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Texas deep freeze carnage thread

immamac

By immamac
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phdhorn

phdhorn 6224

Posted
Posted
3 hours ago, BradInATX said:

I'm cutting my system off at the tank in the garage (so after the water softener, before house and hot water heater) and opening up spigots to drain the system the next two nights. Got away with one busted pipe with no damage except a hole in my office closet drywall and a wet floor. Got enough water for drinking and brushing teeth in the RO system under the kitchen sink. Not going to tempt fate again.

1bb22acd0870eaf8d47325e56f7c8a1f.gif

I purposely have waited until tonight's over (20 degree freeze) before trying to repressurize the house.  Not worried about interior plumbing, pretty sure I got that all drained.  Hot water heater, didn't drain (not nearly enough time!) so that's new territory for me.  However I heard the burners going on/off just before our power came back so I'm confident that something is good there.

Outside spigots I'm 100% sure are frozen, but how much, not sure.  If I'm gonna have a leak, it'll be in those.  And of course being on all 4 sides of the house, some of the piping runs in the attic above the house.  If they're leaking/busted somewhere there, I'm fooked, because I can't use water until I get those fixed.  Who knows how long that'll take, even for just a fix (plumbers are simply capping off shit and leaving, we'll be back to fix it later, we're just here to save your house structure from being wrecked by water).

I've had spigots freeze a lot, no big deal, I suppose there's been a little wiggle room in the lines. But we'll see.


As it turns out, after phd jr. gets his UT degree this summer (yay!) we're flipping the house.  In the budget is a complete repiping of the entire thing.  So in the long run, doesn't matter.  But hopefully I can have water by April.  If not, I can shower every day at the gym (hey Bobby, have you ever seen a grown man naked?).

Anyway, #teamhopingmyoldpipeshavesurvivedonelastgo

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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 wo

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1 hour ago, atomheartbevo said:

Usual next door bullshit.  If that were actually the case, we'd A) be hearing about it all over the place and B) Next Door servers would be melting down.

But I don't anticipate a lot of folks having it until Sunday.

Hell, we have 5 or so hospitals within two miles of us, and we still don't have water.

Meanwhile, neighborhoods 6 blocks north of us, that are much farther away from the hospitals, have water.

So it feels like a bit of a crapshoot.

Only counter point I have is CoA is bringing in a ton of drinking water to distribute, something like a million gallons. That’s not nothing.

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dcar00

dcar00 14165

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Posted
52 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

It's hard to figure.  On the other thread, horn4life reported that Austin Energy (he didn't actually name them, but the zip fits) didn't know he was out until he made repeated outage reports and had him incorrectly indicated "on."  I think soneone else has reported something similar, too.  ONCOR wasn't reliant on outage reports and told people not to bother.  Maybe it is an issue of smart meters.  I think ONCOR was an early leader in smart meter adoption.  Texas statewide is regarded as the leader in smart meter adoption.  I think they were actually invented in Dallas.

I'm within a block and a half of a huge assisted living with a skilled nursing component and we still lost power most of Monday and for good chunks of Tuesday.  Yet a nearby, closer, shopping strip with some office space never lost power when we did.

I dunno.  Maybe the big explanation is that Dallas didn't get much ice, so there weren't many mechanical failures complicating the situation.

my initial outage thurs was the ice storm and AE showed me as "up since 1PM" on Friday when I called at 10PM.

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ROFL BOX

ROFL BOX 6648

Posted
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Making it out to 3 appointments on Friday, 19 Feb.  All water burst pipe situations.  I have said this on roofing threads & will repeat it here:  KNOW YOUR POLICY!  Just because you paid for insurance 'cause your mortgage co. requires coverage doesn't mean you actually have a good one or your limits are set correctly.

Don't pay too much on your premium because you're over valued but don't pay too little because you want a low premium but then have a shitball deductible (I had a roof customer a few years ago that had a $ 6,000.00 deductible).

Again, if ANY of y'all need someone to look over your situation, I will be out & about on Friday & Saturday - Sunday, I hope to be rebuilding my pump house & addressing our burst wellhead situation.  512.656.6635  Get your shit started as early as possible.  Mold exclusions for your policy ain't no shit to deal with when it comes time to sell your house & you've got disclosure to deal with but no certification that you don't have an issue with spores... I guarantee you this will be a topic coming up for R.E. transactions starting... NOW.

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shadetree

shadetree 66

Posted
Posted
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.

I really wanted one When we built our house several years ago. Builder wanted to charge $8000 for it, which I assume was his I don’t wanna mess with this shit rate. Wish I would have done it now.
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B00M

B00M 6414

Posted
Posted (edited)

Had power the whole time... Spigots had to be unfrozen a couple days ago but they're dripping. If all my faucets and showers work and hot water works, should I bother closing the valve at the street and draining the system (in prep for thaw)?

Edited by B00M
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Enchubben

Enchubben 5510

Posted
Posted
7 hours ago, TwiceHorn said:

It's hard to figure.  On the other thread, horn4life reported that Austin Energy (he didn't actually name them, but the zip fits) didn't know he was out until he made repeated outage reports and had him incorrectly indicated "on."  I think soneone else has reported something similar, too.  ONCOR wasn't reliant on outage reports and told people not to bother.  Maybe it is an issue of smart meters.  I think ONCOR was an early leader in smart meter adoption.  Texas statewide is regarded as the leader in smart meter adoption.  I think they were actually invented in Dallas.

I'm within a block and a half of a huge assisted living with a skilled nursing component and we still lost power most of Monday and for good chunks of Tuesday.  Yet a nearby, closer, shopping strip with some office space never lost power when we did.

I dunno.  Maybe the big explanation is that Dallas didn't get much ice, so there weren't many mechanical failures complicating the situation.

I’ve seen their procurement. If your T&D is Oncor or CenterPoint, there is a 95% chance you already have a smart meter.

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TwiceHorn

TwiceHorn 31444

Posted
Posted
15 minutes ago, B00M said:

Had power the whole time... Spigots had to be unfrozen a couple days ago but they're dripping. If all my faucets and showers work and hot water works, should I bother closing the valve at the street and draining the system (in prep for thaw)?

I don't think so.  You're just postponing things and maybe causing some other problems.

It sounds like you are good to go.  Just make sure every faucet runs and if some are balky or not running, then you may wish to shut off.   That's what I'm doing anyway.

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Druggist

Druggist 303

Posted
Posted
13 hours ago, UncleSonny said:

My sister lives in South Austin, she was prescribed medication to protect from infection but she's saying all the pharmacies are closed.

Anyone know of a South Austin or thereabouts pharmacy still open or planning to open soon?

Tarry town is open 10-5 today

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Judge Roybeanbag

Judge Roybeanbag 11819

Posted
Posted
13 hours ago, UncleSonny said:

My sister lives in South Austin, she was prescribed medication to protect from infection but she's saying all the pharmacies are closed.

Anyone know of a South Austin or thereabouts pharmacy still open or planning to open soon?

Walgreens at Slaughter and Mopac was open yesterday.  

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phdhorn

phdhorn 6224

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Posted

Today I begin to re-run my well water into the house.  Internal plumbing should be great, it was working right up to when I drained the lines after power went out.  External spigot lines I know for sure are frozen at least a little bit, not sure of the condition of that line as it runs through the attic around to each hose bib.

I feel like I'm on Let's Make A Deal staring at the curtains or boxes.  Will I get the new car (everything works, no leaks), or:
220px-2009lmadzonkgoat.jpg

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Hate

Hate 20108

Posted
Posted
Damn it. 11 year old dies from cold in Conroe https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/02/19/texas-boy-death-winterstorm-pavon/
Odd story though. Kid goes to bed around 11pm. Shares a bed with younger brother. Mom finds him dead at 2:30pm. 

This really seems suspicious. He was in the same bed as the 3 year old and he was the only one in the mobile home to die of hypothermia? Something doesn’t add up.
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Gatorubet

Gatorubet 30191

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Posted

This really seems suspicious. He was in the same bed as the 3 year old and he was the only one in the mobile home to die of hypothermia? Something doesn’t add up.

If he had asthma or some other condition aggravated by cold air I could see it. I have asthma and really cold air causes me to have a severe attack. But yeah, worth looking into
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yoladu

yoladu 4093

Posted
Posted
12 hours ago, yoladu said:

Still no power going on 90.5 hours now (none since Monday 2am) here in my Austin neighborhood. Getting used to the cold, dark house; seeing my breath as I sit or lay down to sleep. It’s a bit like Groundhog Day though - days are kind of running together  

no water either, not a dribble for the last 36 hours. Still quite haven’t worked out the what to do with #2 when/if the moment arises. 

got power last night at midnight... thanks for everyone's concern, but it was never dire... you just manage.

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Nice Guy Eddie

Nice Guy Eddie 13509

Posted
Posted
8 minutes ago, Gatorubet said:


Question: Any issues with natural gas output during this? IOW, would a standby gen be just a decoration that does not work due to decreased gas flow? I assume you would hook it up to a big ass propane tank.

In Houston, to my knowledge, the natural gas flow to homes was never cut. They did ask people to voluntarily use less natural gas tp help prevent issues.

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phdhorn

phdhorn 6224

Posted
Posted (edited)
1 minute ago, BrickTop said:

Just got water back after 5 days, all outlets are flowing how long do I have to worry about something secondary bursting

The good news:  Seems like you're good!
The bad news:  Pipes may have been stretched/weakened, so maybe forever.

As for me, one small victory as I await this afternoon's "heat" to re-fire up my well-based house water system.. At this time of day the sun hits my well head on, so I went up to open up the tarp and get some sun on it.  I had tarped it with a space heater and 2 floodlights, hoping it would iterate warmer and warmer air in there.  It seemed to have held up really well until my power went out!  So not sure of the condition yet on those pipes. But I  kept my "warming tent" concotion on, so when the power came back on, the lights/heater started up again... 

I went up today to get some sun on the pipes by pulling back the tarp.  Holy shit, it must be 80° in there!  LOL, I quickly closed the tarp and said I ain't touching this!  So if it's been frozen the 2 days we lost our power, whatever's in there ain't frozen now.

First of about 5 steps to CAREFULLY re-pipe water into the house checked.  More nervous steps to follow later today....

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utee94

utee94 15811

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, TwiceHorn said:

Saw a news article about pipes bursting.  Said the most common was water heater lines in attic.

My attic is insulated and warm and my hot water is flowing, so I guess I'm alright in that department.  

May be something worth confirming for folks, though.

Yup our water heaters are in the attic and it is insulated, no issues for this whole time, luckily.  So add mine to your anecdotal evidence.  I guarantee I'll be looking for that in any future homes I buy.

 

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TwiceHorn

TwiceHorn 31444

Posted
Posted (edited)
6 minutes ago, used2b said:

Team No Drip and Wrapped here.

What do I do now? Unwrap and wait? Do I need to apply any heat? I have 2 bibs - one north facing and one south.

Interior plumbing has held up so far.

Might be worthwhile to see if they will run.  If so, you're probably golden.  If not, hmmmm, but at least you know that's a potential trouble spot.

Not sure there's any point to trying to defrost them early.

Edited by TwiceHorn
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Captainant

Captainant 27644

Posted
Posted
7 minutes ago, used2b said:

Team No Drip and Wrapped here.

What do I do now? Unwrap and wait? Do I need to apply any heat? I have 2 bibs - one north facing and one south.

Interior plumbing has held up so far.

I'm in the same boat as you - I'm gonna wait till tomorrow or Saturday when it's 100% thawed outside to unwrap and give em a shot. 

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utee94

utee94 15811

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Posted
Just now, TwiceHorn said:

Man, every little sound is driving me crazy.  I was in the bathroom checking faucets and flusing toilet and whatnot and heard some squeaky kind of noise.

It was the gotdam garbage truck in the alley, but it took me a second to figure that out.

Your trash service is operating?

 

Braggart.

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BayouBill

BayouBill 835

Posted
Posted
3 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

Man, every little sound is driving me crazy.  I was in the bathroom checking faucets and flusing toilet and whatnot and heard some squeaky kind of noise.

It was the gotdam garbage truck in the alley, but it took me a second to figure that out.

Lol same. I've put my ear up to the wall so many times investigating a sound that's probably been there since we moved in.

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Skipper

Skipper 6132

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Posted
33 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

Might be worthwhile to see if they will run.  If so, you're probably golden.  If not, hmmmm, but at least you know that's a potential trouble spot.

Not sure there's any point to trying to defrost them early.

2 of my 3 outdoor are currently in direct sun.  Both have an interior sing that has been a slow stream entire time on opposite wall.  I unwrapped first one and it's frozen.  I let sit in sun for a few minutes then wrapped a cloth and soaked it in hot water.   A couple minutes later a small stream started flowing then it completely opened up.   No sign of rupture anywhere.  The other one I unwrapped and let sit in sun a couple of minutes.  Opened it up and it flowed immediately.   So now I'm down to just one that is all shade at the moment and really will never get any great sun.  Think I'm going to wait until after lunch when it warms up a little more to try it.  But so far so good!

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Homercles

Homercles 10205

Posted
Posted
10 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

Man, every little sound is driving me crazy.  I was in the bathroom checking faucets and flusing toilet and whatnot and heard some squeaky kind of noise.

It was the gotdam garbage truck in the alley, but it took me a second to figure that out.

Yeah when my water kicks on I hear a whoosh and ticking in the walls...always been there.  But other day giving kids a bath, I yelled for them to be quiet so loud I scared the shit out of them.  
 

Hoping I’m ok here, all faucets seem to work in and out, no leaks at the water heater that I can see...looking back at the video I took before drywall was installed, almost all of my PEX and associated outlets run on interior walls and we were only without power for 12 hours during the longest stretch.  

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phdhorn

phdhorn 6224

Posted
Posted
48 minutes ago, used2b said:

Team No Drip and Wrapped here.

What do I do now? Unwrap and wait? Do I need to apply any heat? I have 2 bibs - one north facing and one south.

Interior plumbing has held up so far.

If you have sun-exposed bibs, unwrap 'em!  Yes.  The sun will do it's thing WAY better than us, even if < 32°.  If you get it to trickle, maybe you can relieve the pressure on the entire line.

If it doesn't, don't unwrap yet.  You can though when temp is >32°.  Even if no sun.  I've got my southern one off and the western one soon.

Be SURE to wrap again tonight, even tho freeze won't be terrible compared to this week.  Don't want to go back to step 1.

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phdhorn

phdhorn 6224

Posted
Posted (edited)

More great news, whoopee.  Tx agriculture likely pretty much bombed.  Not the worst, it's the smaller growing season, but don't expect those yummy rutabagas you're used to for awhile.  Milk might be a problem for northern parts of the state if not all...Plus, supply chain is fooked at least for a bit.

Pandemic:  Supply chains messed up!
Storm 2021:  Hold my beer...

https://www.fox7austin.com/news/texas-agriculture-commissioner-issues-red-alert-over-food-supply-chain
 

AUSTIN, Texas - Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller issued a dire warning Tuesday about the statewide impact of the winter storm on agriculture and the food supply chain.

Commissioner Miller says farmers and ranchers across the state are seeing devastating effects from the cold weather on livestock, feed and agriculture products.

"As Texas Agriculture Commissioner, I’m issuing a red alert regarding agriculture and our food supply chain here in the state of Texas," Miller said in a news release. "I’m getting calls from farmers and ranchers across the state reporting that the interruptions in electricity and natural gas are having a devastating effect on their operations."

"In just one example, dairy operations are dumping $8 million worth of milk down the drains every day because the plants that process that milk don’t have power. Grocery stores are already unable to get shipments of dairy products. Store shelves are already empty. We’re looking at a food supply chain problem like we’ve never seen before, even with COVID-19," Miller said.

Commissioner Miller specifically called on Governor Greg Abbott to designate agriculture producers and processors as critical infrastructure that must be provided gas and electricity to continue operations. 

"Governor Abbott must make AG industries a priority for electricity and gas just like hospitals, first responders, fire and police. I salute all our hospital workers and first responders as they deal with this natural disaster, but they won’t have food to eat if our farmers are left without power."

"This devastating storm will end, ice will melt, temperatures will rise and Texans will get through this," added Miller, "but I’m concerned about the damage to rural Texas that will be left behind if Governor Abbott doesn’t act now."

 

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BradInATX

BradInATX 9208

Posted
Posted (edited)

My MIL and SIL are threatening to come over this weekend with three children (an adolescent and two toddlers). I have no idea what I'd feed them. We're just pantry raiding right now eating random stuff. I have a pork butt in the freezer and some charcoal but no bread sides or fixings. Has anyone gone out for groceries? Is it just a complete shit show? If I could just round up tortillas, cheese, bread, and a couple cans of beans I'd probably be good. The Meximarts and Dollar General served me well early on in Covidworld, so might try those.

Edited by BradInATX
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TwiceHorn

TwiceHorn 31444

Posted
Posted
46 minutes ago, phdhorn said:

"This devastating storm will end, ice will melt, temperatures will rise and Texans will get through this," added Miller, "but I’m concerned about the damage to rural Texas giant, heavily subsidized agribusiness that will be left behind lose some money if Governor Abbott doesn’t act now."

 

FIFH.

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Bigpoppapump

Bigpoppapump 529

Posted
Posted
13 minutes ago, BradInATX said:

My MIL and SIL are threatening to come over this weekend with three children (an adolescent and two toddlers). I have no idea what I'd feed them. We're just pantry raiding right now eating random stuff. I have a pork butt in the freezer and some charcoal but no bread sides or fixings. Has anyone gone out for groceries? Is it just a complete shit show? If I could just round up tortillas, cheese, bread, and a couple cans of beans I'd probably be good. The Meximarts and Dollar General served me well early on in Covidworld, so might try those.

I hit up Randalls on Ben White yesterday, they were well stocked, limit of 2 on everything.  Just had to wait 45 mins in the cold.  Hopefully trucks are able to push through more this weekend.  All else fails, eat the meat with your hands.

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CHIEF

CHIEF 5079

Posted
Posted
11 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

FIFH.

Homeland Security, and 60 years worth of presidents have deemed agriculture a critical Infrastructure for the US, and a matter of National Security. We are the "bread basket" of the World. If money were to become worthless, food is the main barter item that the US has in abundance. I also hate the idea of subsidies, but you can't let good cropland go fallow, and become overgrown, it would take too long to make it productive in a national emergency. It is a necessary evil.

CHIEF

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crash_davis

crash_davis 23107

Posted
Posted
8 minutes ago, XYZ said:

Is there any timeline at all on getting water pressure again in Austin?

this is half the issue. the other half are the 10s and probably 100s of thousands (millions probably statewide) of homeowners who have broken pipes who turned off water at the main. water pressure won't do anything for their issue which is getting weeks worth of water until they can get a plumber to cap the broken pipe. 

 

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