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Winterizing Guide: How to Freeze-Protect Building Drain Piping PlumbingAPedia © Enter your search terms Submit search form   Search This Website - InspectAPedia.com

• How to avoid freezing drain piping, drains, traps, toilets, etc.
• How to winterize pipes: frost protection for plumbing systems
• Use of heat tapes, heat sources, pipe routing, to prevent freezing pipes

The articles at this website will answer most questions about freeze protection for piping and other building plumbing and heating system components: how to winterize a building to avoid frozen pipes, and how to thaw frozen water supply & drain piping, wells, & water tanks.

How to Avoid Freeze Damage to Building Drain Piping

Our page top photo shows what might happen if a building drain is clogged, leading to standing wastewater in the pipes which then froze and burst.

Is the building heat going to be left "on" or "off" - the answer determines the extent of freeze-proofing needed.

• If heat is to be left on in a partially winterized building see the procedure at: Winterize - Heat On (continuing below)
• If heat is to be turned off and the building completely winterized, see the procedure at: Winterize- Heat Off

What? My Building Drains Can Freeze Too?

What Causes Building Drain Pipes to Freeze?

• A building main drain or other building drain pipe is exposed to freezing temperatures outdoors
• A building drain is routed through an un-heated crawl space or basement, or an attic or attic knee-wall that is unheated indoors
• A plumbing fixture drain trap extends down into an un-heated crawl space or basement or is in the path of a cold draft even if the crawl space or basement is heated.
• A toilet is running or a faucet dribbles continuously into the drain system
• A water softener or other water treatment equipment is left on and running improperly, perhaps sending a continuing stream of water into the drain system
• A roof gutter drains into the sewer piping (bad), perhaps through a drain line that enters the building (stil worse) enroute to the sewer connection; clogged gutters that dribble water slowly into the drain system increases the freeze risk.

Handling Roof Gutters that Drain into the Sewer Piping

Some older homes include roof drainage downspouts that are carried to drain pipes which connect to the building sewer drain piping. In some installations the gutter downspouts connect to a drain line inside the building, perhaps running out of the building under the basement floor onwards to a public sewer line.

Such drains can easily freeze in an un-heated home, leading to broken drain lines, frost-heaved basement floors, and severe basement flooding.

We recommend that drain connections between roof gutters and downspouts and the building sewer line be abandoned.

If necessary, install temporary above-ground downspout extensions to conduct roof runoff well away from the building rather than into the sewer line via the basement floor. Incidentally, because the volume of roof runoff sent into a sewer line can overwhelm municipal sewage treatment plants this connection is prohibited in some communities.

What Else to Do to Avoid Frozen Building Drains

• Make sure there are no "running" toilets or faucets or other equipment
• Make sure there are no blocked or clogged drains that will hold standing wastewater (that freezes and breaks the pipes)
• If heat is left off in a building, use a non-toxic antifreeze in plumbing traps
• Find & Fix Water Pipe Freeze-Up Points, including adding insulation and heat in problem areas if necessary

Use links just below or at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

FREEZE-PROOF A BUILDING
Key Winterizing Topics
How to Winterize a Building

Winterize - Heat On Procedure
  Thermostat Settings
  Turn Water Off ?
  Winterize Water Softener & Treatment Equip.
  Find & Fix Water Pipe Freeze-Up Points
  Heat tapes, Heat, Insulation prevent Freeze-Up
  Freeze Protect Drains

Winterize- Heat Off Procedure

De-Winterized a Building
  Thawing Frozen Pipes
  Repairing Burst Leaky Pipes
  Turning on Heating
  Restoring Drains
  Turning on Water
  Water Supply/Drain Pipe Leak Types
  Restoring Water Softener & Treatment Equip

Technical Reviewers & References

Particular thanks are due to experts and also consumers who read these articles and suggest corrections, changes, and additions to the material. Content suggestions, technical corrections and content critique are invited for any of the content at our website.

• Daniel Friedman - principal author/editor of the InspectAPedia ^TM Website
• "New Electric Heat Tapes Help Prevent Fires," US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) #00936
• Thanks to Alan Carson and Bob Dunlop, Carson Dunlop, Associates, Toronto, for permission to use illustrations from their publication, The Illustrated Home which illustrates construction details and building components. Carson Dunlop provides home inspection education, publications, report writing materials, and home inspection services. Alan Carson is a past president of ASHI, the American Society of Home Inspectors.
• "Freezeproof Your House," Mike McClintock, Rodale's New Shelter, p. 30, October 1985 (approximate date)
• "How to Winterize Your Pipes," Mike McClintock, Homeowners How-To Magazine, p. 59-62, Nov-Dec 1979.
• Critique, contributions wanted: Contact Us to suggest text changes and additions and, if you wish, to receive online listing and credit for that contribution.

More expert information on this topic

More Information about Plumbing and General Building or Home Inspections

• Clogged Drain Diagnosis: Is it a blocked drain or the septic system? - A First Step for Homeowners
• DRAIN NOISE DIAGNOSIS: may indicate defective or clogged plumbing: how to diagnose and cure drain sounds
• Guide to Heating Thermostats - how to install, adjust, set thermostats - avoid freezing pipes
• Heating Boiler Operation Details - 39 steps: keep the heat working to avoid freezing pipes
• Heat loss diagnosis: for hot water systems (boilers) and for warm air systems (furnaces)
• HOT WATER HEATERS - a detailed guide to all types of hot water sources, problems, inspection, repair
• Water Pressure Loss - Diagnosis how to determine why water pressure has been lost or why there is no water at all in a building

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