Unlucky, yet very Lucky

Thursday morning we awoke to find that we had no hot water. The most likely cause of course: frozen water in the pipe. Luckily the frozen spot was located quickly and was thawed with a space heater. Carlos and I then insulated all of the hot water pipe and overnight we left a slow drip on the hot water faucet. We were also lucky in the fact that we did not have any leaks or breaks in the water line. When we went to Home Depot to purchase the insulation we luckily got the last few segments of pipe insulation that they had. In was kind of fun climbing around on the rafters in the attic to install the insulation.

For those of you who are unaware... New Mexico has been experiencing very unusual cold temperatures. In fact New Mexico has been declared in a state of emergency due to the energy (gas/electric) shortage caused by unusual high usage for heating. Rolling blackouts have been implemented throughout the state. Water breakages and outages are very common this week. We were lucky in that our house did not experience any blackouts.

Late yesterday afternoon Carlos noticed something that sounded like running water. We immediately thought, "Oh no! Busted pipe!" Sure enough, a fitting on the pipe in our backyard had busted. Luckily though, this would be an easy fix and did not cause any other damage to the house (lots of local homes have had leaks in their attics/walls). We were able to turn off the water, purchase the necessary fittings and tools, replace the pieces, and get the water back on, all in a matter of 45 minutes. :)
We were also able to get to the hardware store just before they were about to close.

Below is a picture of the broken elbow:

Here is a picture of the repair (well, we still need to add plumber's putty):

So, to sum up... We were unlucky in that we had a frozen hot water pipe, and a busted fitting.

We were very lucky in that:

• The hot water pipe did not break.
• The cold water pipe was an easy fix.
• We got the last few pieces of pipe insulation.
• We got to the store to purchase repair pieces just before they were about to close.
• Neither pipe incidences were in a location to cause serious damage to the home.
• We did not experience any of the rolling blackouts that were prevalent here in town.
• Carlos and I had each other to help with the repairs/preventative measures.