[Campbell soup]

We are fixing up a 60 year old house. We had hot water until yesterday. The cold water is fine. The temps outside are below zero. Part of the wall in the bathroom is torn out and we can see a large hole where the drain pipe goes to the crawl space and cold air is coming into the bathroom. Could the hot water pipes have frozen but not the cold. Should we try to heat the crawl space with blow dryers or something. The house is small, only about 750 square feet. We can get a trickle of water from the hot water taps when the cold water tap in the kitchen is on full blast. If we turn off the cold water then nothing comes out of the hot water taps. Help. We are afraid we may burst the pipes before we figure this out. I think the pipes run in the crawl space . Thanks

[ballengerb1]

Hot water pipes dfo freeze a bit before cold. Get some heat into that space and be prepared in case you have a cracked pipe. Insulate the pipes with pipe insulation that seals. Insulate the wall cavity and the floor joists from inside the crawl space.

[Campbell soup]

Thanks for the response, Ballengerb1. Any recommendations for heating the crawl space. Will a couple of blow dryers put in holes in floor help enough? When you suggest insulation, are you suggesting climbing under the house now ( 6inches of snow and -5faranhite) or can we wait? Can we put wood over the hole in the floor by the tub? There is an electric wire very close to the faucets that we just discovered when we took out the wall so we are nervous about plugging the hole with towels. Is it time to call a plumber? Thanks.