FHB Podcast Segment: Keep Pipes From Freezing in an Exterior Wall
In this Fine Homebuilding Podcast Segment, remodeler Jerry discusses insulating pipes with Rockwool & EPS foam to prevent freezing.
In FHB Podcast episode 635, Jerry writes in to share his experience remodeling a bathroom in a 1900s house in Ann Arbor, MI, placing a shower supply in an exterior wall. Concerned about freezing, they insulated with Rockwool and EPS foam as a way to prevent freezing pipes without heat, monitored temperatures with a data logger, and recorded stable conditions despite -6°F temperatures. He shares temperature data and construction details, humorously mentioning the data logger’s longevity.
Jerry’s Full Question:
Hi all, I just wanted to offer a story from the field. We had a situation where we remodeled a bathroom (in the Ann Arbor, Michigan, area) and knew we needed to put a shower supply in an exterior wall. The house is circa 1900, with board sheathing and a couple layers of siding on the exterior.
From the inside, we taped all the gaps in the board sheathing and spray-foamed behind the new plumbing; we stuffed a data logger between the hot and cold supplies; finished insulating with Rockwool; and set the data logger to record every hour. We obviously were worried that the pipes would get too cold and risk freezing. I wanted to share what data we got. In early January, we reached temps of -6˚F and the logger recorded 54˚F. This is not a crazy thick wall assembly. We managed to get something like 2 in. of EPS foam behind the pipes and sealed the gaps with canned foam.
I’m sending along a quick graph I made showing the lowest temperature recorded each week and a picture of the construction. (Please excuse the wacky framing.) That poor data logger will keep recording for about a year and a half and then run out of memory, so we might get one more winter dataset. We should be good until the next ice age.
As always, love the show,
Jerry
Listen to the Full Episode
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