Heavy frosts take toll in Cromwell area

Press, 1 August 1989, Page 23

Heavy frosts take toll in Cromwell area

PA Dunedin A succession of heavy frosts and morning temperatures of minus lOdeg. and below in the Cromwell area has taken its toll on householders. The frosts have been of such intensity that even occupied houses have suffered from burst pipes and consequent damage to property. Stories of sagging ceilings and saturated insulation and floor coverings have been commonplace. In one instance, a valu-

able electronic organ was badly damaged by water. A Cromwell carpetlayer, Mr Russell Harvey, said he was working with 13 householders drying out carpets. Floor coverings had been moved to halls and commercial premises, where they were being dried out with forced draft heaters. Mr Alan Anderson, a Cromwell - plumber, said he averaged six calls a day last week to attend burst pipes. • “In many cases burst

ceiling pipes have resulted from too efficient insulation which stops the interior heat from the house getting, up into the ceiling cavity,” he said. “Even though pipes are lagged, they haven’t been able to withstand the intense cold we have experienced. The best way to overcome the problem is to clear the area between the ceiling and the pipeline, and to place extra insulation material over the pipes.”