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Texas deep freeze carnage thread

immamac

By immamac
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deadshank

deadshank 24652

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57 minutes ago, CooterBrown said:


Thought about the torch but I wasn’t sure how the ceramic would react from being frozen solid to be heated up very quickly. I’m sure it would’ve been fine but not something I wanted to deal with at 5:30am.

You don’t have to press the torch up against the ceramic and give it powder burns.  Just getting the burner close will melt the ice. 

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CHIEF
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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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After 73 hours    

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Cornfusion

Cornfusion 250

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Now all I have to worry about is the antifreeze in my tractors and equipment...

If it got down to just -9, you shouldn't have a problem there if you mixed according to directions.  I have seen just one vehicle radiator freeze up and that was because a guy broke a hose during summer and when he replaced the hose, filled up with water and forgot to drain and add before winter.

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WBT

WBT 20561

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Posted (edited)
10 minutes ago, Hate said:


I’ll never understand the logic of calling it a hot water heater.

It provides the flow to the hot water taps in your house.  Other water heaters serve other functions.  And don't necessarily have to get the water all that hot.

Edited by WBT
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Cornfusion

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"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."

I'm going to guess you never worked on a dairy farm if you think it is an easy money scam.  Maybe arrange a working vacation at one and then report back to us on the joys of morning milking.

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Cornfusion

Cornfusion 250

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If the unit is in the attic, it guarantees hot water pressure to the entire house. If it's on the ground floor, you could have pressure issues in the rooms furthest from it.

????  Most everybody here in Nebraska has their hot water heater in the basement.  I've never heard of pressure issues with a hot water heater, but there might be something here I don't understand.

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Johnny Chimpo

Johnny Chimpo 478

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1 minute ago, Cornfusion said:

????  Most everybody here in Nebraska has their hot water heater in the basement.  I've never heard of pressure issues with a hot water heater, but there might be something here I don't understand.

Lol. Heating water to a temp below boiling, like almost all water heaters made for residential use do, should always be an isobaric process. This means it occurs at a constant pressure! The pressure that the water is supplied at is the pressure that the water will be delivered at, minus friction losses from piping and fittings. 

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Cornfusion

Cornfusion 250

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10 minutes ago, Cornfusion said:

hot water heater

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rage

It might be a local colloquialism, but yes, we call them "hot water heaters".  We also have regular "water heaters" for stock tanks and such, which keep cold water as cold water and not ice.  Therefore, a distinction in saying "hot water".  I guess the name "hot water" comes from the finished product being produced here in Nebraska, not what one puts into it.

Now, does anybody want to argue ".45 Long Colt" with me? 😀

Edited by Cornfusion
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phdhorn

phdhorn 6224

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46 minutes ago, WBT said:

I'll never understand the logic of putting the hot water heater in the attic.

All the newer ones say after 2015 or so have thicker insulation and are therefore fatter.  99% of 'em will no longer fit thru standard attic doors anyway.  Mine's in the attic but the next one will be in the garage most likely.  One of my plumbers says they could get a new heater up there "it'll squeeze through."  Not super reassuring.

Fortunately if my heater goes, it'd flood the garage only.  Or fall through and smash up my Mustang GT parked below it.  

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deadshank

deadshank 24652

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44 minutes ago, ChickenSandwich said:

Parents in Houston have a ceiling bubbling in a downstairs bathroom. 
 

Dumb question of course but anyone know a plumber they could recommend that might be able to come out?

TIA

Can they get in attic to check source of bubbled ceiling?

Is the bubbling getting worse? 

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FORTY NINE TO ZERO

FORTY NINE TO ZERO 2652

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44 minutes ago, ChickenSandwich said:

Parents in Houston have a ceiling bubbling in a downstairs bathroom. 
 

Dumb question of course but anyone know a plumber they could recommend that might be able to come out?

TIA

Its going to be a few weeks if they arent already on a list.  Best they try to figure out if its a drain or fresh water line. 

hopefully drain.  if fresh water and they cant isolate it, you are going to have some bunkmates for a bit. 
 

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ChickenSandwich

ChickenSandwich 9829

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1 minute ago, Xian said:

Its going to be a few weeks if they arent already on a list.  Best they try to figure out if its a drain or fresh water line. 

hopefully drain.  if fresh water and they cant isolate it, you are going to have some bunkmates for a bit. 
 

Think bubbles appeared overnight 

Edited by ChickenSandwich
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TwiceHorn

TwiceHorn 31440

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9 hours ago, Chapo said:

I did all of that, but the cutoff valve (in off position) at the bottom is what was broken. 

Furk.  They really need to put those in the ground.

Mine's in the ground, but the shutoff valve handle came off in my hand and I couldn't turn it with pliers or a wrench.  Sprinkler guy just said shut the upstream valve on the BFP as a second best.

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gmr548

gmr548 16576

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Refineries have nothing to do with the electrical grid other than they're huge consumers of electricity. Refineries need a constant supply of electricity or they go into upsets. Also, coal pretty much sucks. No one in the US is going to be adding coal plants for multiple reasons.

Not to mention a full analysis of costs would have to include health impacts due to pollution from coal plants.
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gmr548

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"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."
I'm going to guess you never worked on a dairy farm if you think it is an easy money scam.  Maybe arrange a working vacation at one and then report back to us on the joys of morning milking.

Dairy farming being difficult physical labor for the underpaid frontline worker doesn’t mean big ag doesn’t get a fuckload of federal subsidies.
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TwiceHorn

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2 minutes ago, gmr548 said:

I'm going to guess you never worked on a dairy farm if you think it is an easy money scam.  Maybe arrange a working vacation at one and then report back to us on the joys of morning milking.

Dairy farming being difficult physical labor for the underpaid frontline worker doesn’t mean big ag doesn’t get a fuckload of federal subsidies.

As pointed out upthread, it was more a gibe at our Ag Commissioner than at farms or farmers.

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Cornfusion

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Dairy farming being difficult physical labor for the underpaid frontline worker doesn’t mean big ag doesn’t get a fuckload of federal subsidies.

I guess I have never run into many corporate owned farms in Wisconsin or Nebraska and those are the only places I have been on dairy farms.  All were family owned and operated.  I would say you paint with a way too broad brush though, my friend.

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Cornfusion

Cornfusion 250

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I don't know how much snow you have down there, but if one doesn't have water, snow can be put into a black trash bag and hung in the sun to melt it.  It can be used for flushing toilets.  I shoveled a bag full and hung it in the backyard on a bird feeder shepherd's hook and it melted in a couple of hours with the temperature being 6 degrees, just to make sure it still worked since I was a Boy Scout.  At higher temperatures, it might even get somewhat warm.

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Hagbard Celine

Hagbard Celine 10852

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7 minutes ago, Cornfusion said:

I don't know how much snow you have down there, but if one doesn't have water, snow can be put into a black trash bag and hung in the sun to melt it.  It can be used for flushing toilets.  I shoveled a bag full and hung it in the backyard on a bird feeder shepherd's hook and it melted in a couple of hours with the temperature being 6 degrees, just to make sure it still worked since I was a Boy Scout.  At higher temperatures, it might even get somewhat warm.

dude, hundreds of thousands of austinites have been collecting snow for 3 days, and it's almost all gone

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MNLonghornFUKM

MNLonghornFUKM 8817

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We had rolling blackouts here in Nebraska.  The state actually produced more energy than it produced by somewhere around 30% but couldn't make up for the losses in the Southwest Power Pool.  Nebraska Public Power District even started up an inactive power plant that hadn't run since 2012. 
I had to jump a vehicle or two last Sunday, but I cringe at the thought of all those frozen and or broken pipes you guys have.  Keep an eye out for mold in the spring if a pipe burst inside.
Tomorrow we should flirt with temperatures above freezing.  Got down to -29 at its lowest, but that might have been the high in North Dakota that same day.  Somebody always has it worse...

Can confirm our highs weren’t -29. Just -10. We’re going to see 43 here on Monday. Might break out the shorts and get some color
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Guest Lobo

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24 minutes ago, Hagbard Celine said:

dude, hundreds of thousands of austinites have been collecting snow for 3 days, and it's almost all gone

Yeah, all thanks to our friends up in the Great Plains...but I’ve been shitting in snow water since Wednesday night.  I hope we get water turned on safely, otherwise the six foot snowman we made as a family is gonna start losing some levels.  

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PantsTent

PantsTent 2002

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1 hour ago, Hagbard Celine said:

when i search "austin water 2021" i don't find any thread more current than 18 months ago

where do we discuss the austin water disaster?

I guess we could start a separate thread but it's sprinkled in the 2 weather threads now.  I've just been checking this page for city updates.  I'm on day 3 of no water in Circle C.  Best case seems late Sunday or Monday for turn on.

http://www.austintexas.gov/article/operational-updates

 

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abuelo gringo

abuelo gringo 321

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I was team insulated cover for my outside taps.  The one on the N side burst or had a leak.  The tap is covered solid by ice in the shape of the cover.  Do I need to turn off water main at street before I use water to unfreeze block of ice surrounding tap?  Then turn back on to see what kind of leak I have?

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CHIEF

CHIEF 5079

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3 hours ago, deadshank said:

Unless you have a full spray foam insulated house, a warm attic during winter is a really bad thing.  
 

The top side of the ceiling should be insulated to keep heat in the living area and keep the cold out.  
 

If you insulate your attic to keep it “warm” then you would have to insulate the bottom of the roof deck and keep the heat in the attic space.  
 

Hot / warm  attics in winter cause moisture problems which renders insulation ineffective and compounds your heating problems.  
 

Insulate your pipes to keep heat in them and cold out of them.  
 

If, on cold mornings, you have frost on your entire roof and your neighbor doesn’t then you are doing it right and your neighbor isn’t.  

I GC'd my own house, and this is how I did it. Metal roof with the underside of the decking foamed. The whole house is incapsulated. PEX lines incapsulated in the walls and ran through the foundation. All outdoor spigots are frost free. Water heaters on the interior of the house. I was never worried. I'm pretty sure the spigot and lines froze out on the side of the garage, but PEX will expand enough not to split.

The tract homes are the ones that put water heaters in the attic, it should be outlawed. It's done for the almighty dollar. That nine square feet of heated and cooled space is worth an extra $1800-2000 in Austin.

CHIEF

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deadshank

deadshank 24652

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20 minutes ago, SquishMitten said:

Never had to file an insurance claim before. My contractor can’t make it over until early next week so I won’t have estimates until then. Do I need to file ASAP to get my place in line? Or do they not really start processing a claim until you have repair estimates first?

File your claim. Your insurance carrier will give you a claim number and a claims adjustor will contact you and set a time to visit your residence. 
 

The claims adjustor will review the damages and provide you with a scope of loss inclusive of dollar values that will sum up the amount of money THEY estimate it will take to restore your property. 
 

Many times the amount of money in the scope of loss is sufficient to cover the hard costs and the contractor’s profit.   Sometimes the adjustor will underpay and sometimes overpay.  
 

If there is a serious miscalculation in the scope of loss that underpays the work to be done then you should ask for another adjustor or hire a public adjustor.   Your contractor cannot legally be both the public adjustor and the contractor at the same time.  He has to be one or the other. 
 

It makes no sense to get estimates as the first point of order is getting the scope of loss from the insurance adjustor.  That will establish your starting point.  
 

Ultimately, you are responsible for your deductible and any upgrades. 

Edited by deadshank
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