Protect Outdoor Pipes in Winter

Well, Winter 2020 is official here in North Vancouver. We often have a lot of people renting our storage units because a pipe burst in their home and need a place to store some items while dealing with the aftermath. So we have decided to send out a little PSA about protecting your outdoor pipes.

How to Protect Outdoor Pipes

Seal Cracks

Go around your house and start inspecting the areas around your pipes. Specifically where they come out of the wall, if you notice any cracking around the area, it needs to be sealed. Grab some spray foam insulation and fill those cracks. Having cracks allows air to reach the piping behind the wall and freeze it.

Drip

Most people know that dripping your pipes is the best way to prevent freezing. By keeping the faucets slightly open during especially cold days will allow the continuous flow of water. It’s much harder to freeze running water than still. Always make sure to close the faucets when the weather warms up, not cool to waste water.

Insulate Pipes

Any outdoor pipes that are exposed need to be insulated. Head to your local hardware store and grab some foam pipe insulation. Next, go around your home and put this on any and all uncovered pipes. You should also be doing this for the interior of your home as well. Especially inside the crawl space, all pipes need to be covered.

Allow Air Flow

This is more for interior pipes than outdoor pipes, but by keeping your cabinets open, it will help the warm air in the home to reach the pipes behind them. This is useful for those especially cold days. If you are leaving on vacation during the winter, make sure to leave some cabinets open just in case.

Avoid disaster and make sure your pipes are winterized.

sweda

Mike Olsen

18:58 16 Oct 19

This is inexpensive storage that operates 100% as advertised - they do not offer 24/7 access and do not charge 24/7 access pricing. They are incredibly responsive to requests to unlock doors and provide access. It is not fancy but if you need a clean, dry place to store your stuff, you can't beat these guys. Don't expect bells and/or whistles but you also won't be paying for them.

Dave Shirlaw

01:54 10 Jun 19

Have to phone to have buildings unlocked. Annoying.

megan chow

23:06 21 May 19

sara ~

01:04 25 Sep 18

Prices are 1/2 the price of other storage units but it shuts down (locked gates) from 10 am - 6 pm except if you have the enormous ground level outside facing units. Those hours are impossible. The technology getting items up to the second story is an actual forklift thats made stationary. You balance your items up the forklift (and you raise the wooden pallet up yourself) Then you must walk up stairs and hope their is a dolly available to wind precariously around tiny turning hallways. Budget carpentry and ancient carpet in the units. The trolleys sound and feel like their from 1980's and are either coached to disobey or they keep their own counsel. They say its secure but I had a neighbor pick something up and they weren't even asked for permission. I explicitly stated only I was to have access. They said they do not let it happen. The locks are your own, but the flip closure is attached by 3/4 wood screws easily and possibly quite quietly could be opened and emptied with no one batting an eye. A kid could detach it with anything. They have "24 hour security" which means a guy lives on site. Does he/she have CCTV access? Probably not, nor would you want that job. Are there motion sensors? Not likely as sometimes the lights won't turn on and finding a switch in the straggly wandering corridors is impossible. They do not offer insurance. You have to sign forms saying all the things you will and won't do, but they are not liable if anything happens: theft, fire, water, vandals, pests etcSo despite all those complaints, its still 4/5 only because of the prices.