Farmhouse question? (Rural issues...)

[Nao57]

So...wanted to check and ask this of the rest of you...

Do you guys that live outside towns have to worry about pipes freezing in the farmhouse more than the people in the nearby towns? (And if in cold winter areas...) And if so how do you avoid it?

I've been curious about this because I'd like to move out of the city. But I don't want to go out there cold turkey without checking details.

 

[Beekissed]

It's much the same as in the city...if the house has poor insulation and poorly designed construction, pipes will freeze in real cold weather. I've lived in many houses where the pipes froze, both in town and out in the country. It's a miserable thing to deal with.

 

[Baymule]

What state are you in? The answer to that does depend on what kind of winters you have. Here is east Texas, we have plenty of freezing nights but have never had frozen pipes. We sometimes have a week of temps in the 20's and it is a pain to keep water for the animals, but the cold doesn't last and goes above freezing again. There isn't enough freezing days for me to bother with heated water buckets, etc. We just had snow, the top of the water buckets froze, but i broke ice and it was ok for the animals. I do cut off the water valves to outside water pipes and drain them to prevent freezing. There are two water faucets on the house, I disconnect the hoses, put styrofoam cups over them and the pipes are well wrapped where they come out of the ground to the faucet. Plus the house is underskirted, blocking wind and cold.

I have lived in poorly insulated houses before and pipes froze. I crawled under the house with a hair dryer and long extension cord run out the window, to that the pipes out. LOL LOL So it is more of a question on how well made are things.

 

[Cotton*wood]

City or rural, it really makes no difference. We've had frozen pipes in town and frozen pipes in the country. We've used heat tape in both, and had to figure out where there was an insulation failure.

 

[farmerjan]

Heat tapes work and if there is one side or corner that the pipes often freeze, the thing to do is bank that area with straw bales up against the house to stop wind etc.... that is also one of the causes of pipes freezing....then in the spring you can use the straw bales for mulch in the gardens.... I've done it many places for many years.