WATER.

It’s all around us.

70% of the Earth is covered by it.

It’s IN us.

60-65% of each and every one of us IS water.

Water is fundamental to all of us and to the living planet.

And yet water is the single biggest call for response to Emergency Restoration Companies.

Water can enter into buildings in a variety of ways.

Over time, roofs can and ultimately will leak.  Flashing around chimneys, dormer windows and vent pipes are often the start.  Ice damns in the winter are of particular concern.

Gutters and downspouts can clog, and water will find an alternate path to take, often into instead of away from a building.

Storms, especially those causing flash floods, can pour on more water than the drainage system can reasonably handle.  And these are often the times when water will find its way in where it’s never been a problem before…under door sills and in through windows and even under the soffit when high winds drive the rain at 45-degree angles.

Your local Department of Public Works performs regular, routine maintenance on the pipes that you never see, buried underground.  They replace older pipes and shut off valves.  They also respond to emergencies: water main breaks, especially in the winter when they are most likely to burst.  All of these mean a disruption in the supply and the pressure of clean water coming into your building. These changes, along with the sediment that is stirred up during maintenance & repairs can wreak havoc with aging pipes in your building and with supply lines that have in-line filtration like to Ice Machines & Coffee Machines.

Water is already present, usually contained, within your building.

Inside, pipes can freeze in the winter and burst, especially pipes in uninsulated and unheated portions of a building. Older copper pipes deteriorate over time and develop pinhole leaks. Drain lines from sinks and commodes can clog, causing an overflow. Curious children have been known to flush inappropriate objects down the toilet…hard as that is to imagine.

Septic and sewage can back up into your building at its lowest levels.  This presents an especially hazardous situation, as you now have “black water”, with a bio-hazard risk to everything that it touches.  This requires not only removing the standing water and addressing the cause, but cleaning and sanitizing everything that’s been touched. In certain situations, in commercial buildings, this requires re-certification from the Health Department before the business can safely…and legally…re-open for business.

And water left standing…regardless of the cause or the source…will contribute to microbial growth.

Water, Ice, and Freezing Temperatures in the Winter causes Specific Problems for Buildings

Be honest.

We’ve all put a plastic bottle of water or can of soda in the freezer…

… and forgotten about it.

Liquids expand when they freeze.  And if what it’s contained in does not stretch, something’s going to blow, especially in older pipes.

We think of wind chill affecting US; making us feel colder the more the wind blows.  But this also has an effect on pipes, as well.  So, when you add gusty winds to plummeting temperatures, you have a recipe for frozen pipes.  The blowing, frigid air displaces any warmer air around the pipes, having the effect of lowering the temperature.  This might occur in a drafty old house, or in an un-heated, uninsulated portion of any building, commercial or residential.

And then there’s the freeze/thaw phenomenon.

With changes in temperature as well as in the pressure within the pipes due to freezing then thawing, you are more likely to be looking at a burst pipe.  Pipes might be in warmer, heated air during hours of building occupancy, but temperatures may be significantly lower overnight.

Ice dams are another type of freeze/thaw phenomenon.  These most often occur on pitched (not flat) roofs.  Icicles may look pretty, but they are a sign of heat leaching out of your building, causing the icicles…and potentially…an ice dam to form along the edge of the roof. A heavy snow load on a roof may partially thaw during the daylight hours, but then refreeze overnight.  This generally affects gutters and downspouts, as the melting snow runs off the roofline toward them.  But if left unchecked, the slushy water that is backing up behind the ice dam can force its way under a shingled roof, allowing water penetration into your building.

Outdoor water elements, things like hose bibs, are of particular concern.  Left unchecked, they can expand, crack, and burst, often through the wall and into your building.  It’s not just a risk for a breach outside your building.

Gloom and Doom

It sure sounds like it!

But it doesn’t have to be this way; there are things that you can do all year long to minimize the risk of wintertime ice & water problems.

Property Assessment During the Warmer Months is the place to Start (call out)

Performing an annual inspection on your building to check for breaches, missing or damaged shingles, clogged or inefficient gutters and downspouts, as well as the “R” value of your insulation are all a great place to start.

Shut off outdoor hose bibs as the temperatures start to drop, and replace the old-fashioned spigots with freeze-proof hose bibs.

Theoretically, you can drop the thermostat to as low as the mid 50’s, at times when a building is unoccupied.  But you are really gambling if you do.  Drafty spots in the building, as well as uninsulated portions of a building or unheated portions of a building will be far colder than that.  Mid 60 to upper 60’s is far safer.  Besides, if you allow the temperatures to drop well into the 50’s, any potential energy savings will be lost in later reheating the building.  Heat tape, while not inexpensive, can be added to lengths of metal pipes that are in unheated, uninsulated areas.  This only works, however, when the power is on.

Install local shutoffs for all water elements within your building.  It’s much more efficient to stop a problem near the source, then to have to trace back a twisting and turning line of pipes in an effort to find a shutoff.  And mark those shutoffs so that anyone in the building can find them.

Ice dams can be particularly challenging to deal with when it’s dark and 20 degrees.  But if you open up even a small breach or two to allow the trapped water to flow, you’re halfway there.  

Develop a relationship with an Emergency Response Team, like Elegant Restoration. 

Better to have a trusted partner already in place than to have to scramble in the middle of the night to find, well, a stranger.  Trust and reputation go a long way to reducing the anxiety experienced during a midnight crisis.

If you are a Commercial Property Owner or run a business that has brick and mortar, reach out and connect with us.  We’d much rather get to know you before that midnight call….