Winter hits Thunder Bay like a freight train. One day it’s autumn, the next your pipes are in serious trouble.
Every year, Thunder Bay plumbers get the same panicked calls. Homeowners discover burst pipes flooding their basements at the worst possible moments. Christmas morning with family visiting. The middle of a long weekend when nobody wants to deal with contractors.
The thing is, most of these disasters happen because people think it won’t happen to them. Or maybe they figure their house is different somehow. It’s not.
Why Your Pipes Are More Vulnerable Than You Think
Water starts turning solid when it hits -6°C. That’s not news to anyone living in Northwestern Ontario. But most folks don’t realize the real damage happens before they notice anything wrong.
Ice takes up more space than water – about 9% more, actually. When water freezes inside your plumbing, that expansion creates enormous pressure. Think of it like trying to stuff a winter coat into a summer jacket. Something’s got to give.
The sneaky part? The pipe might crack in a completely different spot than where the ice formed. Pressure travels through your plumbing system and finds the weakest point to break. You might have ice in your basement, but end up with a burst pipe in your kitchen wall.
Then spring comes, the ice melts, and suddenly you’ve got water spraying where it shouldn’t be.
The Pipes That Freeze First
Some pipes practically invite trouble. They’re the ones that freeze while others stay fine.
Pipes running through exterior walls take the worst beating. Cold seeps through tiny gaps in insulation and attacks these pipes directly. Your kitchen sink and bathroom fixtures often run through these danger zones.
Basement and crawl space pipes come next. Cold air settles in these areas, like water, and finds the lowest point. Poor ventilation makes things even worse.
Outside taps and irrigation systems might as well paint targets on themselves. Any water sitting in these lines turns to ice fast.
Pipes in garages, sheds, or anywhere without heating face the same temperatures as outdoors. They don’t stand a chance when a real cold snap hits.
Protection That Actually Prevents Problems
Everyone’s heard about leaving taps dripping. That’s fine as far as it goes, but it’s like using an umbrella in a hurricane. You need a real plan.
The science behind pipe freezing involves thermal bridging – how cold moves through materials to reach your water lines. Metal conducts cold faster than plastic, but both materials will freeze given enough time and cold.
Start With Insulation
Walk around your house on a cold day and touch the walls where pipes run. Feel any cold spots? That’s where your insulation is failing.
Foam pipe insulation costs maybe $15 at Canadian Tire and takes an hour to install. The foam tubes slip right over pipes and stay put. Focus on any pipes you can see in basements, crawl spaces, and along outside walls.
Don’t overthink this part. Basic foam insulation prevents most freeze problems.
Seal Air Leaks
Cold air sneaks through the smallest openings. Check where pipes come through the walls or foundation. Use spray foam or caulking to plug these gaps.
Look at electrical outlets on outside walls, too. These create air leaks that let cold reach nearby pipes. A bit of foam behind the outlet cover helps.
Disconnect Outdoor Water
Find your outdoor water shut-off valve. It’s usually in the basement where the main line enters your house. Turn it off before the first hard freeze.
Go outside and open all your outdoor taps to drain remaining water. Empty pipes can’t freeze and burst.
This step alone prevents tons of expensive repairs every year.
Open Cabinet Doors
Kitchen and bathroom sinks often sit against outside walls. During cold spells, open the cabinet doors under these sinks. This lets warm air from your house reach the pipes.
Your heating bill goes up slightly, but that’s better than dealing with burst pipes and water damage.
The Dripping Tap Method – When It Works
Moving water freezes more slowly than still water. A small drip can prevent ice formation in borderline conditions.
But here’s the catch – if your pipes are poorly insulated and temperatures really plummet, even moving water freezes solid. Plus, you’re wasting water and bumping up your bill.
Use dripping as backup protection, not your main defence. Pick taps connected to pipes running along exterior walls.
The drip should be steady but small – about the size of a pencil lead. Any more is wasteful, any less might not help.
Pipe Insulation Values – What the Numbers Mean
Different insulation materials offer different protection levels. Basic fibreglass wrap provides minimal protection for pipes in heated areas. Foam tube insulation works better for most Thunder Bay situations.
For serious cold protection, consider heat tape or heating cables. These electric strips wrap around pipes and plug into regular outlets. They cost more but provide active heating instead of just slowing heat loss.
Match your insulation choice to your risk level. Pipes in heated basements need less protection than pipes in unheated crawl spaces.
What Should be Your Move
Protecting pipes from freezing isn’t rocket science. It’s also not expensive compared to dealing with burst pipes and flooding.
Most people spend more on Tim Hortons in a month than it costs to properly insulate their pipes. Yet they’ll risk thousands in damage rather than spend a Saturday afternoon in their basement.
Physics doesn’t care about your schedule or budget. Water freezes at -6°C whether you’re ready or not. Frozen water expands and bursts pipes.
Get ahead of winter before it gets ahead of you
