$$$ to fix frozen pipes

[Margarita]

Our pipes froze (again) yesterday. I left the kitchen faucet dripping, and we had water at 2:30 am, and they still froze! :argh:

So we had our plumber come take care of it. We had the exact same problem last year, and the same company fixed it for $175. They've changed names twice since then (bought out once, then became a franchise), and charged me $405!!!!! :eek:

Has anyone else had frozen pipes, and how much did it cost? Does this sound outrageous, or is it just me?

I called to ask about the price increase, and the lady mentioned inflation and such. Um, I know I don't keep up very well, but I don't think inflation was 230% in 2006!!!!!!!!

[HeavenLeigh]

:rolleyes: I would love to eye gouge those that price gouge. That is ridiculous! I have no idea how much it costs to fix pipes. When it's really cold here and I leave the faucets dripping I also open the cabinet doors to expose the pipes that lead to the sinks.

[meliz]

Hmm.. I have no idea, as we are renters, and the couple times our pipes froze the landlord paid. But I think it depends on where they freeze along the line. I would imagine the trickier the the frozen section is to get at, the more it costs. If you think the problem was essentially the same, I would say you got gouged. Gawd forbid it happen again, I think I would take my business elsewhere (and keep raising a stink!). I wonder too, if these companies are not making hay while the sunshines, so to speak? If your winters are like ours of recent years this is the first really cold one in a while. I bet they are making up for lost time and lost frozen pipe revenue! I really hope that's the last time you have to fix it.

[suzieq728]

Hey M, they have these things that you can wrap around your pipes to keep them from freezing, they actually keep the pipes warm, I gotta ask Doug what there called. I have them in my basement where my washer is cause we already went threw the samething last year. And the plumber did tell us that depending on what pipe breaks and where it's located, (behind walls, around wires, etc... I think) that has a lot to do with the cost of repairing the pipe. But since we wrapped the pipes we have not had this problem this year. We also did the samething Upstate where it is much much colder then here. It really works, he got them from Home Depot.

[Margarita]

Well, we found out that we probably got mis-charged last year, so I guess we were lucky. They like to provide a price up front so people know what to expect. So, whether the job takes an hour and is as easy as hooking up the voltage and melting the freeze, or it takes 10 hours and who knows what, it costs the same. I think that's a dumb pricing practice, but oh well.

Unfortunately, we won't be able to go to anyone else, either. Most plumbers don't have the equipment for it, and the ONE that did charges the same.

Hopefully we can just prevent it from happening again. We found out that B and my dad put the insulation in the WRONG pit! Yeesh. So we need to get some into the other one. They both could use it, I'm sure. The one that is insulated right now is for our sprinklers.

Suzie, one of the other plumbers I called mentioned that, I think. It's called heat tape, and you plug it in during really cold weather to keep the pipes warm enough they don't freeze.

I'll settle for SPRING!!!!!!!!!!!