Emergency Readiness
How to Prevent Frozen Pipes in Homes and Commercial Buildings in the Capital Region
To prevent frozen pipes, in a house or a commercial building, keep heat on in every space that holds a water line, seal the cold air leaks that reach those lines, insulate pipes in exterior walls and unheated areas, and have your heating system checked before winter. Most freeze-ups we see in Albany, Troy and Schenectady start in the same few places, and most are preventable.
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Plumbing is plumbing and heating is heating, whether the building is a three-bedroom colonial or a downtown office block. The causes are the same. What changes is the scale, who is watching the building, and how much is at stake when a line splits. Below is where pipes freeze in both, a pre-winter checklist, and what to do if a line freezes or bursts.
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Where Pipes Freeze in Homes and Commercial Buildings
Pipes freeze where cold air reaches the line and heat does not. That is true in every building. Walk yours with these lists.
In both homes and businesses:
Exterior walls
Supply lines to kitchens and bathrooms often run inside outside walls. In older brick buildings and older Capital Region houses, those walls can have little or no insulation.
Basements and crawlspaces
Broken vent covers, open foundation gaps and missing insulation let wind blow straight onto lines.
Outdoor faucets and hose bibs
Lines that run to an outside spigot freeze first if they are not shut off and drained for the season.
Mostly in homes:
Attached garages
Laundry hookups, utility sinks and lines passing through a garage sit in one of the coldest spaces in the house.
Attics and kneewalls
Pipes to an upstairs bathroom sometimes run through attic space or behind kneewalls with thin insulation.
Rooms you close off
A shut guest room, sunroom or addition over a crawlspace can drop far below the temperature on the thermostat.
Mostly in commercial buildings:
Loading docks and vestibules
Overhead doors stay open for deliveries, and entryways are often heated lightly or not at all.
Above drop ceilings near the roof
The space above a suspended ceiling on the top floor can run much colder than the room below.
Vacant suites
An empty tenant space with the heat turned down is one of the most common sources of a burst pipe.
Rooftop equipment lines
Condensate lines, makeup water lines and any piping that runs to rooftop equipment are exposed to wind and cold.
Fire sprinkler lines can freeze too. Sprinkler systems are a separate trade, so involve your fire protection contractor for those lines.
Pre-Winter Checklist for Homeowners and Facility Managers
The best time to prevent frozen pipes is in the fall, before the first hard cold. The steps are the same for a house or a building. A facility manager just has more of them to walk.
- 01
Map your risk spots
Note every water line in exterior walls, garages, crawlspaces, docks, vestibules and top-floor ceilings.
- 02
Seal air leaks
Look for gaps around pipe penetrations, drafty rim joists, broken windows, damaged dock seals and open foundation vents.
- 03
Insulate exposed pipes
Add pipe insulation in unheated or lightly heated areas. Where a line cannot be kept warm by the space around it, ask a plumber about heat tape or rerouting.
- 04
Shut off and drain outdoor lines
Hose bibs, irrigation lines and exterior spigots should be isolated and drained before winter.
- 05
Know your shutoffs
Find the main water shutoff, plus any shutoffs for each floor or suite. Tag them and make sure they turn.
- 06
Check thermostats and controls
Confirm that every zone holds a safe setting, including spare rooms and vacant suites.
- 07
Schedule heating maintenance
Have your furnace, boiler or rooftop units inspected before the season starts. More on this below.
If you find corroded fittings, old valves that will not close or lines that have frozen before, have them looked at now. For businesses, our commercial plumbing repair team can fix weak points before winter tests them. For homes, our sister company Benjamin Franklin Plumbing of Albany does the same.
Cold Snaps, Vacations and Holiday Shutdowns
Many burst pipe calls come after time away. A family leaves for a week in February, or a business closes for the holiday break. The heat is set back, a cold snap moves in, and nobody is there to see the first leak.
When temperatures drop well below freezing, or before you leave a house or building empty, take these steps:
- Do not set the heat back too far. Keep enough heat in every room or zone that holds water lines.
- Open cabinet doors. Under-sink cabinets on exterior walls trap cold air.
- Let at-risk faucets drip. A slow drip at fixtures on exterior walls keeps water moving.
- Keep garage, dock and overhead doors closed as much as you can.
- Have someone check in. A neighbor for a house, a staff member on a schedule for a building.
- Use low-temperature and leak alarms or smart sensors if you have them.
A house or commercial building that will sit empty for a long stretch can be winterized. A plumber drains the system, blows out lines where needed and adds protection to traps and fixtures.
What to Do If a Pipe Freezes or Bursts
If you suspect a frozen pipe
Signs include a faucet with little or no flow, frost on an exposed pipe, or a cold room with a fixture that stopped working. Shut off the water to that line if you can, open the faucet it feeds, and call a plumber. Do not use an open flame to thaw a pipe. A frozen line may already be cracked, and the leak often shows up only once it thaws.
- 01
Shut off the water
Close the nearest shutoff, or the main if you cannot find it quickly.
- 02
Cut power to wet areas
If water is near electrical panels, outlets or equipment, and it is safe to do so.
- 03
Call a licensed plumber
Businesses: call Farrell Brothers at (518) 462-5454. Homes: our sister company, Benjamin Franklin Plumbing of Albany. Active leaks are treated as emergencies.
- 04
Move what you can
Take photos for insurance.
Our emergency commercial plumbing service handles burst pipes in businesses, and Benjamin Franklin Plumbing of Albany handles them in homes. Either way, we find the break, repair it, and check nearby lines that may have frozen too.
How Heating System Upkeep Prevents Frozen Pipes
Most frozen pipe calls trace back to a heating problem. A furnace that quits overnight, a boiler that trips off or a failed dock heater can let a space freeze within hours.
Furnaces
Most Capital Region homes heat with a gas furnace. A fall tune-up checks the burners, ignition, flame sensor and safety controls that shut it down when something is off.
Boilers
Steam and hot water boilers are common in older houses and older commercial buildings alike. A fall inspection checks burners, controls and safety devices.
Rooftop units (RTUs)
An RTU is a packaged heating and cooling unit mounted on the roof. Many office parks and retail strips in Colonie, Latham and Clifton Park rely on them. Check heating sections and controls before winter.
Unit heaters
These hang from the ceiling in docks, warehouses and garages. They are easy to forget until one fails.
If your heat is not keeping up at work, our commercial heating repair team can diagnose and fix it, and a commercial maintenance agreement puts plumbing and heating checks on a schedule. At home, our sister company One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning of Albany handles furnace and boiler tune-ups and repairs.
We serve homes and businesses across the Capital Region, including Albany, Troy and Schenectady. See all service areas.
Frozen Pipe FAQs for Homes and Businesses
How do I know if a pipe is frozen?
Low or no water flow at a fixture during cold weather is the most common sign, in a house or a commercial building. Shut off that line and call a plumber before it thaws and leaks.
Is preventing frozen pipes different for a home than a business?
The causes and fixes are the same. Businesses usually have more risk spots, more people who need to know where the shutoffs are, and longer stretches when nobody is in the building. Homes are most at risk when the family is away or a room is closed off.
What temperature should I keep the heat at when I go away?
Do not turn it off, and do not set it back too far. Keep it high enough that rooms and closets on exterior walls stay well above freezing, and have someone check in if you will be gone more than a few days.
Should I keep the heat on in a vacant commercial suite?
Yes. A vacant suite with water lines needs enough heat to keep those lines from freezing. If the space will sit empty for a long time, ask a plumber about draining and winterizing it instead.
Can you fix frozen sprinkler lines?
Fire sprinkler systems are handled by fire protection contractors. Call yours for sprinkler and fire line issues. We handle the domestic water, drain and heating systems.
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Get Help With Frozen or Burst Pipes
Farrell Brothers has served homes and businesses in Albany and the Capital Region since 1921. Businesses call us directly, and homeowners can call our sister companies, Benjamin Franklin Plumbing of Albany and One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning of Albany.
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