Frozen pipes, cesspool stress, home inspections delayed in freezing temperatures

Beneath frozen ground and snow-covered grass, cesspool piping quietly cracks amid the pressure of expansion. Sewer and water lines are under increased stress as the ground shifts, said cesspool professional Salvatore Motta.

"In many cases, we're forced to bring in excavators just to dig through the frost before any repair can even begin," Motta, CEO of Melville-based Quick Drain, wrote in an email. "This lack of access is a major reason winter repairs cost so much more."

Amid a stretch of extreme cold, homeowners on Long Island have been confronted with frozen pipes and cesspool backups — realities experts said could impact both home inspections and wallets because of emergency pricing.

"We're seeing flooded homes and broken lines nonstop with this cold, and a big reason is what's happening underground," Motta said.

Frozen pipes

The winter usually brings more opportunity for various plumbing issues to expose themselves, said Phil DePaul, CEO of Farmingdale-based 1-Tom-Plumber.

"When you have extreme temperatures like we're having now, you know, this cold snap or arctic freeze," he said, "It lends itself to, I guess just, even more pressure on the heating system."

This means more calls about frozen pipes, he said.

"In a regular winter, it's like, there's components of your system, your house's plumbing, that are working, that are either working or working harder this time of year, just by nature," he said. "The thermostat kicks on, the radiators and the baseboard, water starts running through them, and anything, you know, can go wrong at any point."

Plumbers handle hot water heating systems, he said, so winter generally comes with "a certain cadence or flow of weather-related calls." 

Truth be told, there's only so much a professional can do when a pipe is actually frozen.

— Phil DePaul, CEO of 1-Tom-Plumber

Frozen pipes, through which water is not flowing, often lead to burst or broken pipes, he added. The volume of calls about these issues has been above average of late because of the low temperatures and wind chill, he said.

But when a homeowner calls about a frozen pipe, the response is not always straightforward.

"Truth be told, there's only so much a professional can do when a pipe is actually frozen," DePaul said.

There are low-risk methods to thaw pipes, but those are not always effective, DePaul said; and to hire a plumber to spend hours trying to thaw the pipe with a heat gun may not be cost effective, he cautioned. The integrity of the pipe may be in question, and there may be multiple spots affected, he said.

"If your drain is clogged, we'll come out, we either unclog it, or we don't," he said. "But with a frozen pipe, like an actively frozen pipe, there's definitely no one-size-fits-all solution, and there's not always a solution." 

Sometimes, DePaul said, the course of action is to try to create the conditions where the pipe thaws and hope that if there is a leak, it is mild or containable. 

"You just try to get warmth into the area," he said.

Because there is no single solution to a frozen pipe, DePaul emphasized the importance of pre-season heating system maintenance, including on the boiler and other mechanical elements. One commonly known preventative measure come wintertime, he said, is to keep a slow drip in the faucets or fixtures.

"The biggest threat that you could have is if your heating system fails, because if your heating system fails, then the water stops moving, and the hot water is more likely to freeze than the cold water," he said.

Cesspools

Older cesspool pipes crack, separate or collapse, which impedes their ability to drain and forces waste back into the home through various fixtures and basement floor drains, Motta explained. This can cause flooding or other damage, he said.

Outside, the snow and frozen ground have covered cesspools and septic tanks, which can complicate a situation for a homeowner who does not know the location of the system, Motta added.

Motta estimated a repair that could cost $2,500 in the springtime could cost $3,500 or more in the winter. He attributed this cost increase to frozen ground, longer repair times and additional labor and equipment.

"The combination of frost-related pipe failures, buried tanks and limited access is why winter plumbing emergencies are not only happening more frequently — but are far more disruptive and expensive for homeowners," Motta said.

For this reason, Motta said preventative maintenance and knowing where the cesspool or sewer system is located before temperatures drop and snow falls can have a significant impact.

Frozen progress on home sales, inspections

As a home inspector, Rob Byrne has seen the cold interfere with home inspections this week, he said. He cannot check to see that the water is running and the drains are working if the pipes are frozen, he said; and the snow on the ground has blocked certain exterior features.

"We're not used to having these frigid cold temperatures for this extended period of time," said Byrne, of Higher Elevation Home & Commercial Inspections. "That's a game changer in itself."

Byrne said he has seen homeowners forget to close outside hose bibs or spigots, which can result in the hose water freezing, expanding and causing cracks in piping. This can produce water damage inside the house, he said.

"If everything's frozen, it's not going to leak because it's in a solid state," Byrne said. "But, once it starts defrosting and the pipe cracked, that's when you start getting all of that leakage, and if it's under pressure, then it could flood fast."

In older homes, where the walls are not properly insulated and water lines run up exterior walls, Byrne said keeping cabinets closed creates a sort of refrigerator and facilitates pipe freezing. He recommends his clients leave cabinet doors open to allow heat from the home to warm the area underneath the kitchen sink, for instance.

Aside from ensuring proper insulation around pipes and supply lines, Byrne recommends keeping the home heated well. He also finds himself conducting a great deal of maintenance inspections, he said.

"People are calling us in now at this time of the year because they know it's been cold for so long, they want to make sure their pipes aren't frozen, or potential," he said. "So we go in, and we do an inspection, especially for houses that are vacant or estate sales."