Boiler broken - how to look after house till fixed?

PasturesNew

Burst pipes are very rare these days. It takes a LOT of freezing weather to produce one. Indeed, think back to the 1940s/1960s when houses had single glazing, no real insulation at all etc.... and, while freezing pipes were possible, they weren't all freezing every winter.

It'll be pipes exposed to the outside most at risk - e.g. external taps/pipes in the garden, which you can lag with some sacking and/or a length of foam pipe covering from a DIY merchant.

Inside, again, it'd just be the pipes closest to the freezing/cold parts of the house at risk.

Inside your house, even without heating, it's very unlikely to freeze to such a temperature that the internal pipes freeze/burst.

Smiley_Dan

There's no way any pipes within the thermal envelope will freeze. It depends on how (badly) insulated your house is, but even with no heating at all I wouldn't expect inside temps to go lower than 9Cish.

Might be a problem where water enters the house, but again you'll be running water off through the day and I don't think it would ever get the chance to freeze.

I'd just use one/two rooms and use your existing heaters in there.

Dan-Dan

pinkteapot wrote: »

We did just remember that our en-suite has electric underfloor heating(!). But we've lived at the house for two years now and have never turned it on, so not sure if turning it on after all this time would risk a leak or something?

This system doesnt use water

phoenix_w

pinkteapot wrote: »

We did just remember that our en-suite has electric underfloor heating(!). But we've lived at the house for two years now and have never turned it on, so not sure if turning it on after all this time would risk a leak or something? No idea if it even works.

Electric UFH is usually a big mat with wires running through it that heat up - it's kind of like having a toaster under the floor. The worst thing that will happen turning it on is that it won't work, or will work fro a bit but blow a fuse/trip a circuit. It won't heat up the room much, though but it will make your toes all toasty.

pinkteapot

Thanks for all the reassurance (and the lesson about electric UFH!) - much appreciated. We'll keep camping out in our two rooms under our blankets.

lottieholder

I've lived through the last 2 winters without a boiler. It's not the end of the world. When the new one was installed 3 weeks ago it took a couple of hours.

If the loft is insulated and the pipes are as well you should be ok. The only proviso I have on this is when I lived in a rented house a few years ago, whilst the pipes in the attic were insulated on the straight bits the joints weren't and they were what burst.

Head_The_Ball

pinkteapot wrote: »

Thanks for all the reassurance (and the lesson about electric UFH!) - much appreciated. We'll keep camping out in our two rooms under our blankets.

Find a mutual activity that will keep you warm.

J_B

pinkteapot wrote: »

We did just remember that our en-suite has electric underfloor heating(!). But we've lived at the house for two years now and have never turned it on, so not sure if turning it on after all this time would risk a leak or something?

If the electricity leaks out, just pick it up and put it back in the system through any plug socket!

pinkteapot wrote: »

I'd need to find the stopcock as I've never looked for it (I know where individual supply taps are for appliances, but not the main stopcock). I'll find it at the weekend if the boiler's not sorted by then.

Suggest you ought to know immediately where it is - leaks don't just happen when it freezes you know.

pinkteapot wrote: »

Thanks for all the reassurance (and the lesson about electric UFH!) - much appreciated. We'll keep camping out in our two rooms under our blankets.

Can't you sleep in the en-suite? :rotfl:

27col

Anyone who doesn't know the whereabouts of the stopcock and how to operate it, is just asking for trouble.
It should be exercised at least once a year, as they do tend to be quite difficult to operate after a long period of disuse.
You need them to operate when required, not half an hour later after you have been out in the garage looking for some pliers or a wrench. During which time the leak is causing the damage that leaks are so good at causing.

Le_Kirk

Or, if you cannot find the stopcock (or it won't turn easily) try to locate the valve in the street, it is normally with the water meter if you are (un)lucky enough to have one.