By Edie Johnson
This Winter has had some of the most extreme cold spells that we have experienced in recent years. When I stopped in at the Coles Plumbing & Heating East Main Street Office at the end of January, their team was pretty exhausted, but they stepped up to give some of the best customer service I have ever seen. They said that (in addition to mine) they had tended to about 50 calls of broken pipes from one end of Blooming Grove to they other, and beyond. Nevertheless they were ready to tackle my situation "eagerly". Knowing that they still had a lengthy list of customers waiting for help, I told Bill Cypher Sr. who owns the business with his son Bill, that I would send them an e-mail with details and a few pictures, clean up what I could of the recurring water flow and share my guess about where the broken pipe was. Bill had been to my house to fix the quite old furnace (in my house built in 1810) the previous month, which needed a good cleaning, But he did not have experience with the myriad of pipes going to and from 3 floors including a very large new addition of a sunroom a few years back. Meanwhile, the only heat we had (me and my tropical Macaw Parrot) was 2 space heaters. for the Sunroom (which had to have reasonable heat for both me and the bird), and had been the first room to lose the regular baseboard heat during the emergency (while the upstairs thermostat crept up toward 80 degrees (no matter what I did) trying to make up for the heat loss. I spent the next 2 days mopping and mopping and mopping the small pond in the kitchen while trying to determine where the broken pipe was located. Because the old flagstone floor was a little lower in the middle, the water was deeper there, but seemed to fan out evenly toward the walls. By the end of Day #2 and a second visit to the Coles office, while Office Manager Erin and I reviewed our suspicions of the root cause (she reassuring me a dozen times while I was on the verge of tears, not to worry, they would be able to take care of it). We took a break and shared some horse stories, both of us being avid riders.
The 'stuff' hit the fan when Bill Sr. came to the house and spent almost 3 hours assessing which of the dozen or so pipes went to the kitchen and sunroom and determining whether it could be isolated. It was grueling work, depending endless patience. Meanwhile he purged some of the lines so that the heat would run smoothly when restored. The culprit was narrowed down to a pipe BEHIND a false wall along the kitchen cabinets and under the dishwasher.
Given that "This Old House", which I dearly love, has 16 solar panels along the garage roof (capable of covering the cost either of a space heater for now and more likely a large electric wall- heating unit next year, he agreed we we could isolated the pipe and he was able to disconnect its feed, thus avoiding the alternative of tearing apart the wall behind the cabinets. It leaves us with only the faux fireplace for the next month for that room, but it's reasonably warm and will be much warmer in a few weeks, and and rest of the house is now safe and toasty comfortable.
THAT is what experience and dedication will bring to a difficult problem. And they all insisted that I stop by just to let them know how things are going.
This Winter is far from over. I recommend that if you have any issues with your plumbing and heating (Bill Jr. also installed a new hot water heater last year), give them a call or stoop by their office in Washingtonville. And please, tell them you saw the story Edie wrote about them in the Courier Journal.
P.S. I learned a LOT about where cold air seeps in, especially when you have an "older" house. You don't always have to hire someone for expensive remodelling to solve many of these issues. Great big sunrooms are wonderful, but bear in mind they can be a heating challenge, especially if a wood stove or fireplace is not an option due to allergies.
Sunrooms give a lot of natural light and heat, but can be a big challenge
to heat on a cold night!
Solar panels can be a lifesaver ... mine covered 95% of my 2024 $800 electric bill. Try some heavier weight drapes or even attractive indoor shutters in front of problem windows and doors. Use draft blockers by doors. Outside walls can be given extra protection as well with stone and landscaping helping to protect the bottom few feet. And to protect against freezing pipes, don't go too far in keeping the heat low to save on cost. In fact if you know its going down to the teens at night it could be wise to push the thermostat up a few degrees. And keep the Coles number handy!
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