Yes. Freeze protection is one of the services we push hardest in the fall, because in the Texas Hill Country a hard freeze is not an annual certainty — which is exactly what makes it dangerous. Homes here are not built like homes in Minnesota, and the plumbing reflects that.
Why Texas Homes Freeze Badly
In a cold climate, water lines are routed through conditioned space and buried well below frost depth as a matter of course. In Central Texas, they are frequently not.
Supply lines run through unconditioned attics, along exterior walls with minimal insulation, through vented crawlspaces, and across garages. Hose bibs are often not frost-proof. Irrigation backflow assemblies sit exposed above grade. Every one of those is fine for 360 days a year and a liability on the other five.
February 2021 demonstrated the consequences at scale. The homes that came through it were not the ones with better luck — they were the ones where somebody had done the preparation.
What Our Winterization Service Covers
The preventative work is not complicated, which is what makes skipping it so costly:
- Pipe insulation. Insulating vulnerable runs in attics, crawlspaces, garages, and exterior walls. This is the highest-value item on the list.
- Hose bibs. Disconnecting hoses, installing covers, and replacing non-frost-proof bibs where it makes sense. A connected garden hose is the single most common cause of a burst exterior line, because it traps water against the valve.
- Backflow and irrigation. Draining and protecting exposed assemblies, which crack readily and are expensive to replace.
- Shutoff verification. Confirming your main shutoff works and showing every adult in the house where it is. A shutoff you cannot find at 3 a.m. protects nothing.
- Vulnerability walkthrough. Identifying which specific lines in your house are at risk, so you know which cabinets to open and which faucets to drip.
Why the Damage Is So Severe
Frozen pipes are not the problem. Thawing pipes are.
Water expands as it freezes and splits the pipe, but the ice plug initially seals the break. Nothing happens while it is cold. Then temperatures rise, the plug melts, and a pressurized supply line begins discharging into your attic or wall cavity — often while nobody is home, sometimes for hours.
A half-inch line at household pressure moves a startling volume of water. This is why burst pipe repair is so often accompanied by ceiling replacement, flooring replacement, and remediation that dwarfs the plumbing invoice.
What to Do During a Freeze
When a hard freeze is forecast: open cabinet doors under sinks on exterior walls so warm air reaches the pipes, let a faucet drip on the most vulnerable runs, keep the heat on even if you are away, and disconnect every hose.
If a line does freeze, shut off the water at the main immediately, then open faucets to relieve pressure. Do not thaw a pipe with an open flame. If you suspect a line has already split, leave the water off and call frozen pipe repair — our 24/7 emergency plumbers run through freeze events, though volume during a regional event means the homes that prepared are the ones that avoid the queue entirely.
Older Homes and Repiping
Some houses freeze repeatedly because the pipe routing itself is the problem. If a line has burst twice in the same attic run, insulating it again is treating the symptom.
In those cases, rerouting the affected section or repiping through conditioned space permanently removes the risk. Adding insulation to the attic helps both the plumbing and your heating bill. And a water line repair on an already-compromised run is worth evaluating before the next cold snap rather than after.
Schedule It in the Fall
Freeze prep is included for members of our Care Club maintenance plan, and it is the seasonal service that returns the most. A plumbing inspection identifies vulnerable runs before the forecast makes it urgent.
We serve Fredericksburg, Kerrville, Boerne, Comfort, Mason, Llano, and the surrounding Hill Country. To schedule winterization, contact 72 Degrees or call (830) 468-5316.
