Hi,
My bathroom is behaving strangely, and while it seems like frozen pipes (very cold day), I'd like to exhaust other options before taking drywall down.
Here is how I believe my water flow runs. Main water in branches off to bathroom sink, toilet, tub, then kitchen sink, then to the hot water tank. Hot water runs back in the opposite order - kitchen sink, bathroom sink, tub.
This morning, bathroom sink has cold water but no hot water (i.e., open tap, nothing at all comes out). Toilet still works and re-fills. Bathtub faucet does not provide any water at all, either hot or cold,. Bathtub faucet is one faucet for both water sources (i.e., I do not have separate hot and cold water faucets - it's one of those ones you pull out to turn on and then turn left or right to adjust the overall temperature).
Kitchen sink works fine with both temperatures.
Strange behaviour is I turn on the tub turned to cold (nothing happens), bathroom sink cold faucet (cold water in the sink, nothing in the tub) and then open the bathroom sink hot faucet (no hot water in the sink, still cold water in the sink, suddenly now have cold water in the tub!).
I close both taps in the sink, cold water continues to run in the tub. Turn tub all the way to hot, water flow stops. Turn back to cold, no flow at all. To get it restarted I have to open both the taps in the bathroom sink again.
What does this sound like to people? If it is frozen pipes, any idea where the "freeze" could be? As far as I know, cold water supply pipe does not run by any outside walls. Hot water supply pipe does follow an outside wall in the (very well insulated basement) before getting to the bathroom but after the kitchen sink. Both the hot and cold supply pipes in the basement were insulated as best possible before the drywall went up.
Any suggestions welcome - scared to call a plumber cause I don't want to open up any walls/ceiling if I can avoid it.
Thanks,
Gus
My bathroom is behaving strangely, and while it seems like frozen pipes (very cold day), I'd like to exhaust other options before taking drywall down.
Here is how I believe my water flow runs. Main water in branches off to bathroom sink, toilet, tub, then kitchen sink, then to the hot water tank. Hot water runs back in the opposite order - kitchen sink, bathroom sink, tub.
This morning, bathroom sink has cold water but no hot water (i.e., open tap, nothing at all comes out). Toilet still works and re-fills. Bathtub faucet does not provide any water at all, either hot or cold,. Bathtub faucet is one faucet for both water sources (i.e., I do not have separate hot and cold water faucets - it's one of those ones you pull out to turn on and then turn left or right to adjust the overall temperature).
Kitchen sink works fine with both temperatures.
Strange behaviour is I turn on the tub turned to cold (nothing happens), bathroom sink cold faucet (cold water in the sink, nothing in the tub) and then open the bathroom sink hot faucet (no hot water in the sink, still cold water in the sink, suddenly now have cold water in the tub!).
I close both taps in the sink, cold water continues to run in the tub. Turn tub all the way to hot, water flow stops. Turn back to cold, no flow at all. To get it restarted I have to open both the taps in the bathroom sink again.
What does this sound like to people? If it is frozen pipes, any idea where the "freeze" could be? As far as I know, cold water supply pipe does not run by any outside walls. Hot water supply pipe does follow an outside wall in the (very well insulated basement) before getting to the bathroom but after the kitchen sink. Both the hot and cold supply pipes in the basement were insulated as best possible before the drywall went up.
Any suggestions welcome - scared to call a plumber cause I don't want to open up any walls/ceiling if I can avoid it.
Thanks,
Gus
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