{"id":1098,"date":"2021-04-06T00:16:36","date_gmt":"2021-04-06T00:16:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/whatblueprint.com\/?p=1098"},"modified":"2023-04-14T09:32:22","modified_gmt":"2023-04-14T09:32:22","slug":"will-pipes-freeze-in-an-unheated-basement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/whatblueprint.com\/will-pipes-freeze-in-an-unheated-basement\/","title":{"rendered":"Will Pipes Freeze in an Unheated Basement?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
During the wintertime, your water pipes are susceptible to freezing. Basements are one of the most protected types of foundations. The question now is if your pipes can still freeze in an unheated basement despite the protection that it provides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Your pipes will freeze if your basement is not heated. Even with insulation installed, the basement temperature will eventually drop to freezing temperatures (for pipes). A combination of insulation and temperature control is needed to prepare your basement for the cold season.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Read more as we\u2019ll be going into how to prepare your basement for winter. We\u2019ll be tackling topics such as heating your basement, types of insulation to use, and good practices to have to avoid your fixtures from getting damaged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In this section, we just want to get into a brief introduction of these different parts of a home. It\u2019s essential to know more about them to help you make sound decisions in preparing for winter or when something goes wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Basements are the most expensive type of foundation to have built for a house, with good reason. Unlike slab-type foundations, basements provide easy access to your utilities (electrical, plumbing, and mechanical). Compared to crawlspace types, basements provide a useable space for homeowners to be used as an extra room for storage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Plumbing systems are designed to be able to handle mishaps. Strategically placed gate valves give homeowners the option to turn off water flow to broken plumbing fixtures. Clean-outs, holes that allow you to access drain pipes will enable you to drain your waste pipes if anything gets clogged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pipes, in general, are located near the natural grade line of a site (ground level). They can either be made out of PVC, copper, and steel. The most resistant to freezing and economical piping among the three is PVC (plastic) due to its lightweight, ease of installation, and insulation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Insulation can be simply described, for our purposes, as keeping warm temperatures in a while keeping cold temperatures out. Insulating materials have characteristics that have a reduced absorption or transference of temperatures, which is excellent for maximizing the heat generated from your HVAC. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The process of insulating a basement is almost just like protecting any other part of the house. The main difference is that your basement is the lowest part of your house (coldest) and that your basement can be exposed to the low temperatures from the outdoors and the ground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We first want to get into the different types of insulation materials used for buildings. It\u2019s essential to know these so that you can assess what type to use for your basement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The most common type of insulation and the cheapest, board insulation, can be installed in any part of your home(walls, floor, and ceiling); it\u2019s recommended that it be used in conjunction with other insulations. These boards are made out of polystyrene and usually come with a moisture deterrent finish such as kraft paper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fill type insulation is excellent for nooks and crannies found inside your basement. As the name implies, fill-type insulation is made out of small bits of poured materials. These materials can range anything from fiberglass to cellulose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Blanket type insulations are made by weaving in together materials with insulation properties. Blankets are often used in irregularly shaped buildings (think curved or lots of corners).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Foam-type insulation is often used for basements because of how well it can insulate and the moisture protection. However, spray foam insulation is also the most expensive type and difficult to install.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nBasements and plumbing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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