How to avoid frozen pipes in winter

A frozen pipe expands and cracks, and when it thaws it floods everything. The most exposed is whatever runs through unheated places: garage, attic, exterior walls, garden pipes.

Insulate exposed pipes, let a trickle of water run in hard frost and, if you leave home in winter, don't shut the heat off completely. If a pipe has already frozen, don't heat it with a flame; call me and we'll look at it together. See also pipe replacement.