is there anything i can do to prevent or limit the chances of the pipes in my attic bursting? i know fcuk all about plumbing and all this talk of plummeting temperatures over the next few days has me worried to fcuk. hopefully it doesn't happen to me or anyone else on here but if it was to happen has anyone any tips on what to do to prevent too much damage? how would i switch the water off if i needed to do that? (i don't even know how to do that..)
Make sure your water pipes and water tank are insulated. The pipes can be insulated very quickly and easily with these and you should get them in any hardware http://www.insul8it.com/EPDM_pipe_insulation.jpg The water mains tap is usually under the kitchen sink units. If your not going to be in the house for a few days, make sure the heat is timed to come on for a few hours and people often leave the attic door open so as to allow th heat to rise into the attic.
A couple of useful tips are : if you have a light in your attic, keep it on. Keep the heat on all night, but at a low tempature. always insulate your attic and Lagg all pipes. There should be a stopcock in the house for turnuig off the water. its usually located in the hotpress but not always. Some people are leaving their water running all night so it doesnt freeze. Thats why water levels are low and concils are turning water off at night.
willie just go to the hardware and ask for some lagging and a couple of rolls if insulating tape and gerrup into the attic and just wrap the lagging around the pipe coming from your water tank, its handy enough
there are heaters with stats available, but probably impossible to get before xmas... VERY handy!....they have a stat i.e. come on when it reaches a certain low temp... Really should be in every house..... also the brother is a plumber.......he's always recomended for years, to build a type of 'hut' around the tanks in attic....usually with the 2inch foiled insulation sheets..... He also cuts the same stuff out & puts it between the rafters in the whole attic....a great job !
Good thread about it here. some people have installed infra-red lamps that kick in after the temperature drops below a certain level stopping the pipes from freezing.