Macewenjoel
New Member
Hey I’m looking to live in a house on posts all year round in Canada where it can get pretty cold. Up to -30 c at the coldest. And I’m looking for some insight if I’ll have problems with the pipes.
Will my pipes freeze in winter?
- Thread starter Macewenjoel
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No cold weather experience, sorry.
Here are a few regular things to note:
ABS is to be supported at 4' intervals, rigid hangers only, no metal strap contact.
Dryer vent in crawl space must be rigid, not flex.
Here are a few regular things to note:
ABS is to be supported at 4' intervals, rigid hangers only, no metal strap contact.
Dryer vent in crawl space must be rigid, not flex.
I can't imagine that working, but has it in the past? Is there heat tape on all water lines? I'm from N Minnesota, and I wouldn't think of building something like that for winter habitation. We have a seasonal cabin near the Canadian border and we have a crawl space with well insulated walls.
Mitchell-DIY-Guy
Well-Known Member
As a home inspector, this is a nightmare "crawl space". The only thing missing is snakes, like you often find in the southern USA.
Someone used spray foam insulation, and that makes a huge mess; I see a heat tape thermostat partially coated with some of that.
The spray foam is all over pipes and tubes; if you have a leak, it may mask where it is, causing untold time and effort to uncover it.
The dirt floor is littered with trash, rocks, etc. and is fully open to the outside.
Snow is coming in. Of course your pipes will freeze! No matter how good the insulation is, your floors inside will be cold too.
It may be an optical illusion, but it looks like one of the main drain lines has a low spot in it, instead of the proper slope.
You have pipes laying on the dirt "floor".
@breplum also noted some other issues...but they are tangential to the issue of converting your home.
Clearly this house was not designed as a winterized home. If you want to winterize, start at the bottom.
Clean up the ground, rake it and remove the rocks.
Ensure all grading around the house drains all water AWAY from the space. Ensure all downspouts take water 5-10' away from the home's footprint.
Your perimeter wall is non-structural; enclose the space to remove it from the outside. I'd use treated lumber with whatever code calls for. You may need a footing around it.
Insulate the perimeter wall. You can use rigid foam board or fiberglass designed specifically for such things depending on code allowance.
You should at minimum put a heavy weight vapor barrier down on the now clean "floor". That would NOT be cheap poly you buy at the home center, but rather something like reinforced 20 mil. You may consider encapsulating the crawl space. There's a lot of information on how to do this if you want to do it yourself. The materials are all simple and basic and the rules not difficult to follow.
My home in northern Michigan was on a full block crawl space, 4' high, but 75% below grade. Yours will be 100% above grade, so your temperatures there once enclosed won't be as stable...you may need a little heat down there or thermostatically controlled heat trace tapes, along with proper electric systems to support it; these things cannot be fed from extension cords.
More importantly, since you are in PEI you should probably check with the local building department. I'm sure you are NOT the first person to want to convert a summer cottage into a year round home (or similar) and thus this kind of thing must have been done before in your locale, and there are probably some important rules to follow.
https://www.finehomebuilding.com/2010/11/11/frost-protected-shallow-foundations-2
That's just one piece of information for you...
Someone used spray foam insulation, and that makes a huge mess; I see a heat tape thermostat partially coated with some of that.
The spray foam is all over pipes and tubes; if you have a leak, it may mask where it is, causing untold time and effort to uncover it.
The dirt floor is littered with trash, rocks, etc. and is fully open to the outside.
Snow is coming in. Of course your pipes will freeze! No matter how good the insulation is, your floors inside will be cold too.
It may be an optical illusion, but it looks like one of the main drain lines has a low spot in it, instead of the proper slope.
You have pipes laying on the dirt "floor".
@breplum also noted some other issues...but they are tangential to the issue of converting your home.
Clearly this house was not designed as a winterized home. If you want to winterize, start at the bottom.
Clean up the ground, rake it and remove the rocks.
Ensure all grading around the house drains all water AWAY from the space. Ensure all downspouts take water 5-10' away from the home's footprint.
Your perimeter wall is non-structural; enclose the space to remove it from the outside. I'd use treated lumber with whatever code calls for. You may need a footing around it.
Insulate the perimeter wall. You can use rigid foam board or fiberglass designed specifically for such things depending on code allowance.
You should at minimum put a heavy weight vapor barrier down on the now clean "floor". That would NOT be cheap poly you buy at the home center, but rather something like reinforced 20 mil. You may consider encapsulating the crawl space. There's a lot of information on how to do this if you want to do it yourself. The materials are all simple and basic and the rules not difficult to follow.
My home in northern Michigan was on a full block crawl space, 4' high, but 75% below grade. Yours will be 100% above grade, so your temperatures there once enclosed won't be as stable...you may need a little heat down there or thermostatically controlled heat trace tapes, along with proper electric systems to support it; these things cannot be fed from extension cords.
More importantly, since you are in PEI you should probably check with the local building department. I'm sure you are NOT the first person to want to convert a summer cottage into a year round home (or similar) and thus this kind of thing must have been done before in your locale, and there are probably some important rules to follow.
https://www.finehomebuilding.com/2010/11/11/frost-protected-shallow-foundations-2
That's just one piece of information for you...
