having got the screwfix code for a shut off key, isolating valve, I didn't get to screwfix quick enough. Unfortuantely, at 7.30am I was in the kitchen when I heard a hissing noise and the cold tap running. A burst pipe. Thankfully as it was still fairly early in the morning and checking the pc in the kitchen for updates on the school closures I was able to phone the plumber (it was his Dad again the one I spoke to twice the day before), thankfully he must of felt sorry for me and came within 10 minutes. I have to admit that if felt like hours !

Anyway, neighbour couldn't help while I was waiting, nobody seemed to have a shut off key, Fortuantely, within 30 minutes he had managed to locate the burst and fix it, under the sink but it was coming from the dishwasher - a split valve.

I am busy drying out the area and there was some water underneath the laminate, but we have not lifted it yet, as we think we have just managed to save it, all will tell once completed dried out and whether it will expand etc.

The plumber is going to come back once all the emergencies calm down and we are going to get a shut off valve fitted in our utility room where the mains must come in. This is definetly a job that is going to be done and not forgotten about.

I realised how lucky we have been, as it could have been in the ceiling. Our next door neighbour's burst 8 hours after ours and they have just moved in after a complete renovation and it was coming down their walls. I was some help, able to get them a key to help them switch theirs off. They work full time and had been coming back every so often to check their frozen pipes, as they knew mine had burst.

I would like to thank everyone for their very much valued advice and hope this has helped others

Thanks Again and roll on summer!

Lou x

27col

How can a house be cold enough to freeze a water pipe under the kitchen sink. Do you not have any heating? I don't think that I could live a house as cold as that. Although I did at one time.

welda

ormus wrote: »

i dont understand scottish housing law, but in england/wales, the water company is only responsible up to your property line.
so its the freeholder or the management company who sorts out this sort of problem. ie common parts of the building.

Same for here Ormus,

Water company up to property boundary, after this point, owners is responsible. I found this out many years ago, I was stuck working in Middle East, Mrs W calling to tell me her feet were wet. We divorced not long after this, on the grounds of wet feet :rotfl:
:beer:

welda

27col wrote: »

How can a house be cold enough to freeze a water pipe under the kitchen sink. Do you not have any heating? I don't think that I could live a house as cold as that. Although I did at one time.

A house doesn't have to be cold, there maybe cold spots, with draughts ect, I found this out this morning with water ingress.

Last couple of week stove has been thumping out heat, NGCH is zoned and heats where required, also a frost stat when temps really dip (this protects the CH system, also puts a wee bit heat in house when it kicks in at various times through the day) I can't speak for OP, but there are many people out there who have to take care
of their pennies, having heat 24/7 will perhaps put them under severe financial difficulties?

:beer: