Why do water lines freeze when weather warms up
Why do water lines freeze when weather warms up
(OP)
We are having problems with water lines freezing this spring can anyone tell me why this happens when the weather warms up outside?
Does the water from on top of the ground tranfer the cold through surface cracks to the waterlines below and when we see a couple of cold nights it freezes again freezing the water lines with it?
In the spring why does the ground drop in an area for no apparant reason I have seen holes 2' in diameter and 12" deep where once hard ground was and it is soft like alkaline mud.
Frost heaves I can justify by the water under the grounds surface expanding and forcing the ground up. But the holes? Is it from the water freezing durring the winter and when it melts in the spring the ground drops into the void created by the water that had been frozen?
A lot of questions probably with a simple answer. Can anyone help me out?
Does the water from on top of the ground tranfer the cold through surface cracks to the waterlines below and when we see a couple of cold nights it freezes again freezing the water lines with it?
In the spring why does the ground drop in an area for no apparant reason I have seen holes 2' in diameter and 12" deep where once hard ground was and it is soft like alkaline mud.
Frost heaves I can justify by the water under the grounds surface expanding and forcing the ground up. But the holes? Is it from the water freezing durring the winter and when it melts in the spring the ground drops into the void created by the water that had been frozen?
A lot of questions probably with a simple answer. Can anyone help me out?





RE: Why do water lines freeze when weather warms up
RE: Why do water lines freeze when weather warms up
KRS Services
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RE: Why do water lines freeze when weather warms up
Lastly, in relation to frost, I have excavated frost in the first week of June at the 4.5 to 7.0 foot depth, again, under a roadway after a miserably cold winter.
KRS Services
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RE: Why do water lines freeze when weather warms up
RE: Why do water lines freeze when weather warms up
when frost susceptible soils thaw they loose strength and holes can develop. there are two key factors that contribute to this phenomenom.
i) the density of the soil has been decreased to accomodate room for ice lenses that cause the ground to heave
ii) the thaw typically occurs at a rate faster than the melt water can drain
the soil is essentially loosened and saturated. As a result the bearing capacity is significantly reduced. This will lead to failures (holes) if the bearing capacity is reduced below the overlying loads.
I am not sure about why pipes in freeze in the spring but it may be due to the sometimes daily variation of temperatures from below freezing to above freezing. During the day snow in the area may melt increasing the water in the ground which will freeze at night and greatly increase the thickness of ice in the ground (greater heave). this may crush your pipe.
regards
RE: Why do water lines freeze when weather warms up
Spring is the worst time for freezing pipes because that is when the frost has penetrated the deepest! It has nothing, I repeat nothing, to do with warm air temperatures. It has everything to do with how cold the winter was (in degree days and time) relative to the "R" factor of the soils and subsequent heat loss of those soils. Think about it. When you have the freezing in the fall....do the pipes freeze?
KRS Services
www.krs-services.com
RE: Why do water lines freeze when weather warms up