Water line in attic floor?

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Mar3232

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Can you run 1/2" copper water lines (hot and cold) right above the living area ceiling (the unheated attic floor)?

I need to go about 30 feet and hate to drill through all those 2 x 4's and I do plan on blowing insulation up there. I'm converting a garage into a living area.

Wouldn't it get enough rising heat from the living area to keep from freezing? Midwest temps -- thanks
 

Reach4

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If you can keep most insulation above the pipe, the room heat will keep your pipe from freezing. Consider covering the pipe with something before blowing the insulation. Also, Evansville would have less freezing than Valparaiso.

Use the special chutes that keeps the eaves vents from being blocked by insulation. You want the attic cold in the winter to avoid ice dams. A more expensive solution is to move to insulating the roof rather than the rafters. That makes what is called unheated "conditioned space". It keeps your stuff up there much cleaner. It means getting rid of the existing insulation.

If you use PEX instead of copper, the pipe is more likely to survive a freeze than copper would .
 

Terry

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If you have pipes above the 2x4's, use batt insulation over the pipes. Nothing between the pipes and the warm ceiling.
You don't want pipe insulation on the lines. What you do want to do, is to trap the warm air.
Blowing insulation is okay as long as that is above the batt insulation.
 

Reach4

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When I said cover, I was thing something over the pipes to exclude loose insulation -- not encapsulated with other insulation. An insulation bat over the pipes sounds like the optimum cover.
 

Mar3232

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Great ! This will save a lot of drilling. Yes, will lay insulation over them -- would you lay the pipe maybe halfway up the 2x6 or higher?
Also -- I read something about pipe sweating? Do I need to cover the pipe(s) also? Saw something in a google search.
 

Mar3232

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I see it says 2 x 4 so i guess the way to do it is go above the wall rather than down the length of a ceiling joist. The joist is a no no ?
 

Terry

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The main thing is to have nothing between the warm ceiling and the pipes.
The warmth of the home is the only protection you have. The fiberglass batting holds that heat in.

I've repaired a lot of broken and frozen pipes. You can Google other answers from homeowners that try something once, but this is what I always do now after so many years in the business.
Yes, I have even tried their ways too. But call backs are a bitch.
 
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