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Pipes continue to burst and flood

It's been another busy day for firefighters as pipes across Boston freeze, burst and then pour water all over the place.

Elainy Mata shows us the scene at 73 Tremont St., where a pipe over a Citizens Bank ATM gave way this afternoon:

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Westin Waltham to the list. Lobby looked like a waterfall....

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This might turn into a big deal. The JP campus is definitely shut Tue/Wed but likely to be out of operation longer.

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The latest word from Director's office is we'll be closed the rest of the week.

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Somebody dropped the ball at the Boston VA Hospital from either Engineering or Building Management.

There was video footage on the local news stations, but they all seem to have disappeared.
Do anyone have any links to the flood footage?

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Why don't building codes require that BOTH hot and cold water pipes in cold weather environments be insulated?

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First time since 1957. You don't build for extremes like this.

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isn't THAT expensive.

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Houses in extreme cold climates solve this problem by not having plumbing in outside walls.

I had fun checking out the construction of my brother's Canadian house from the basement. It has the same split level floor plan with un/semi finished lower level as my BIL and SIL's house in the seacoast region of NH (where I'd been two weeks prior). In my brother's house, however, none of the plumbing is through the outside walls and is often paired with the runs of heat duct, it is insulated (as are the drain pipes). The walls of the house itself are much more heavily insulated in Alberta than in NH. My brother's house also has an automatic heater on the main inflow pipe, which is the only pipe that involves an outside wall.

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The code doesn't mandate it, but we do include it as a standard in our specifications:

SECTION 220001 - PLUMBING
...
2.7 PIPE COVERING
...
B. Interior Cold, Hot Water and above Ground Horizontal Storm Drainage Systems:

  1. 1 in. thickness fiberglass piping insulation:
    a. ASTM E-547, Class I
  2. Fire retardant foil face jackets for piping insulation: ASTM C-921, Type I for piping with temperatures below ambient, Type II for piping with temperatures above ambient. Type I may be used for all piping at installation option.
  3. Encase piping fittings insulation with one piece premolded PVC fitting covers, fastened as per manufacturer’s recommendations.
  4. Encase exterior piping insulation with aluminum jacket with weatherproof construction.
  5. Staples, Bands, Wires, and Cement: As recommended by insulation manufacturer for applications indicated.

Most of the pipes bursting in commercial & apartment buildings are wet-system sprinkler pipes or wet-type sprinklers themselves being exposed to frigid air, whether it be from a door being held open for a long time or poorly insulated architectural enclosures, like exterior walls or chases. When sprinkler pipes are expected to be exposed to the atmospheric temperature/subject to freezing, we will install a dry-type system, which is what you see in attics, parking garages, stadiums, etc. The pipes themselves stay dry until a sprinkler activates, pressure changes, and the water flow is activated at the dry alarm valve. Keeping the pipes dry prevents the pipes from freezing. In some instances, we install "dry-type heads" on wet sprinkler systems, like in exterior soffits or balconies. These sprinklers have a lengthened pipe and a rod that holds the flapper shut, keeping wet piping on the "warm side" of the wall/enclosure until a sprinkler is activated.

Source: I'm a plumbing/fire protection engineer.

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In the 1970's energy crisis, people went bananas insulating everything. It looked like zero-heat homes with 8" thick walls were going to be the future. Sad that never happened.

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