Frozen Drain Pipe

4883 Views 2 Replies 2 Participants Last post by zbwmy, Jan 24, 2005

zbwmy

Discussion Starter · #1 · Jan 22, 2005

Bath tub drain of second floor bathroom froze in our 1 deg. winter today.
Drain pipe travels down outside wall into basement. Is there a small clog somewhere that would allow water to pool so it could freeze? I cant't see running water freeze in a 2 in. pipe. What do you think about spraying GREAT STUFF into floor cavity where pipe enters wall in basement? Should I just wrap exposed pipe in fiberglass?

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PipeGuy

· #2 · Jan 22, 2005

Sometimes sealing around a pipe like that will worsen the situation - whatever heat was getting into the wall cavity is now sealed out. Same goes for insulation. You're right that it's unusual for a 2" drain pipe to freeze. There's probably a clog building that has been exacerbated by freezing. Liquid plumber might generate some heat and open it up. However you do it, it sounds like you have an obstruction that needs to be addressed.

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zbwmy

Discussion Starter · #3 · Jan 24, 2005

I should have mentioned that applying hair drier heat to that basement elbow drained the tub.

PipeGuy said:
Sometimes sealing around a pipe like that will worsen the situation - whatever heat was getting into the wall cavity is now sealed out. Same goes for insulation. You're right that it's unusual for a 2" drain pipe to freeze. There's probably a clog building that has been exacerbated by freezing. Liquid plumber might generate some heat and open it up. However you do it, it sounds like you have an obstruction that needs to be addressed.

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Frozen Drain Pipe

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