Lag Your Pipes Before the Cold Bites

Burst pipes are the single most expensive winter problem in British homes, and almost every one of them is preventable. Water expands as it freezes, and the pressure has to go somewhere — usually through a split in the pipe that only reveals itself when the thaw comes and water starts pouring through a ceiling.

The places to look are the ones you rarely visit. Pipework in the loft, along the cold water tank, inside the garage or outbuilding, up against an external wall, and any run that passes through an unheated space. Felt or foam lagging is inexpensive and quick to fit; use sleeves of at least 25mm wall thickness on hot and cold pipes alike, and wrap the cold water tank itself with a proper insulating jacket. Leave the loft floor beneath the tank unlagged so a little warmth can rise into it — assuming your loft insulation is laid at joist level rather than across the whole floor, of course.

Outside taps deserve special attention. Fit an internal isolation valve so you can shut the supply off from inside, then open the outside tap to drain the short length of pipe that remains. A hosepipe left connected can also split and, worse, hold water back inside the wall.

Finally, find your stopcock now — not on the night you need it. Make sure it turns freely, and tell everyone in the household where it is.

Keep Gutters and Drainage Flowing

Clear gutters and downpipes before the first hard frost. Once they block, meltwater and rain have nowhere to go but behind the fascia, into the eaves, and down the brickwork, where it can soak insulation and freeze solid, prising mortar apart as it expands.

Autumn leaves are the usual culprit, so get up and clear them out — or arrange for someone to do it safely if ladders are not your friend. While you are up there, check for slipped or cracked tiles, loose flashings, and any obvious gaps around the chimney. It is far easier to deal with a small repair on a mild October afternoon than in a blizzard.

Check outside gullies and drains too. A drain filled with leaf litter will back up in a thaw, and water pooling at the base of a wall is exactly what you do not want when temperatures drop again overnight.

Make Your Heating Work Harder and Smarter

An efficient house is a cosy house, and there is no better time than now to close the obvious gaps. Draught-proof chimney balloons, letterbox brushes, and self-adhesive strips around old windows and doors make a real difference to how warm a room feels, and they cost very little.

Check your loft insulation depth — the recommended level is around 270mm. If you can see the joists, you need more. Take care not to compress it, and never block the ventilation at the eaves, as trapped moisture does more damage than cold air.

Book a boiler service before the rush begins, and consider running your heating on a low background setting of around 12–15°C rather than switching it off entirely when you are away or asleep. A house that stays gently warm is far less likely to suffer frozen pipework. If you have a wood-burning stove, have the flue swept and the stove checked, and make sure a carbon monoxide alarm is fitted nearby and tested.

Rural Considerations: Oil, Logs and Power Cuts

Off the mains gas grid, winter preparation looks a little different. Check your oil level early and top up well before Christmas — deliveries slow down in bad weather, and a quarter-full tank is the sensible minimum. Inspect the tank, bund, filter and supply pipe, and lag any exposed pipework between tank and boiler.

For wood burners, stock up on seasoned or kiln-dried logs with a moisture content under 20 per cent, and store them somewhere dry and well ventilated. Wet wood wastes energy, fouls the flue, and gives you a fraction of the heat.

Rural power cuts are common in snow, so keep a working torch and spare batteries, a battery radio, a charged power bank, and a supply of candles with proper holders. Never bring a camping stove or barbecue indoors, and if you use a portable gas heater, ventilate the room and keep it away from curtains and furniture.

Safe Paths and Steps

Keep a bag of rock salt and a shovel by the door before the first forecast of snow. Clear paths and steps early, then grit — clearing after the snow has been trodden down and refrozen is far harder work. Rock salt works down to around minus eight or ten degrees; ordinary table salt is a poor substitute.

Pay attention to shaded north-facing paths, which stay icy long after the rest has melted, and check on elderly or less mobile neighbours who may not be able to grit their own frontage.

Know What to Do When a Pipe Freezes

If a tap runs dry in cold weather, suspect a frozen pipe rather than a leak. Turn off the stopcock, open the nearest cold tap, and gently warm the suspected section with a hairdryer on a low setting or a hot water bottle wrapped in a towel. Never use a naked flame, and never pour boiling water directly onto a pipe.

Work from the end nearest the tap back towards the tank, and keep an eye out for splits as the ice melts and water begins to flow again.