Texas deep freeze carnage thread

[South Austin 53261]

So everything had been fine until the power went out in 78756 at 4am. This morning I put some milk and chicken in a Yeti and set in the garage, and noticed a line of water along the bottom of one of the garage walls. The plumbing near, but not along, that wall are the kitchen refrigerator and the upstairs master sinks. No discernible moisture anywhere on the wall or ceiling. What say you winter carnage experts?

[davidg 4058]

8 minutes ago, SquishMitten said:

Fuckity fuck fuck. Woke up to a ton of water on the floor. Got it shut off at the main, soaked up the standing water, and opened up the ceiling where it was dripping from. Just had new hardwood installed last month. Hope it isn’t completely fucked.

Weird thing though, when I went to shut off the water my meter was barely moving. Like almost unnoticeable. And that was with most of the indoor faucets dripping. My neighbor’s was spinning like a mutha though. Jogged up to his house and water was gushing out of his attic. Our situation wasn’t nearly that dramatic, but shouldn’t my meter have been moving somewhat? I checked both water heaters and they’re dry. Also, the puddled water wasn’t hot. Anything else it could be?

Do you have a flow indicator on the meter?  Mine is still old school dial and it has a small red triangle that rotates if there is the slightest drip or leak.  My dads meter has a newer digital readout and shows xxxxx.xx gallons.  If it is dripping you can see hundredths of gallon increments 

[gmr548 16704]

So everything had been fine until the power went out in 78756 at 4am. This morning I put some milk and chicken in a Yeti and set in the garage, and noticed a line of water along the bottom of one of the garage walls. The plumbing near, but not along, that wall are the kitchen refrigerator and the upstairs master sinks. No discernible moisture anywhere on the wall or ceiling. What say you winter carnage experts?

It’s piss

[Mrs Whiggins 13050]

These are some tragic stories with more to come I’m afraid. Lives lost, property damage, on top of the pandemic/fire/flood years it’s wearing on everyone. 
 

Thanks to all who have been able to provide comfort and shelter to others. 
 

With the ice, we are now attempting to keep our sense of humor by half hearted attempts that we have somehow been transported to Varykino and are humming Dr Zhivago; the younger set is not amused. 
 

Crossing fingers that our power blackout will not succumb to power gone and hope that they can bring more online. As tiresome as the 30 minutes on is, it is at least something....

 

[otisdog 365]

Water meters measure by the “unit” not by gallons...so when the meter shows a increase of 1, you have used 748 gallons of water.

[BabaYaga 15631]

12 hours ago, CooterBrown said:

The Randall’s up on Lakeline around 5pm...Guaranteed someone is breaking in to the animal shelter for meat by Thursday.

Jesus, the world is full of giant poons.  Going to be in the 60's in a few days.  WTF people.  

[BabaYaga 15631]

12 minutes ago, otisdog said:

 you have used 748 gallons of water.

And that's just for coffee....

[drt 647]

18 minutes ago, South Austin said:

So everything had been fine until the power went out in 78756 at 4am. This morning I put some milk and chicken in a Yeti and set in the garage, and noticed a line of water along the bottom of one of the garage walls. The plumbing near, but not along, that wall are the kitchen refrigerator and the upstairs master sinks. No discernible moisture anywhere on the wall or ceiling. What say you winter carnage experts?

Is the vertical concrete curb damp, or only the floor? 

[ChickenSandwich 9971]

1 hour ago, drt said:

Very nice place.  Be careful if you do the tree work yourself.  Can be very dangerous as limbs can go unpredictable ways.

1234

Paralyzed my cousin trying to do it all himself. No dummy, he’s an anesthesiologist. Be careful 

[South Austin 53261]

6 minutes ago, drt said:

Is the vertical concrete curb damp, or only the floor? 

Looks like only the floor. Baseboards above the curb appear dry. Here are some closer shots. And it’s a thin stream along that edge, not anywhere else in the garage.

Edited February 17, 2021 by South Austin

[Smax 3800]

Weee

[Gatorubet 30783]

I agree with you but this one is probably on the lawyers. 

[BayouBill 835]

11 minutes ago, South Austin said:

Looks like only the floor. Baseboards above the curb appear dry. Here are some closer shots. And it’s a thin stream along that edge, not anywhere else in the garage.

Hopefully I'm wrong but that looks like it could be a leaking pipe. Had the same sort of thing happen to us years ago after a freeze.

[pearlandhorn 3343]

Finally lost power at my house in Pearland.  We were on the same grid as a wastewater treatment plant about 3 miles away and finally lost it at 8:30 this morning.  We've been at my parents' house in Tyler since last week.  They've never lost power but the water mains all over town are starting to either freeze or bust, causing water pressure to decrease.

It's above freezing at the house and never got too cold for an extended period.  Neighbor came over and ran the water multiple times and let it dribble overnight on Monday night I believe and last night.  Hope we're good.

Probably going to try and make it back tomorrow.  Too much ice on 45 and 59.  My mom has a subaru she used to use up in Colorado when she had a place up there and we went and got it at the car lot she was trying to sell it at.  We're taking that home and leaving my 2WD truck up here and will get it next week.

Good luck everyone.  Need this power to come back.  Too many people are suffering in the cold.  Heads should roll.

[phdhorn 6225]

2 minutes ago, BayouBill said:

Hopefully I'm wrong but that looks like it could be a leaking pipe. Had the same sort of thing happen to us years ago after a freeze.

Unfortunately I agree.  Had a pinpoint in my garage a year ago, same thing.

I really, really, really hope I'm wrong.

[dingleberryswitzer 2724]

22 minutes ago, BabaYaga said:

Jesus, the world is full of giant poons.  Going to be in the 60's in a few days.  WTF people.  

While you're not wrong, I think you underestimate just how much food is not getting delivered.  Grocery stores may not keep more than a day worth of "back stock" on high the over items like meat and bread.  

[South Austin 53261]

1 minute ago, phdhorn said:

Unfortunately I agree.  Had a pinpoint in my garage a year ago, same thing.

I really, really, really hope I'm wrong.

So a leak in the slab? Wondering why I’m not seeing any moisture in the walls.

[davidg 4058]

39 minutes ago, otisdog said:

Water meters measure by the “unit” not by gallons...so when the meter shows a increase of 1, you have used 748 gallons of water.

Some read gallons some read cubic ft.  100ft^3 = your 748 gal.

[phdhorn 6225]

Just now, South Austin said:

So a leak in the slab? Wondering why I’m not seeing any moisture in the walls.

My leak was in the little manifold in back of the refrigerator ice maker. We capped it off since we don't use ice anyway from it. We were fortunate that the leak was pointed toward the garage and not in toward the kitchen so that might be one thing if you have a leak that's going in your favor. If it's a small leak and pointing the wrong way you may not see any water.

 

Like I said, I hope I'm wrong and it's some kind of melting because melting is occurring this morning

[BabaYaga 15631]

5 minutes ago, dingleberryswitzer said:

While you're not wrong, I think you underestimate just how much food is not getting delivered.  Grocery stores may not keep more than a day worth of "back stock" on high the over items like meat and bread.  

Settle down Karen.....it's going to fine....

[drt 647]

Yeah, if the curb isn’t one piece with the garage floor could be melting from the outside, or a leak. What’s on the exterior?

[B00M 6736]

5 minutes ago, pearlandhorn said:

...in Tyler since last week.  They've never lost power but the water mains all over town are starting to either freeze or bust, causing water pressure to decrease.

I dont really know repairing shit like this works, but statewide, that seems really bad. Does it mean jackhammering through streets to fix broken sections? That seems like months of repairs and potentially contaminated water. Hope im wrong

[Nice Guy Eddie 13742]

If possible, shouldn't people turn off the water to their house, especially if they're not getting any water?  That's what I did in Houston. I believe that I have at least one frozen pipe off an exterior wall. No idea if there is a burst but I haven't seen any water. I am barely getting any water pressure in Houston, so I decided to shut off the water completely.  Downside is that I have to rely on word-of-mouth or news stories to know when the water is back.

Earlier, I did put buckets to catch rain and melting ice off my roof. At least its good for flushing toilets and washing, if necessary.

[Axle Hongsnort 211]

1234
Paralyzed my cousin trying to do it all himself. No dummy, he’s an anesthesiologist. Be careful 

I needed to hear that. Was thinking about getting access to a chainsaw to start the work myself, but fuck it, I’ll let nature do its thing until the pros can get here.

[South Austin 53261]

Just now, drt said:

Yeah, if the curb isn’t one piece with the garage floor could be melting from the outside, or a leak. What’s on the exterior?

It’s not an exterior wall. It’s adjacent to the kitchen. Maybe something to do with the refrigerator losing power? I dunno.

[gmr548 16704]

Jesus, the world is full of giant poons.  Going to be in the 60's in a few days.  WTF people.  

Nothing like a keyboard tough guy take incorporating the word “poon”

[drt 647]

1 minute ago, South Austin said:

It’s not an exterior wall. It’s adjacent to the kitchen. Maybe something to do with the refrigerator losing power? I dunno.

Either the fridge defrosted and leaked or you have a waterline issue. 

[BradInATX 9208]

Got a leak here. Ended up with a layer of water in my office. Luckily I was in there. Bout 95% sure it's related to the one outdoor spigot I couldn't keep unfrozen. The one I've been worried about the whole time. FML. Shop vacced up maybe 3 gallons and soaked 4 towels finishing it up. So not a ton of volume fortunately.

Cut a hole in the drywall where I thought it would be, missed but can feel wet insulation. It's not too bad. Only thing I can see or feel is this. Doesn't connect to anything horizontally but it sure doesn't look right. Anyone recognize this, or just want to make copper dick jokes?

If I can get out of this with a minor exterior wall leak that's fixable and I'll consider us lucky as hell. I can half ass the drywall repair because it's in my office closet that stays locked because it has ammo and bourbon.

[The Ace of Aces 5377]

1 hour ago, drt said:

Snowmelt from the attic, ie snow blowing in gable vents?

Could be an ice dam. That's an issue up here in the north sometimes. 

[dingleberryswitzer 2724]

8 minutes ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

If possible, shouldn't people turn off the water to their house, especially if they're not getting any water?  That's what I did in Houston. I believe that I have at least one frozen pipe off an exterior wall. No idea if there is a burst but I haven't seen any water. I am barely getting any water pressure in Houston, so I decided to shut off the water completely.  Downside is that I have to rely on word-of-mouth or news stories to know when the water is back.

Earlier, I did put buckets to catch rain and melting ice off my roof. At least its good for flushing toilets and washing, if necessary.

Yep shut mine off yesterday after flow slowed to a trickle the stopped completely.  Opened all the faucets and let them drain.  Not gonna open it up until we get a a few night above freezing.  

[troph 25247]

Damn Brad that shocked the fuck out of me.  Flinched thinking the money shot was coming. The board there kinda looks like a hairy leg. Ugh. 

Edited February 17, 2021 by troph

[drt 647]

Ya I just had a buddy send me pics of one on his house in 78745. This rain after melting / freezing is really shitty. 

[troph 25247]

Out of water. Was able to get 12-15 gallons when low pressure started. Have drinking water so we will see what happens. Thankfully we are hovering around freezing not a deep freeze.

[BayouBill 835]

21 minutes ago, South Austin said:

So a leak in the slab? Wondering why I’m not seeing any moisture in the walls.

Probably still in the wall but pointing straight down or towards a stud or beam. 

[Mrs Whiggins 13050]

15 minutes ago, BradInATX said:

Got a leak here. Ended up with a layer of water in my office. Luckily I was in there. Bout 95% sure it's related to the one outdoor spigot I couldn't keep unfrozen. The one I've been worried about the whole time. FML. Shop vacced up maybe 3 gallons and soaked 4 towels finishing it up. So not a ton of volume fortunately.

Cut a hole in the drywall where I thought it would be, missed but can feel wet insulation. It's not too bad. Only thing I can see or feel is this. Doesn't connect to anything horizontally but it sure doesn't look right. Anyone recognize this, or just want to make copper dick jokes?

If I can get out of this with a minor exterior wall leak that's fixable and I'll consider us lucky as hell. I can half ass the drywall repair because it's in my office closet that stays locked because it has ammo and bourbon.

I believe your office closet contains the Eye of Sauron. 
 

 

[drt 647]

11 minutes ago, troph said:

Out of water. Was able to get 12-15 gallons when low pressure started. Have drinking water so we will see what happens. Thankfully we are hovering around freezing not a deep freeze.

Thanks for this. In your neck of the woods and was also able to get a little 

[troph 25247]

3 minutes ago, drt said:

Thanks for this. In your neck of the woods and was also able to get a little 

I should have posted first collected second. If you need water let me know. I’ve got 25 gallons some drinking some collected needs to boil first. I’m serious if you get low PM me, we can bring you some.  

We can collect snow too, and then pool water in a pinch. 

[Bojack 2092]

12 minutes ago, BradInATX said:

Got a leak here. Ended up with a layer of water in my office. Luckily I was in there. Bout 95% sure it's related to the one outdoor spigot I couldn't keep unfrozen. The one I've been worried about the whole time. FML. Shop vacced up maybe 3 gallons and soaked 4 towels finishing it up. So not a ton of volume fortunately.

Cut a hole in the drywall where I thought it would be, missed but can feel wet insulation. It's not too bad. Only thing I can see or feel is this. Doesn't connect to anything horizontally but it sure doesn't look right. Anyone recognize this, or just want to make copper dick jokes?

If I can get out of this with a minor exterior wall leak that's fixable and I'll consider us lucky as hell. I can half ass the drywall repair because it's in my office closet that stays locked because it has ammo and bourbon.

That looks like a copper cap.  It could be an abandoned line going to nowhere.  It might also be the end of an air chamber, connected to some fixture.  Either way, if that's all that's broken, you'll just need to replace that cap.  Are there any plumbing fixtures close to this pipe?

[BradInATX 9208]

2 minutes ago, Bojack said:

That looks like a copper cap.  It could be an abandoned line going to nowhere.  It might also be the end of an air chamber, connected to some fixture.  Either way, if that's all that's broken, you'll just need to replace that cap.  Are there any plumbing fixtures close to this pipe?

 

Yeah, there should be piping coming in from an exterior spigot that was hard frozen. Was the first one to freeze, I've been worried about it the whole time. So it may be more than that cap, but hopefully not. 

[drt 647]

6 minutes ago, troph said:

I should have posted first collected second. If you need water let me know. I’ve got 25 gallons some drinking some collected needs to boil first. I’m serious if you get low PM me, we can bring you some.  

We can collect snow too, and then pool water in a pinch. 

Thanks! Unless we have a sustained outage we will be ok. Hopefully the sirens I just heard weren’t related

[davidg 4058]

1 hour ago, pearlandhorn said:

Finally lost power at my house in Pearland.  We were on the same grid as a wastewater treatment plant about 3 miles away and finally lost it at 8:30 this morning.  We've been at my parents' house in Tyler since last week.  They've never lost power but the water mains all over town are starting to either freeze or bust, causing water pressure to decrease.

It's above freezing at the house and never got too cold for an extended period.  Neighbor came over and ran the water multiple times and let it dribble overnight on Monday night I believe and last night.  Hope we're good.

Probably going to try and make it back tomorrow.  Too much ice on 45 and 59.  My mom has a subaru she used to use up in Colorado when she had a place up there and we went and got it at the car lot she was trying to sell it at.  We're taking that home and leaving my 2WD truck up here and will get it next week.

Good luck everyone.  Need this power to come back.  Too many people are suffering in the cold.  Heads should roll.

Still at my dads.  Just got a call from City of Tyler saying city in on a boil notice now.  We killed the water Sunday but cracked it a bit yesterday to refill a tub for flushing water.  Good luck.

[TwiceHorn 32103]

42 minutes ago, Bojack said:

That looks like a copper cap.  It could be an abandoned line going to nowhere.  It might also be the end of an air chamber, connected to some fixture.  Either way, if that's all that's broken, you'll just need to replace that cap.  Are there any plumbing fixtures close to this pipe?

Had same thought.  And if it's like your pick a great candidate for a freeze burst.  Pretty short, capped at one end, with an elbow at the other, and not affected by flowing water in other pipes, much.

[SquishMitten 10497]

Do you have a flow indicator on the meter?  Mine is still old school dial and it has a small red triangle that rotates if there is the slightest drip or leak.  My dads meter has a newer digital readout and shows xxxxx.xx gallons.  If it is dripping you can see hundredths of gallon increments 

There’s a counter on it, like an old odometer in a car. Took me 5-10 minutes to get the valve completely closed. In that span, the very last digit went up by 1 (something like 1802911 to 1802912). Again, I had all interior faucets on a steady stream so there would be some movement in the dial from those.

ETA: the last digit (maybe the last two) was a different color, so I’m assuming that means 1/10 or 1/100 of a gallon.

[drt 647]

SIAP 

http://www.austintexas.gov/page/boil-water-notice-and-faqs
 

Lost Creek and SW austin under boil water notices. 

[TwiceHorn 32103]

Trudged out in Dallas to check my #teamstream outdoor spigots, all still going and capable of a full stream when opened Iindicates to me that not partially frozen or anything).  So that's nice.

No detectable ice in central/nawf Dallas, just more sweet powder.  And it's not melting here at ~25 and overcast.

[RPM 26674]

14 hours ago, Wanker Bob said:

So the wife's family in Decatur told us their Walmart had to get rid of all the refrigerated product because the power outage would cause spoilage. So what did they do? They trashed it all. Perfectly good food they could have put out in the front or side of the store and let it out on social media for people who are hungry right now to come and pick up. Nope. So insanely callous

13 hours ago, troph said:

I agree with you but this one is probably on the lawyers. 

On the upside I can guarantee you the trash service hasn't run in at least 3 days. Free food, mofos!

 

[Gatorubet 30783]

You left off
ATTORNEY CLIENT PRIVILEGED Do Not Disseminate 

Well, thawed Blue Bell can kill ya, so...

[B00M 6736]

Portions of austin are just flat out losing water now. This is fine.

[clapclapclap 9000]

[TwiceHorn 32103]

While losing water sucks, it seems like it might help alleviate pressure on any freezing lines without having to bust the handle on your gotdam shutoff valve.