What is your policy on repeated freeze-ups?

Bill Nye_2

Last week me and my partner spent 3 hrs and "saved" the pipes from bursting. Heat guns, propane heater, cut out some plywood to let heat in. Stuffed insulation in the voids left by her framer on her one year old $$$$$$$ addition.

We then left explicit instructions on how to avoid it happening again. She called this morning, not only did the pipes we thawed freeze but another area of the house. Some people never listen. They didn't want to waste oil or electricity so they didn't plug in the electric heater and turned the thermostat down,probably didn't leave the cabinet door open either.

My boss said he would put her on the list and we would get there when we could. Of course she will get charged again.

No professional plumber or heaterdude would put a pipe where it could freeze. Her plumber ran pipes close to sill and on outside wall with no insulation. Not our fault she didn't choose us for original install.

If it is something you could have done or should have done or something you did wrong....... then you should fix it free just for being stupid , other than that the customer should pay.

Like my friend George says, you can't fix stupid.

Ken C.

Some people just don't learn...

A first-time homeowner and landlord called us last week because her tenant had no water to the kitchen sink. I told her that the pipes had frozen because they were in an exterior wall with no insulation. I could feel the cold air blowing in. The pipes had un-froze by the time I arrived, so luckily for her, I didn't have to thaw them or repair a split pipe.

I advised the landlord to remove the paneling she had installed under the kitchen sink to cover up the hole in the wall (obviously, those pipes had frozen in the past, hence the hole). I also advised her to insulate the pipes, and insulate the wall cavity.

Futhermore, I also advised the landlord to instruct her tenant to leave the kitchen cabinet doors open and open the faucet a trickle during periods of extreme cold.

Well, my boss said she called two more times over the last few days with the same problem.

I was at the plumbing supply house this morning and overhead another plumber who had the same problem with a customer who failed to follow his advice and called back with the same pipe frozen.

I always tell customers that I will thaw/fix a frozen pipe, but that I will not redo the repair if it freezes again (especially in an unheated building or unheated portion of a building).

How do you guys handle customers who call repeatedly for the same frozen pipes?

Bill Nye_2

I get annoyed

Last week me and my partner spent 3 hrs and "saved" the pipes from bursting. Heat guns, propane heater, cut out some plywood to let heat in. Stuffed insulation in the voids left by her framer on her one year old $$$$$$$ addition.

We then left explicit instructions on how to avoid it happening again. She called this morning, not only did the pipes we thawed freeze but another area of the house. Some people never listen. They probably didn't want to waste oil or electricity so they didn't plug in the electric heater and turned the thermostat down,probably didn't leave the cabinet door open either.

My boss said he would put her on the list and we would get there when we could. Of course she will get charged again.

No professional plumber or heaterdude would put a pipe where it could freeze. Her plumber ran pipes close to sill and on outside wall with no insulation. Not our fault she didn't choose us for original install.

If it is something you could have done or should have done or something you did wrong....... then you should fix it free just for being stupid , other than that the customer should pay.

Like my friend George says, you can't fix stupid.

EJW

Freeze up

Ken, leaving the faucet at a trickle is asking for a frozen sewer line. (Not fun) EJW

Constantin

It's the worst...

.... because you'd think that the installers would know better.

When the time came to run pipes in my house, there wasn't even a question about running stuff in the exterior walls, foam-filled or not. It simply wasn't done. The only pipe out there is the DWV vent (PVC) and even that has at least an inch of foam between it and the exterior sheathing boards.

It's an art to run pipe efficiently in a house. I had my wife fully prepared to lose 4" of her beloved pantry space for DWV, hot, cold water. Then, our excellent plumber found a different way, that ran the pipes through the interior walls instead. Now everyone is happy.