Outdoor Spigots and Georgia Freezes: Prevent the Burst You Do Not See

Georgia freezes are short, which is exactly why they cause so much damage. Homeowners here do not winterize the way people do further north, and a couple of hard nights is all it takes.

The outdoor spigot is the most common failure point in the house, and the damage is rarely where you would look for it.

Why the damage is inside the wall

When water in the spigot freezes, the ice expands and splits the pipe. Frequently that split happens on the section of pipe inside the wall, not at the visible spigot outside.

Nothing happens while it is frozen — the ice plugs the hole. Then it thaws, and water pours into the wall cavity behind your siding, into the crawlspace, or into a finished room. People often do not discover it until they turn the hose on in spring.

Winterizing properly

1. 1Disconnect every hose. All of them, including the one on the side of the house you never use.
2. 2Drain the hoses and store them somewhere they will not split.
3. 3Find the interior shutoff. Most spigots have a dedicated shutoff valve inside — in the crawlspace, basement or a closet on the other side of the wall. Close it.
4. 4Open the outside spigot and let it drain completely. Leave it open through the winter so any residual water has somewhere to expand.
5. 5Insulate. A foam spigot cover costs a few dollars and helps on the borderline nights.
6. 6Insulate exposed pipe in the crawlspace, especially anything on an exterior wall.

Frost-free spigots

A frost-free (or freeze-proof) hose bib has a long stem so the actual valve seat sits well inside the heated envelope of the house. When you shut it off, the water in the exposed section drains out and there is nothing there to freeze.

They are the right answer for a Georgia house and they are not expensive to install. Two things to know:

• They must be installed with a slight downward pitch to the outside or they cannot drain, which defeats the entire design. This is a common installation error.
• A connected hose defeats them completely. The hose holds water in the stem. Disconnect it regardless of what type of spigot you have.

If a spigot is already frozen

1. 1Shut off the interior valve immediately, before it thaws.
2. 2Open the outside spigot so melting water has an escape route and pressure has somewhere to go.
3. 3Thaw gently — a hair dryer or a space heater in the crawlspace. Never an open flame or a torch. House fires start this way every winter.
4. 4Watch closely as it thaws. If water appears inside the wall or the crawlspace, the pipe has split and needs repair before the water goes back on.

Other freeze-vulnerable points in a Georgia house

• Pipes in an unconditioned crawlspace, especially near vents and along exterior walls.
• Supply lines in an unheated garage — the utility sink and the water heater line.
• Pipes in exterior walls, which have less insulation on the cold side than people assume.
• Irrigation backflow preventers, which sit above ground and are expensive to replace.
• Well and pump housings on properties outside the city.
• Pool equipment.

On a hard freeze night

• Let a faucet on an exterior wall drip. Moving water is much harder to freeze.
• Open cabinet doors under sinks on exterior walls so warm room air reaches the pipes.
• Close crawlspace vents.
• Keep the heat on even if you are away — a thermostat set low costs far less than a burst pipe.
• Know where your main shutoff is before you need it, not while water is running through the ceiling.

Get it done before the first freeze

Wright Way Services installs frost-free spigots, insulates vulnerable runs, and repairs freeze damage across Newnan, Coweta County and Fayette County. Call (770) 301-4638 — before the forecast, ideally.