Texas deep freeze carnage thread

[MNLonghornFUKM 8,817]

Just heard about ice dams. Fuck all this!

They’re usually blown up with TNT

[troph 24,781]

27 minutes ago, Liquor and Poker said:

Yep - PEX and new, new constructions:

love my builder girlfriend... hey baby come look at this, I think we might want one.... "oh yeah, I already have that in the plans."

[Stinkpalm 687]

9 minutes ago, Shoxthemonkey said:

@ROFL BOX should chime in. Up here the damage comes from freeze and thaw cycles at the actual dam, that lift and separate the shingles allowing water to capillary in between them and damage the substrate. It takes several cycles to do this. I'm guessing that once your temps get back above freezing the ice will disappear in a single episode and with it the worry of water damage.  They manufacture sno-blocks that keep ice dams from forming  and also retard avalanche situations from  roofs but I doubt that you get enough snow and ice to warrant them. I'm far from expert but I doubt that you have a lot to worry about. If you can reach them, knock them out. If you can't, oh well. Don't try to get up on your roof. Good luck.

Literally just learning about ice dams. Walked outside to see ice forming down one of the cedar columns on our front porch and icicles forming on one of the porch overhang vents. Knew it wasn’t a bad roof as it’s relatively new and had been recently inspected. Glad I read about this and hopefully it’s just this spot. Will try and knock as much of it off as possible when I get home. 

[troph 24,781]

21 minutes ago, TexasEd said:

Cost vs return.

The reason you can do that with electrical is every circuit has a run all the way back to the switch panel.  For safety in adding ceiling fans or preventing fires with a short circuit each one can be tripped or shut off independently like if you drop the hair dryer in the tub. (Of course that is on a GFCI for added protection)

To have the equivalent in a home you would have to do that twice for every faucet (hot and cold) water.  When we had copper pipes the expense was high and there was little benefit, no-one would die if you had to shut down the whole house.  It might make sense using Pex cost wise, I don't know but you could probably throw that cost into additional insulation and freeze proof outdoor bibs and get a better return.

that manifold system is only a few hundred bucks on supply house.  I know everyone is price sensitive, but I think production builders just don't want to do it and homeowners don't know it's out there.  it actually looks like less than $500 in additional material and labor to hook it up.

 

edit - you're right, she just said what you said.  you have to run every single line as a separate line instead of daisy-chains or loops.  she said though it's still a good thing to have.

Edited February 18, 2021 by troph

[TwiceHorn 31,440]

4 minutes ago, troph said:

that manifold system is only a few hundred bucks on supply house.  I know everyone is price sensitive, but I think production builders just don't want to do it and homeowners don't know it's out there.  it actually looks like less than $500 in additional material and labor to hook it up.

 

edit - you're right, she just said what you said.  you have to run every single line as a separate line instead of daisy-chains or loops.  she said though it's still a good thing to have.

PEX is not approved in quite a few older, fancier building code jurisdictions.  Or just recently if at all.

[ROFL BOX 6,647]

@Biff Tannen

Where do you live?

If you or anyone needs help & are close to Oak Hill / Dripping Springs / Wimberley / Spicewood / Bee Cave & need roofing or plumbing [limited, non licensed] assistance, please call or text me @ 512.656.6635.

Pics are helpful but not required.

Sent from my SM-G950U1 using Tapatalk

[South Austin 52,456]

2 minutes ago, ROFL BOX said:

Pics are helpful but not required.

PM me for pics of his wife.

Edited February 18, 2021 by South Austin

[South Austin 52,456]

derp

Edited February 18, 2021 by South Austin
derp

[4th&Five 41,519]

5 minutes ago, ROFL BOX said:

@Biff Tannen

Where do you live?

If you or anyone needs help & are close to Oak Hill / Dripping Springs / Wimberley / Spicewood / Bee Cave & need roofing or plumbing [limited, non licensed] assistance, please call or text me @ 512.656.6635.

Pics are helpful but not required.

Sent from my SM-G950U1 using Tapatalk
 

Just screenshotted this for future reference. 

[drt 638]

32 minutes ago, ZB'Tejas said:

Welp. Hair dryer got the pipes into the Rinnai unit unfroze and once did the it tried to start up but then starting pouring water from the back of the unit.

Cut off the pipes for now as I guess I’m going to need a new unit. Dammit. And now I guess I need to worry about those pipes refreezing now that they have water and it’s shut off. Ugh


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That sucks. Sorry to hear 

[Shoxthemonkey 1,977]

26 minutes ago, troph said:

love my builder girlfriend... hey baby come look at this, I think we might want one.... "oh yeah, I already have that in the plans."

That is exactly the system that I have. My house is smallish, 2300 sq ft in 2 levels, so all of my runs are short. I have never taken the time to trim and organize my installation. That looks pretty cool. Viega is just down the road from me and a couple of my golf buddies are engineers there. I got my unit at their cost 20 years ago and I was in for very little expense. I'm well insulated so I have never had to drain a line for freeze prevention. It makes it a snap to replace water heaters or faucets.

You need to be very careful when attaching lines to the manifold. It's all plastic and it is possible to crack the unit if you put too much torque to a fitting. Don't ask me how I know.

Edited February 18, 2021 by Shoxthemonkey

[Anastasis 23,463]

17 minutes ago, troph said:

love my builder girlfriend... hey baby come look at this, I think we might want one.... "oh yeah, I already have that in the plans."

Pex is vulnerable to rodents chewing through the lines.  I love the idea of a pex manifold, but something to consider based on site.  

[troph 24,781]

16 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

PEX is not approved in quite a few older, fancier building code jurisdictions.  Or just recently if at all.

she uses it in Austin all the time.  It's now part of the international plumbing code she says. we are in the lakeway ETJ.

[Biff Tannen 45,665]

10 minutes ago, ROFL BOX said:

@Biff Tannen

Where do you live?

If you or anyone needs help & are close to Oak Hill / Dripping Springs / Wimberley / Spicewood / Bee Cave & need roofing or plumbing [limited, non licensed] assistance, please call or text me @ 512.656.6635.

Pics are helpful but not required.

Sent from my SM-G950U1 using Tapatalk
 

Hyde Park.  Sun is out and stuff it starting to melt.  If this giant block of ice lets loose, it's going to land directly above my head and I'm going to freak out.  Luckily it will hit metal roof, so I'm hoping there won't be any damage.

[TwiceHorn 31,440]

2 minutes ago, troph said:

she uses it in Austin all the time.  It's now part of the international plumbing code she says. we are in the lakeway ETJ.

Yeah, some cities have amended themselves out of that, at least until recently.  It had a checkered intro to the US, where our treated water deteriorated it real fast.

There are a few drawbacks, like the rodent thing Ana mentioned.  Copper has problems too. Mostly being a semi-precious metal.

Edited February 18, 2021 by TwiceHorn

[troph 24,781]

2 minutes ago, Anastasis said:

Pex is vulnerable to rodents chewing through the lines.  I love the idea of a pex manifold, but something to consider based on site.  

we are building with ICF (concrete blocks basically) and water lines will be on the inside of the concrete buried in the styrofoam.

[Anastasis 23,463]

Just now, troph said:

we are building with ICF (concrete blocks basically) and water lines will be on the inside of the concrete buried in the styrofoam.

ooooohhh.....very nice.  You are going to have a fucking indestructible zombie bunker. 

[troph 24,781]

Just now, TwiceHorn said:

Yeah, some cities have amended themselves out of that, at least until recently.

There are a few drawbacks, like the rodent thing Ana mentioned.  Copper has problems too. Mostly being a semi-precious metal.

with what Austin requires these days, I think rodents are less of an issue.  her problem is the house is too tight.  but she also uses foam insulation and so the pex is hard for a rodent to get to I'm guessing.  I don't know about fancy jurisdictions, I think it's common to have clauses in county/rural building codes that say something like "and if nothing is specified, per international building/plumbing/fire code whatever whatever)

but point taken.

and even with rats, the manifold would be super handy.

[Liquor and Poker 3,659]

1 minute ago, Anastasis said:

Pex is vulnerable to rodents chewing through the lines.  I love the idea of a pex manifold, but something to consider based on site.  

I once had an estate case involving a shitty house in S. Austin.  Worth about $100k max.  Executor couldn't sell it due to deferred maintenance and neighborhood.  It had a few rat droppings, so one of the well-meaning relatives went over on his own and filled the house with rat poison, which, among other things, makes rats extremely thirsty.  Rats gnawed through the PVC lines under the kitchen and bathroom sinks looking for water and they burst opened and the rats drowned.  House was full of 6" water and floating rat carcasses.  Additional damage to house was so extensive that the executor ended up selling it for $60k.  

Lord I hope that place got torn down.

[troph 24,781]

Just now, Anastasis said:

ooooohhh.....very nice.  You are going to have a fucking indestructible zombie bunker. 

I can't wait to have my friends over to play.

[Alex Karev 1,030]

Wow Check out this Guy

[TwiceHorn 31,440]

3 minutes ago, troph said:

with what Austin requires these days, I think rodents are less of an issue.  her problem is the house is too tight.  but she also uses foam insulation and so the pex is hard for a rodent to get to I'm guessing.  I don't know about fancy jurisdictions, I think it's common to have clauses in county/rural building codes that say something like "and if nothing is specified, per international building/plumbing/fire code whatever whatever)

but point taken.

and even with rats, the manifold would be super handy.

No real point.  I'm sure yall know what you're doing.  People were asking about PEX and copper so I was kind of relating the pros and cons.

[Anastasis 23,463]

2 minutes ago, troph said:

I can't wait to have my friends over to play.

Those ICF blocks probably do an outstanding job muffling the screams. 

[lockport 55]

Well I found the main cutoff valve down at the street. Tried turning it clockwise but it wouldn't budge. I'm afraid to fuck with it anymore than that since I don't know what I'm doing. Unable to locate the cutoff valve inside the house but I've narrowed it down and I think it's inside the wall.

[troph 24,781]

1 minute ago, TwiceHorn said:

No real point.  I'm sure yall know what you're doing.  People were asking about PEX and copper so I was kind of relating the pros and cons.

I don't, she does.

[dcar00 14,158]

heading for a new consecutive hours record.  32 hours now.   need 34 to set it.  will be 92 hours total from Thurs to Thurs.

AE says they have 90% up.  my guess is there will be a tweet from them saying 100% up and I will still be out. fuck these people.

[South Austin 52,456]

3 minutes ago, lockport said:

Well I found the main cutoff valve down at the street. Tried turning it clockwise but it wouldn't budge. I'm afraid to fuck with it anymore than that since I don't know what I'm doing. Unable to locate the cutoff valve inside the house but I've narrowed it down and I think it's inside the wall.

Just wack it with a hammer.

[Mrs Whiggins 13,050]

1 hour ago, SimonBolivar said:

 

Just skirted some serious $$$ disaster on those bottom boxes. This is after quite a bit of water has been cleared out.

Be still my gold digging heart. Bank vaults are just so damn sexy. It's like money porn.

[ChickenSandwich 9,829]

1 hour ago, BrazilHorn said:

I will put a plug in for Counter Cafe off of 29th Street. They've been open.

Texas French Bread opened today for coffee and limited baked goods

Looked like Roppolos on the drag was open as well

I didn't go by but Lucky Lab off the drag/26th is supposed to be open as well for coffee/pastries

KoBoda Korean wing place open on drag as well. Dominos on 19th too

[Mrs Whiggins 13,050]

3 minutes ago, ChickenSandwich said:

KoBoda Korean wing place open on drag as well. Dominos on 19th too

Did I miss it or are you still without power?

[Spaulding Smails 1,552]

75% of the calls we're getting are related to either exterior tankless water heaters or uninsulated copper pipes in attics, specifically those that have blown-in insulation.  Spray foam houses fared well and kept attic pipes above freezing temps. 

[FizzleFish 137]

8 minutes ago, dcar00 said:

heading for a new consecutive hours record.  32 hours now.   need 34 to set it.  will be 92 hours total from Thurs to Thurs.

AE says they have 90% up.  my guess is there will be a tweet from them saying 100% up and I will still be out. fuck these people.

Yeah this hasn’t been fair. Same thing is happening with my son down at San Marcos. 48 hours without and about 8 with and down again for 12+ hours.  Was frustrated with neighbors around us. They not once lost power that I know of. I know because they all had their porch lights on all day and night. They probably didn’t even realize it so I forgave them😁

[TwiceHorn 31,440]

Just now, Spaulding Smails said:

75% of the calls we're getting are related to either exterior tankless water heaters or uninsulated copper pipes in attics, specifically those that have blown-in insulation.  Spray foam houses fared well and kept attic pipes above freezing temps. 

In Austin, right?  Didn't think it was warm enough for shit to start busting, but I guess it is.

It's ~30 in Dallas and my roof isn't dripping yet, but it's kind of sunny, so I guess any shit is going to reveal itself soon.

[Spaulding Smails 1,552]

Just now, TwiceHorn said:

In Austin, right?  Didn't think it was warm enough for shit to start busting, but I guess it is.

It's ~30 in Dallas and my roof isn't dripping yet, but it's kind of sunny, so I guess any shit is going to reveal itself soon.

Yes.  Austin.  We received 19 incoming leads yesterday for plumbing issues.  And, we're not even a plumbing company.  We JUST got our plumbing license last week, and I have ONE plumber on staff, so we're prioritizing existing customers.  Temps got above freezing yesterday for a bit, and issues started arising.

I'm hearing the big plumbing companies are telling folks mid to late March before they can even come out to look at a leak.  This is going to dwarf Hurricane Harvey from an insurance claim standpoint.  Lots of these issues are NOT minor.  We have five in queue that will potentially be $100K+ due to the damages sustained.

[dcar00 14,158]

2 minutes ago, South Austin said:

Just wack it with a hammer.

I had to use a wrench on the gate valve to get mine to move.  I'd be careful hitting it with the hammer.

[ChickenSandwich 9,829]

13 minutes ago, Mrs Whiggins said:

Did I miss it or are you still without power?

Still without but have a truck full of gas. Might as well be useful to others. 
 

Now Att has throttled my unlimited internet plan and im fucked. LTE. Smdh

[ROFL BOX 6,647]

Re: PEX & deteriorating plastics / water, dont get that product mistaken with "KiTec".

http://www.kitecsettlement.com/faq.cfm

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[NeverMarryAStripper 21,875]

3 hours ago, gmr548 said:

 

What you people have to understand is that this senior citizen and this dog were honored to sacrifice themselves to ensure Texas could avoid federal oversight of its power grid, and to make sure energy companies generate maximum profits.

Condolences to your friends, troph. Infuriating.

 

Federal oversight really helped California's power grid

[Schulz2.0 28,951]

1 minute ago, NeverMarryAStripper said:

Federal oversight really helped California's power grid

Regulation of individual power generators would have meant much better winterization of power plants and far fewer blackouts.

[Hornbeliever 712]

Live in Houston where half block are new homes and half 1950s originals.  We all lost power for 36 hours. 

At 37th hour, almost simultaneously, my two neighbors in older homes had attic pipes burst.  A slew of us lucky ones spent a couple hours helping them clean up the mess.  Luckily, it was not whole house but they each lost a large rectangular portion of their ceiling and items under said ceiling.   Now, they are looking for places to live for a few weeks.

[Schulz2.0 28,951]

3 hours ago, gmr548 said:

 

What you people have to understand is that this senior citizen and this dog were honored to sacrifice themselves to ensure Texas could avoid federal oversight of its power grid, and to make sure energy companies generate maximum profits.

Condolences to your friends, troph. Infuriating.

 

[lockport 55]

27 minutes ago, dcar00 said:

I had to use a wrench on the gate valve to get mine to move.  I'd be careful hitting it with the hammer.

Yeah I don't feel comfortable going after it with a hammer. Gonna wait until tomorrow when it warms up a bit and try again. 

[Gale Snoats 242]

power was out for about 50 hours but been on but for a few short outages since early yesterday morning.  having pressure issues with water now but other than that water has been good the whole time (pressure and hot/cold functioning).  dripping inside and wrapped outside.  if i continue to drip and no other obvious issues bw now and going above freezing for good tomorrow will i make it through unscathed?  

 

tldr if water continues to function are you out of the woods once it gets above freezing (meaning not vulnerable to busting when warming up since you've maintained flow the whole time?)

[Biff Tannen 45,665]

2 minutes ago, Gale Snoats said:

power was out for about 50 hours but been on but for a few short outages since early yesterday morning.  having pressure issues with water now but other than that water has been good the whole time (pressure and hot/cold functioning).  dripping inside and wrapped outside.  if i continue to drip and no other obvious issues bw now and going above freezing for good tomorrow will i make it through unscathed?  

 

tldr if water continues to function are you out of the woods once it gets above freezing (meaning not vulnerable to busting when warming up since you've maintained flow the whole time?)

I have this same question

[dcar00 14,158]

1 hour ago, lockport said:

Yeah I don't feel comfortable going after it with a hammer. Gonna wait until tomorrow when it warms up a bit and try again. 

if you tapped straight down on the middle of it might lossen it enough to move it with a wrench.

[Snake Diggity 4,620]

Still absolutely no communication as to when people can expect the water to come back.  W. T. F. F. MF.

[CHIEF 5,078]

I am beat. My friend Chris, that I get my oysters and crawfish from, came home to a flooded yard, and water coming out from around exterior doors. Two story house built in the late 80's. He put the word out on NextDoor, and so many showed up, we had to start turning them away. Really restored my faith in my community. I sucked out at least 100 gallons of water, and there were eight other shop vacs going as well. We tore the ceilings out, cleaned everything up, filled the garage with furniture, and put wooden blocks under the remaining furniture to dry it out.  People dropped off so many groceries, and complete meals, that others were taking whole meals home. Another friend was in town, I asked him if he had a transfer pump, he didn't but bought two, brought them over, and started pumping out the yard into the drainage ditch. Several of those helping, are still without power at their own homes. We went to other houses, and they had all already been taken care of.

CHIEF

[TwiceHorn 31,440]

1 hour ago, ROFL BOX said:

Re: PEX & deteriorating plastics / water, dont get that product mistaken with "KiTec".

http://www.kitecsettlement.com/faq.cfm

Sent from my SM-G950U1 using Tapatalk
 

Well, Kitec is a PEX product, although it is different from what is sold today.  One of its problems was that some of it was PEX-Aluminum-PEX and used brass/bronze connectors.  And that's worse than cats and dogs.

 

There was a more general problem with early PEX formulations used in the US.  Chlorine and fluoride deteritorated it.

Edited February 18, 2021 by TwiceHorn

[washparkhorn 9,939]

2 hours ago, Anastasis said:

Pex is vulnerable to rodents chewing through the lines.  I love the idea of a pex manifold, but something to consider based on site.  

There are manifolds for copper as well. My house in Denver had it in the basement. It had steampunk (similar to below). It was built at the time of construction - and must have cost a pretty copper penny for all that copper. 

Pex appears the way to go to make this work. 

Quote

 

Copper:

(not my photo)

v.

Pex:

 

 

[TwiceHorn 31,440]

That copper get up looks expensive AF.