Plumbing – No hot water (at all) on upper floors

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A few days ago, the bathrooms on the 2nd and 3rd floor of my townhouse stopped getting any hot water. Nothing comes out of the faucets when they are turned all the way to the hot side. The cold water works fine. The kitchen on the main floor and bathroom in the basement still receive hot and cold water.

On the day this happened, we checked our smart thermostat and it shows that the basement was under 10 degrees Celsius, and main floor was around 14 degrees. The weather outside in Toronto was around high -10s and low -20s. We suspect this has caused a section of the hot water pipe to freeze and have been keeping all areas of the house around 23 degrees for 3-4 days now, but a couple things don't seem to make sense if this suspicious is true:

  1. How does/did the hot water pipe freeze before the cold water pipe?
  2. How has running heaters near the walls and increasing internal temperatures not melted or thawed the problem sections yet?
  3. We have been keeping a couple of the faucets on the 2nd and 3rd floors slightly open to relieve any pressure buildup. With only the hot water tap turned on, sometimes nothing comes out and at other times, a slow stream of cold water comes out.

Townhouse was built in 2012. Water boiler/heater is in garage. Heating works fine. Water pressure in working areas (basement and main floor) seem fine. I have no idea what is going on. The weather is not going to warm up anytime soon and I want to prevent any further damage or complications.

Photos of faucets: https://imgur.com/a/lIjIK

Any suggestions/advice/tips are welcome! Thanks!

Best Answer

1) How does/did the hot water pipe freeze before the cold water pipe?

  • Once tap water has been heated, most of the entrapped gases such as chlorine, fluorine and air are released losing the insulating properties that cold, treated water would have.

2) How has running heaters near the walls and increasing internal temperatures not melted or thawed the problem sections yet?

  • The walls provide greater insulation/resistance than you suspect. You don’t have enough heat and/or haven’t given it enough time.

3) We have been keeping a couple of the faucets on the 2nd and 3rd floors slightly open to relieve any pressure buildup. With only the hot water tap turned on, sometimes nothing comes out and at other times, a slow stream of cold water comes out.

  • Whatever marginal melting occurs in the hot water pipes, occurs in a very thin layer with direct contact with the pipe wall. The pipe core remains frozen, which chills the small amount of water flowing around it.

Movement of the melt water is the key to re-establishing flow. Pipe thawing of this type is usually done by passing electric current through the metal pipe. Welding contractors are best suited for the job.

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