Cold Arctic Winds Can Surprise Homeowners in Georgia-Causing Thousands of $$$ in Damage

The winter wind found its way to Augusta Martinez Evans Grovetown GA.   It appears, though, that the tropical breezes have pushed old man winter right back to his place up north!

Georgians just are not prepared for this kind of cold.  When exterior pipes are subjected to temperatures well below 20f we can expect to see damage like this. 

The little split in this piping looks benign enough but it sprayed thousands of gallons of water onto the studs, insulation and electrical components of this exterior wall causing a thousand dollars worth of damage! 

This could have been avoided had the pipes been properly insulated (or at all) to begin with.  The Truth of the matter, however, is that unless we disassemble our homes to look for things like lacking insulation, we will never know that a potential flood lurks behind that siding!  

What can we do?  Well, when a cold spell like the one we experienced in the beginning of 2010 hits, keep a close eye on your home.   Keep outside faucets and any tubs or sinks that have plumbing on an outside wall, dripping a small stream.  And, of course, keep your heat on!   When it is very cold, walk around your basement or outside crawl space and look for unusual ice build up or water leaks.  Call for help immediately if you notice anything suspicious.

As for TODAY in Martinez it was a balmy 70f !!  It would seem that, for now, tropical winds have pushed the arctic winds back where they belong.... but who knows about the weeks to come.  SO, keep an eye on those pipes!