My last report Jazz was 1 pipe shattered on the pool. Well after further inspection, it is more like three in various locations. Fortunately the water line in the pool is not dropping. The pool company has already been called and will hopefully be out here this week.
My dramas are nothing compared to other folks and thankfully no pipes burst in the house. I happen to have tankless water heaters so no chance of explosion there or water coming in from the ceiling. I have seen that happen before and the damage is overwhelming.
There was a construction change that happened a few years back or maybe more, when plumbers began using flexible tubes in blue and read instead of PVC pipe to plumb a house and maybe that flexibility alleviated bursting of static, brittle PVC. I don't know, but yes older homes seem to have more problems. All in all, I am counting my lucky stars so far with one caveat: if one of the pool pipes that is cracked on my system which is near the pool heater that could be costly. Apparently, if water enters the gas run pool heater it is a minimum of 6K to fix. The main pipe to the heat is indeed cracked, but no signs of leaking into the pool heater. Again, I am lucky so far.
My biggest concern when building this house was ensuring the home was sealed inside and out. I hate drafts, but the real reason is I absolutely hate scorpions. So, I caulked and foamed the bejeezus out this house and my plan worked...no scorpions or drafts. Now, I have to change my mindset into a different mode. Since my house weathered the storm at such extreme cold, now I know we are okay for both sides of the weather emergencies. Sadly, my plants took the brunt of the storm and I am going to wait a month to see what survived and what didn't.
Speaking of plants...I used different materials to cover my plants and the one Sago palm that was covered in a U-Haul blanket came out with very little freeze damage. In fact, it was green like nothing happened. My Garlic societies bounced back and the giant laropie did extremely well. Oaks are okay, Mt. Laurels weathered just fine and of course those pesky Cedar Trees. Oh, and my Knock out roses are allright. I shoved hot coals under their tarp periodically to keep them warm, so I hope it helped. I'm not worried about the grass as mine as all artificial. So, U-haul blankets which are made of recycled denim did the trick.
I have a newfound respect for y'all up North and the brutality of cold weather along with power outages and what not. This was not good and I will be more prepared for the next blizzard when it comes. My mind is on overdrive with pre-plans right now and I think I have it sorted out. This crisis stung and I don't ever want to feel that sting again.
John from Texas
