Big freeze causes plumbing problems

PLUMBERS working in the North West are working flat out after the big freeze caused the worst problems for many years.

With the Foyle frozen, the footpaths dangerous and the roads a disaster, worries don’t end there. People are also being urged to look after their homes.

While many businesses and schools have been badly affected by the cold snap, the biggest number of plumbing problems has been suffered by homes - particulary rented ones.

Patrick Devlin, a plumber with over fifteen years experience and a teacher at the training centre, said he has never seen problems as bad as those this winter.

“I have never seen anything as bad as this in all my years plumbing. Even the filters on the oil tanks are freezing, the temperatures are so bad. I haven’t seen that in fifteen years. We have been on the go almost continuously with this since before Christmas. It is just shocking,” he told the Sentinel.

Mr Devlin, based in Londonderry, says the majority of problems seem to be happening in the Waterside.

“Most of the jobs were in the Waterside, but it really is affecting everybody. Ninety per cent of the cases seem to be in rented accommodation. I think this might be because they haven’t got as much money to keep themselves in oil, or to keep the fire from dying out. If the landlords haven’t got insurance then they are going to be in big, big bother.”

Although Mr Devlin suggests the plumbing problems are happening most often in the Waterside, he adds that if you live in a rural area it might be worse when a problem does occur.

“Out in rural areas when people have had problems, it has been harder to get sorted because of the roads. They are passable now, but they were worse over Christmas. All you can really do in that case is turn the water off, keep the heat in the house as much as possible and wait on someone to come and sort it out.”

Paddy McEleney, a plumber known colloquially as ‘Paddy Pipe’ says he has seen some very bad damage.

“Their whole houses are wrecked in some of the cases. The pipes have burst in the roofspace and the whole ceiling has come down, destroying everything.

“This has happened a good few times. I have seen it in houses in Eglinton, in Greysteel and in the Waterside.”

Both plumbers say that this is having a big impact on home insurace. Mr Devlin suggests that the premiums are set to increase dramatically. “With the amount of claims coming in this year the premiums are going to go sky high. It has to be.”

Mr McEleney says he has seen people left facing a huge bill they can’t afford in order to repair the damage. He said he had dealt with problems in Inishowen, where new houses had been destroyed completely.

“These were holiday houses and the insurance companies were refusing to pay out because they were left unattended. That is going to cost a lot of money to repair.”

Both men have some advice for people worried about their homes. Mr McEleney says it is important to make sure your pipes are ‘lagged’.

He advises: “Stick your head in the roofspace and make sure you can’t see any bare pipes. Make sure there are no bare pipes outside. If you are still worried you could get someone out to have a look at them for you. You should be sure that all the pipes are ‘lagged’, that means insulated.”

Mr Devlin advises: “You should set the timer to make sure that the heating comes on for an hour around midnight, maybe a half hour first thing in the morning and then during the day. If you are going to be away from home for a good while you should keep the water off.”