Storms and Frozen Pipes. The Adventure Continues.
March 8, 2025
In the midst of the snow and windstorms on the East Coast, this family pressed on with new challenges to tackle each day. The freezing temperatures in the damp climate of Nova Scotia, in tandem with the north-western winds thrashing against our home, had frozen our water pipes from our house to the well.
Cold Days In February
During one of the colder days in February, we decided to invest in a well hand-pump to gather water for general use in our home. It has been our experience that when the hand pump isn’t in use often during the cold, windy evenings—the water inside the pipe, connecting the pump to the water in the well, freeze as well. Michiel has had to thaw the pipe a few times before getting it to work again—which involved pulling the whole contraption out of the well, and bringing it into the warm house.
Then, came the next stage: swinging the pipe outside to dislodge the ice cubes trapped inside the long tube. Our hope for the storms to cease had not been as urgently pressing on our spirit than that very week.
Running Water and Equipment Malfunction
Only days before experiencing two consecutive weeks of no running water, the western winds picked up by extraordinary means, driving its rage into our chimney pipe and agitating the flames inside the pellet stove. The amount of smoke billowing from the stove’s hopper (lid closed) only increased our anxiety for the air quality we would have to experience, yet again.
As the evening drew to a close; and after we had ushered the kids to their rooms; and after we had adamantly requested that they closed their doors—Michiel and I, took our night-shift on the couch in the living room, monitoring the stove for malfunction and fire hazard through the night.
Night Shifts On the Couch
We had been too familiar with the smoke alarm bellowing its urgency for a suspected fire present in close proximity at 3 am.
For safety, we had even considered turning off the stove overnight and braving the cold that would ensue. We did not have an alternate source of heat in the house. The large block heater we own would be a useful appliance to use in such a situation. However, the amount of electricity it pulled from our batteries would surely bring the power in our house to a halt—and we would have no running water, no heat, and no power.
In all seriousness, the next logical step for our family to take, would be to beg friends to take us in for the night. We are so grateful that we hadn’t lost power through that dreadful experience.
Overnight, the pellet stove had malfunctioned six times in total. Each time, if Michiel was not dozing off, he would hear the rumbling stop abruptly, and he would leap from the couch to the stove and quickly turn it back on (if he did doze off, I would frantically shake him awake). If he did it fast enough, the smoke from the fire would stop ballooning from the back of the stove to the ceiling.
Domino Effects
During the two weeks of no running water, we have seen its “domino effect”. The pipe from our sink, toilet and bathtub connecting to the septic had been completely frozen outside in the fields. We hadn’t considered that flushing the toilet; washing our hands; and doing dishes in the sink with cold water, would amount to the contents making its way to the end of the pipe, but turning solid before arriving to the septic tank.
We have learned that washing hands and doing dishes are important, not only for sanitation’s sake, but for the purpose of keeping the pipes from freezing, especially during the colder days of winter.
Our family is thankful for having friends come lend their time to help when needed. Michiel’s good friend came to break ground for the insulated water pipes to finally be installed.
Fixing the Water Pipes
We had purchased a small jack-hammer for the task. We were discouraged to learn that the jack-hammer would arrive one week later than the expected date of delivery confirmed at purchase.
The waiting time can be a frustrating transition, especially when having running water is such a basic necessity for any household. However, it did arrive on our front step when it did, as simple as it was—we were overcome with joy!
After having examined the water pump in the crawl space, Michiel discovered that our almost two year old pump had lost its bearings—it was time to purchase a new one—and that he did.
The outcome we had been waiting for, for two weeks had come to realization. After priming the newly installed water pump and turning on the faucet, we are pleased to announce that we have running water! Free flowing AND warm!
Free-flowing, warm, running water never felt like such a privilege until that very day.
A Special Celebration Not To Be Missed
We had wanted to go on a special outing for Michiel’s birthday. As a small gesture to show our appreciation for his dedication to making our home functional and livable (and also because he had missed the occasion to celebrate his special day on his actual birth day—due to the overnight episode of a malfunctioning pellet stove), and also because he’s just an amazing person whom we all love deeply, the kids and I decided to plan a surprise party for him at our friends’ house.
It turned out that he had never experienced a surprise party. What a way to celebrate an extraordinary man on his 44th trip around the sun!
There is wonderful news and progress to share with you all in my next post. My recent posts may have portrayed a dysfunctional lifestyle (to put it bluntly) and a house desperately fending off mother nature’s ugly side. But, there are good things to come from these experiences. I will most definitely share them with you as we experience them.
Thanks for checking in on our adventure posts!
Good night and sweet dreams to you all, dear friends and family!
