Being very cold

[Pete Grey]

(8 January 2018, 10:12)Mortblanc Wrote: In my area the building codes require all utilities be buried 4 feet below surface. 48 inches seems excessive but after this experience it actually makes sense. Lord only knows how far down the ground is frozen after 2 weeks at -20c.

It is the pipes under houses or leaving or entering the ground that are getting frozen here.

I believe that crawl spaces are actually colder these days with the added insulation required underfloor by the codes. In the old days pipes got some heat from the house and if the crawl space was sealed up well they seldom froze.

It appears that I am going to need to insulate the individual pipes as well as apply heat tape after this season.

In fact, that deed will probably be done within the next couple of days.

I don’t know the current UK regs regarding the depth utilities should be MB but our house is a 1960 self build property, so maybe the builders were a little lazy when digging the trench. Take care and try and keep warm.