To winterize pipes before the first freeze in Nashville, disconnect and drain garden hoses, shut off and drain outdoor spigots and irrigation lines, insulate any exposed pipes in the crawl space, garage and attic, close crawl space vents and seal drafts near plumbing, and make sure you know where your main water shutoff is. Do it in October, before the first frost, because the first hard cold snap here often arrives with only a few days of warning.
Middle Tennessee winters are mild most of the time, which is exactly why pipes get caught off guard. A lot of homes here were built with plumbing in crawl spaces and exterior walls, and that’s fine until a few nights in the teens or a rare single-digit cold snap rolls in. A couple of hours of prep this fall can save you from ceilings coming down in January.
Why Nashville homes are vulnerable to frozen pipes
Places that get real winters build for it. Pipes run through heated space, and crawl spaces are rare. Around here, a few things work against you:
- Vented crawl spaces. Many older and mid-century homes have supply lines running through crawl spaces that get almost as cold as outside air on a windy night.
- Plumbing in exterior walls. Kitchen sinks on outside walls and bathrooms over garages are common trouble spots.
- Older outdoor spigots. Standard hose bibs, as opposed to frost-free ones, keep water right at the exterior wall.
- Irrigation systems with backflow preventers sitting above ground.
- Infrequent hard freezes. Because they don’t happen every year, people forget the routine.
Our post on water damage issues in older Nashville homes covers more of the plumbing quirks you’ll find in houses around here.
Your pre-freeze plan: what to do first
If you only have one free Saturday before the cold sets in, work through these in this order. The early steps prevent the most common failures.
- Find and test your main water shutoff. It’s usually in the crawl space, garage, basement or at the meter near the street. Turn it off and back on to make sure it works. A stuck valve is a problem you want to know about now.
- Disconnect every garden hose. A hose left attached traps water in the spigot, even on a frost-free model, and can split the pipe inside the wall.
- Shut off and drain outdoor spigots. If you have an interior shutoff valve for each spigot, close it, then open the outside faucet to let it drain. Leave it open for the winter.
- Winterize the irrigation system. Shut off its water supply and drain or blow out the lines and backflow preventer. Many homeowners have their irrigation company handle this.
- Insulate exposed pipes. Focus on crawl spaces, unheated garages, attics and any pipe near an outside wall or vent.
- Close up the crawl space. Shut vents, fix broken vent covers and make sure the access door seals.
- Seal drafts near plumbing. Caulk or foam gaps where pipes pass through exterior walls or the rim joist.
Outdoor spigots, hoses and irrigation
Outdoor faucets are one of the most common places for freeze damage, partly because the pipe feeding them runs through the exterior wall.
Frost-free hose bibs have a long stem that shuts off the water inside the warm part of the wall. They work well, but only if the hose is disconnected so the stem can drain. If you’re not sure which kind you have, look at the length of the valve body. A frost-free one usually has a longer pipe going into the house, and the handle is at the outside end.
Insulated faucet covers (the foam domes you see at hardware stores) are a good extra layer for any outside faucet. They’re cheap insurance, though they aren’t a substitute for draining a standard spigot.
Crawl spaces and exterior walls
Crawl spaces are where a lot of Middle Tennessee freeze damage starts. Get down there with a flashlight before it gets cold and look at every supply line you can see.
What to insulate
- Any exposed copper, PEX or CPVC supply line in the crawl space
- Pipes near foundation vents, the access door or the rim joist
- The main supply line where it enters the house
- Pipes feeding a kitchen or bathroom on an exterior wall
Foam pipe sleeves are the easy option. Measure the pipe diameter, slide them on and tape the seams. For pipes that have frozen before, consider a thermostatically controlled heat cable, installed exactly according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Use only listed products, don’t overlap cables unless the instructions allow it, and plug them into a GFCI-protected outlet.
While you’re down there, check that the vapor barrier is intact and look for torn or missing insulation under the floor. Cold air blowing across bare pipes is what freezes them.
Inside the house
For sinks on exterior walls, you can’t insulate the pipe inside the wall without opening it. What you can do is let warm air reach it on cold nights by opening the cabinet doors under the sink. Seal any gaps around where pipes come through the back of the cabinet.
Garages, attics and water heaters
Attached garages often have water lines running along an exterior wall or to a laundry setup. Keep the garage door closed in cold weather and insulate any exposed lines.
If you have plumbing in the attic, which some houses do for a second-floor bathroom or a water heater, make sure the pipes are covered by insulation on the cold side and not sitting directly above a soffit vent.
Water heaters in garages or crawl spaces should have their inlet and outlet lines insulated. Tank-type heaters are fairly forgiving, but the pipes around them aren’t.
Tankless water heaters mounted outside or in unheated spaces need their own attention. Many have built-in freeze protection that relies on electricity, so a winter power outage can leave them exposed. Check your owner’s manual for the manufacturer’s freeze guidance and how to drain the unit if the power goes out during a hard freeze.
Your winterizing shopping list
Pick these up before the first freeze warning, when the shelves at the hardware store empty out fast:
- Foam pipe insulation sleeves in the right diameters
- Insulating tape or duct tape for sleeve seams
- Foam faucet covers for each outdoor spigot
- Expanding foam or caulk for gaps around pipe penetrations
- Replacement foundation vent covers, if any are broken
- A thermostatically controlled heat cable, if you have a known trouble spot
- A battery-powered leak sensor or two for the crawl space and under sinks
- A flashlight that stays near the main shutoff
When a hard freeze is in the forecast
When the forecast calls for temperatures in the low 20s or below, especially several nights in a row or with strong wind, take a few extra steps:
- Keep the thermostat steady day and night instead of turning it down at bedtime
- Open cabinet doors under sinks on exterior walls
- Let a faucet on a vulnerable line drip slowly, which keeps water moving and can relieve pressure
- Close the garage door
- Check the forecast from the National Weather Service in Nashville for wind chill and how long the cold will last
Say you’re heading out of town for the holidays and a cold front is due. Leave the heat on at a reasonable setting, ask a neighbor to check the house, and consider shutting off the main water and opening a faucet to drain the lines. A house left unheated with the water on is one of the riskiest setups there is. Many homeowners policies also expect you to keep the heat on or drain the system when you’re away, so check yours.
Or picture a 1960s ranch where the kitchen sink sits on the north wall and the supply lines run through a vented crawl space. That’s a house where sleeves on every crawl space line, closed vents, and an open cabinet door on cold nights make a real difference.
If a pipe freezes or bursts anyway
Even a well-prepared house can have a pipe freeze in a long cold spell. If a faucet won’t run or only trickles, a pipe may be frozen. Shut off the water to that line or the main before it thaws, so you’re ready if it’s cracked. Never use an open flame to thaw a pipe.
If a pipe splits, shut off the main immediately, turn off power to any wet areas if you can do it safely, and start moving water away from belongings. Our guide on what to do after a burst pipe walks through the next steps. During widespread freezes, it’s also worth keeping an eye on updates from Metro Water Services if you’re a Metro customer.
Areas we serve
We respond to frozen and burst pipe emergencies across the region, including Hendersonville, Gallatin and Goodlettsville. In these communities we’re typically on site within about 60 minutes, day or night.
If winter gets the better of your plumbing, our water damage restoration team will extract the water, dry the structure and document the damage for your insurance claim. Call us 24/7 at (629) 250-3594 or request a free estimate.
