The Beech Mountain Christmas Freeze of 2022

The story: On December 23^rd by 3:30 am the temperature dropped below 32° F and remained there until 1:30 pm on December 27^th, 4 days and 10 hours (106 hours).   During that time period ZERO from 8:00 am on December 23^rd until 12:30 pm on December 24^th.  It flirted with zero again in the pre-dawn hours of December 25^th. 

What happened:  Many Beech Mountain homes suffered FROZEN/BURST water lines.

Could this have been prevented:  The simple answer is YES! 
Here is a link to an old, but still accurate, informative article.  https://thehtrc.com/2010/preventing-or-fixing-frozen-water-pipes

Our customers sad stories*:

Customer 1 - 10's of burst lines in the crawl space and inside walls in the home.  Only minor water damage in the garage because the water was off at the street valve
Customer 2 - burst line, first floor flooded.  Water NOT shut off at the street or in home shutoff.
Customer 3 - burst line and blown off stop valve in downstairs bathroom.  Significant flooding on that level and in the crawl space.  Ice sheet had formed on the outside of the home. Water was NOT shut off at the street.
Customer 4 - burst water line inside wall near main in home shutoff and others in the floor between the first and second floor.  Some water damage between the time the street valve was turned on and leak was discovered and the valve turn off.
Customer 5 - burst hot water low point drain line in virtually unheated area of crawl space.  No significant damage, just lots of wasted water.
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*All of the homes cited above did have an in home water shut off in the crawl space, though many were in difficult to reach locations.

What happened:  Many Beech Mountain homes suffered WATER DAMAGE from burst water lines.

Could this have been prevented:  The simple answer is YES!

1. If the water supply had been turned off at the meter or at the main shutoff in the house water damage could have been prevented or significantly reduced provided any breaks were after the shutoff point. 
   Remember the Town of Beech Mountain requires that water be turnoff at street.
2. If the water system had been prepared as per the article referenced above.
3. If the crawl space had been prepared as per the article referenced above.
4. If PEX pipes were used instead of copper. Please refer to https://www.pmmag.com/articles/103379-pex-pipe-and-tubing-freeze-break-resistance-and-benefits-addressed-in-new-technical-report 
   and  https://www.sharkbite.com/us/en/resources/blog/how-pex-pipe-performs-in-the-winter  for additional informative information

Prepare NOW before the next Big Freeze

This could happen to you!	Don't let this happen to you!	This could happen to you!
	Call or text us today at 321-543-4562 or 828-260-7767 to schedule a review of your property. Avoid that Insurance deductable and loss of use of your property by preventing damage before it occurs. We can winterize We can replace copper with PEX We do repairs  More Photos