# Barnum Plumbing: Crawlspace Runs and Winter Splits A good share of Barnum houses sit over a crawlspace rather than a full basement, and that puts the water lines somewhere the cold can reach them. - Frozen and split pipe repair in crawlspaces - Insulation and rerouting of exposed runs - Answering the phone 24 hours through cold snaps ## Why do Barnum houses have more frozen pipe calls? Barnum is a west Denver neighborhood of modest frame and stucco houses, many of them built over a crawlspace instead of a full basement. Supply lines in a crawlspace sit in an unconditioned void with vents to the outside, so a hard cold snap reaches them in a way it never reaches pipe inside a heated basement. Afford-A-Rooter Plumbing repairs those splits and reroutes the runs that keep failing. ## Key takeaways - A crawlspace supply run is exposed to outside air through the foundation vents, which is why it freezes when a basement run beside it does not. - A frozen pipe often splits while frozen and only leaks once it thaws, so the water damage arrives hours after the cold does. - Rerouting a chronic run into conditioned space is usually cheaper than repairing the same split every few winters. - Afford-A-Rooter Plumbing takes Barnum emergency calls 24 hours a day under Colorado Master Plumber licence MP-18927. ## What should I do the moment a Barnum pipe freezes? Shut the water off at the main valve inside the house before anything else. A frozen line is not leaking yet because the ice is plugging it, and the leak starts the instant it thaws. Closing the main means the split empties a small amount of standing water rather than running at full pressure into a crawlspace nobody is watching. Then call. [Frozen pipes](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/frozen-pipes) walks through the immediate steps and [burst pipe emergency](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/burst-pipe-emergency) covers what to do when it has already let go. We run [emergency plumbing services](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/plumbing/emergency-plumbing-services/denver-co) through the night in weather like that. ## Can a crawlspace run be protected instead of repaired every year? Usually. The three things that fix a chronic freeze are moving the pipe closer to the conditioned floor above, insulating it properly with the vapour barrier on the correct side, and sealing the foundation vents that are pointing cold air straight at it. Heat tape is a stopgap, not a solution, and it fails silently. Where the run is beyond saving we replace it. [Broken and leaking pipe repair](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/plumbing/broken-and-leaking-pipe-repair-services/denver-co) covers the section work and [PEX repipe](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/pex-repipe) covers the case where the whole crawlspace distribution needs to come out. ## What else does a crawlspace house need looking at? Drain lines in a crawl are as exposed as the supply, and a cast iron or galvanized waste arm down there rusts from the outside as well as the inside. The other regular find is a water heater sitting on a crawl access landing with no drain pan, where a slow tank leak has been soaking framing for a long time before anyone notices. Afford-A-Rooter Plumbing checks both while we are under there. See [water heater installation and replacement](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/water-heaters/water-heater-installation-replacement/denver-co) and [residential drain cleaning](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/drain-cleaning/residential-drain-cleaning/denver-co). ## Barnum plumbing services - [Broken and Leaking Pipe Repair](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/plumbing/broken-and-leaking-pipe-repair-services/denver-co): Section repair for the split that appeared the day after the cold broke. - [Emergency Plumbing](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/plumbing/emergency-plumbing-services/denver-co): Cold snaps do not keep office hours. We answer 24 hours a day. - [PEX Repipe](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/pex-repipe): Replacing a crawlspace distribution system that has been patched one winter too many. - [Hose Bib and Outdoor Spigot](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/hose-bib-outdoor-spigot): Frost free replacements so the outdoor tap stops taking the crawlspace with it. - [Water Heater Installation](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/water-heaters/water-heater-installation-replacement/denver-co): Getting the tank off a crawl landing and onto a proper pan with a drain. - [Residential Drain Cleaning](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/drain-cleaning/residential-drain-cleaning/denver-co): Clearing waste arms that corrode from the outside as well as the inside down there. ## Barnum and the neighborhoods near it Barnum sits in our west Denver coverage. See the [Denver metro service area list](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/locations) and the [neighborhood plumbing directory](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/neighborhoods). [Harvey Park](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/neighborhoods/harvey-park-denver) is south of here with a completely different foundation problem. [Sunnyside](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/neighborhoods/sunnyside-denver) has comparable small original housing on the north side. Barnum owners call us for [frozen pipes](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/frozen-pipes), [burst pipe emergency](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/burst-pipe-emergency) work, and [no water at all](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/no-water-at-all) when a line has frozen solid before it split. ### Nearby neighborhoods we cover - [Harvey Park](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/neighborhoods/harvey-park-denver): Different foundation, southwest Denver - [Sunnyside](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/neighborhoods/sunnyside-denver): Comparable small original housing - [West Highland](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/neighborhoods/west-highland-denver): Same side of town, larger homes ### Related problem and pipe material pages - [Frozen pipes](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/frozen-pipes) - [Burst pipe emergency](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/burst-pipe-emergency) - [No water at all](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/no-water-at-all) - [All Denver metro service areas](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/locations) ## Frequently asked questions **A pipe in my Barnum crawlspace is frozen. Will it burst?** It may already have split without leaking, because the ice is holding the water back. Shut the main valve now so that when it thaws you get a puddle rather than a flood. **Is heat tape enough to stop this happening again?** Not on its own. Heat tape fails without warning and gives no indication that it has. Insulating properly and, where possible, relocating the run into conditioned space is what actually holds. **Should I close the crawlspace vents in winter?** Ask us first. Vents exist for moisture control and blocking them without addressing that can trade a freeze problem for a rot problem. We look at the whole space before advising. **Do you work in crawlspaces?** Yes, routinely. It is a large share of what we do in west Denver and we carry the gear to work in tight access. **How fast can you reach Barnum at 2am?** We answer emergency calls 24 hours a day from our Westminster shop, and Afford-A-Rooter Plumbing has served the Denver metro since 2006. --- Source: https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/neighborhoods/barnum-denver Afford-A-Rooter Plumbing, 10860 N Dover St STE 2300, Westminster, CO 80021. Phone +1-720-296-7972.