The coldest night in Texas

[timsoh]

A few days after celebrating Chinese New Year, most of Texas endured the coldest winter in recorded history on the night of 2/15. I woke up at 3 am to the sound of gushing water and looked down from bed at (not Noah's Ark) my pair of slippers floating on water. Wading through water to the master bathroom and I found the mirror over the vanity has fallen off with water gushing out of the wall. Much of the entire first floor of the house was flooded.

Desperately tried to find the key to shut the main but couldn't find it in the toolbox. Then I called my neighbor who was out of town, praying he would pick up the phone. He gave me the code to his garage door so I could get his key and shut off the main out on the sidewalk covered in snow. With the first challenge completed, I returned to sweep water out of every door and dried off the remainder using all the bath towels in the house. Thankfully it was all hardwood floors with some rugs.

Due to the snow covered roads, most plumbers and repairmen would not want to come out to fix. Finally, one trusted handyman agreed to come out to mend the pipe so I can turned on the water main again. Most homes in Texas suffered the same fate. I am thankful we did not lose power, heat or water. Many swimming pools suffered busted pumps and filters, I am thankful at my wife's prodding that I consulted with my pool tech who instructed me to release the water from the pumps avoiding costly damages. He later told me hundreds if not thousands of pools have suffered damages, he has 50 customers who need repairs.

[Philip]

Wow, Timothy, crazy stuff since we last spoke. Hope the house wasn't too damaged! I've talked to a lot of people in Texas over the last weeks, with very similar stories. But water in the house - that's my worst nightmare! Don't be a stranger around here.

[timsoh]

Damage is really minor because there are no carpets to soak up the water and stink the house. And flooding was on the first floor.
My colleague's mother-in-law stayed with them for a few days due to prolonged power outage. When she returned home, the ceiling had fallen due to extensive water damage.

[Challenger007]

What a horror! It turns out that communications are absolutely not adapted to low temperatures. I do not understand at all how the houses were built and how the water supply was carried out, if the slightest drop in temperature has such an effect.

[Challenger007]

I’m thinking, could the problem of cold weather and blackouts be solved by a portable diesel generator and the microclimate control system connected to it? This thought came to my mind when I came across this article about devices for heating and cooling the house.

[Armyman]

Damage is really minor because there are no carpets to soak up the water and stink the house. And flooding was on the first floor.
My colleague's mother-in-law stayed with them for a few days due to prolonged power outage. When she returned home, the ceiling had fallen due to extensive water damage.

Late reply but a tip is to let the water drip from the faucets. That way pipes won't bust and potentially flood a place.