{"id":7678,"date":"2022-03-01T17:51:10","date_gmt":"2022-03-01T16:51:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawkins.biz\/?post_type=insight&p=7678"},"modified":"2025-07-30T15:12:45","modified_gmt":"2025-07-30T14:12:45","slug":"ice-damage-forensic-investigation","status":"publish","type":"insight","link":"https:\/\/www.hawkins.biz\/insight\/ice-damage-forensic-investigation\/","title":{"rendered":"Ice, Ice Baby"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Winter sees a seasonal increase in escapes of water in both domestic and commercial properties due to the freezing of water pipes. The UK Water Regulations state that\u00a0\u201cAll cold water fittings located within the building, but outside the thermal envelope, or those outside the building must be protected against damage by freezing\u201d<\/i>.<\/p>

Property damage from escapes of water caused by frozen pipes is typically associated with pipework that is routed through areas of a property within a building\u2019s perimeter, but outside the \u2018thermal envelope\u2019 of a building (for example: lofts and out-buildings).The thermal envelope of a building consists of components that are designed to separate the warm air inside a building from the cold air outside; the thermal envelope is defined as:\u00a0the area within a building that is insulated against heat loss<\/i>. On that basis, a pipe that is outside the thermal envelope can be exposed to sub-zero temperatures during a period of cold weather. Pipework within the thermal envelope of the building can also freeze, leading to escapes of water when the building is not heated.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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HOW DOES INSULATION WORK?<\/span><\/h4>

The common belief that water pipe insulation is provided in order to \u2018keep the cold out\u2019 and prevent the freezing of water pipes is, on a technical basis, incorrect. Insulation is actually provided to\u00a0retain<\/i>\u00a0the \u2018heat energy\u2019 within the water pipe.<\/p>

Thermal insulation, applied directly around a pipe in the form of\u00a0lagging<\/i>, slows down the impact of cooling of water during sub-zero conditions (by helping to retain the heat energy within the water pipe) but will not\u00a0prevent<\/i>\u00a0heat transfer from the water in situations where the ambient temperature is lower than both the pipe and its contents. Thermal insulation does not give complete protection if the temperature falls either to or below freezing point. However, a suitable thickness of thermal insulation does delay the onset of freezing in cold weather. If more heat is supplied from the liquid passing through the system than is lost through the insulation, freezing can be avoided. However, if the outside temperature remains low enough, for long enough, and the movement of liquid through the pipe (or vessel) is slow, then insulation, however thick, will not prevent eventual internal freezing.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Some insulated pipe covered with grey, polyethylene foam lagging<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Some areas of the United Kingdom can, at times, see prolonged low temperatures through both the day and night. Unless the water supply is isolated, and the pipework drained before the onset of freezing, additional measures may be required to ensure that the freezing of pipes and fittings does not occur.<\/p>

As insulation or pipe lagging can only provide a time-limited amount of protection against pipework freezing, an alternative option is to add \u2018trace heating\u2019 to the sections of pipework at greatest risk. Trace heating is a system where a heating element, in conjunction with a thermostat (a frost-stat), is applied to pipework. When the frost thermostat detects freezing temperatures, the trace heating system is activated, and the pipework is warmed sufficiently to avoid freezing. Alternatively, the installation of thermostatically controlled shut-off and draining valves for isolating and draining sections of pipework can be effective.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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TYPICAL SEQUENCE OF EVENTS<\/span><\/u><\/h4>

The typical sequence of events, leading to an escape of water due to freezing pipework is as follows:<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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