# Freezing pipes in a Columbus winter: where they freeze and how to keep them from bursting

> Where pipes freeze in Columbus houses, what NOAA's freeze numbers mean for your plumbing, and what to do before a cold snap and after a pipe has frozen.

URL: https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/blog/freezing-pipes-columbus-winter/

Columbus sees about a hundred nights a year at or below freezing. Most are harmless to plumbing; the few very cold ones find the pipe in exterior walls, crawlspaces and garages. Here is where to look and what to do.

Last Updated: October 29, 2026

Columbus sees about a hundred nights a year at or below freezing. Most are harmless to plumbing; the few very cold ones find the pipe in exterior walls, crawlspaces and garages. Here is where to look and what to do.

Last Updated: October 29, 2026

Columbus winters are not the coldest in the Midwest, but they are long. NOAA’s climate normals for the Columbus airport station count about 103 nights a year with a low at or below freezing, nearly 69 of them from December through February. On most of those nights, pipes inside a heated house are fine. The trouble comes on the colder nights, when the temperature drops toward 10 degrees or lower, and on the handful of days that never climb above freezing at all. [Slate Repiping Columbus](https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/) offers and manages burst pipe repair and repiping across Columbus and nearby Franklin County communities, carried out by licensed and insured plumbing contractors.

## The Columbus numbers

NOAA’s 1991 to 2020 normals for the Columbus airport give a useful picture of the risk.

| Measure | Average per year |
| --- | --- |
| Nights with a low at or below 32°F | 103.2 |
| Days with a high at or below 32°F | 27.6 |
| Nights with a low at or below 10°F | 10.1 |
| Days at or below 0°F | 2.3 |
| January mean temperature | 29.6°F (mean low 22.0°F) |

The City’s building department uses a frost line depth of 32 inches and a winter design temperature of 0 to 10 degrees for construction in Columbus. The 32 inches is why the buried service line from the street sits deep enough not to freeze. The pipe inside the house is a different story, because it can run through spaces that are much colder than the living room.

## Where pipes freeze in Columbus houses

Pipes freeze where cold air reaches them, not where the house is coldest on the thermostat.

- **Exterior walls.** A kitchen sink on an outside wall is the classic case. The cabinet doors stay closed, the wall cavity behind them is cold, and the supply lines sit in it.
- **The rim joist.** In a basement, the band of framing where the floor meets the foundation is often poorly insulated and leaky. Pipe running along it, or out to a hose bibb, sees outdoor air.
- **Crawlspaces.** The Franklin County Auditor’s records show some form of crawlspace under 16.4% of Columbus houses. Vents left open in winter, gaps around the access door and missing insulation all let cold reach the pipe.
- **Garages and porches.** Pipe to a garage sink, or one routed through an unheated porch or addition, is exposed.
- **Hose bibbs.** An outside faucet with a hose still attached traps water in the valve.

In older houses, add one more: pipe moved into an exterior wall during a remodel decades ago, often without insulation.

## Before a cold snap

A few habits handle most of the risk.

1. **Disconnect garden hoses** in the fall and, where the house has an interior shutoff for the hose bibb, close it and open the outside faucet to drain it.
2. **Open cabinet doors** under sinks on exterior walls on the coldest nights, so room heat reaches the pipe.
3. **Let a faucet drip** on the coldest nights where a line is known to be at risk.
4. **Keep the heat on** when you travel, at a setting that keeps the whole house above freezing, and ask someone to check.
5. **Insulate and seal.** Foam pipe insulation on exposed lines helps, but the bigger gain is often sealing the air leak at the rim joist or crawlspace vent that is chilling the pipe.
6. **Know where the main shutoff is.** In most Columbus houses it is in the basement near the inside water meter. Make sure it turns.

## If a pipe freezes

If a faucet gives a trickle or nothing on a very cold morning, a pipe is likely frozen somewhere between the main and that fixture. Open the faucet so melting ice has somewhere to go, and warm the area gently with a hair dryer or a space heater kept at a safe distance. Never use an open flame.

If a pipe has split, shut the main water valve right away. If the leak is on the hot side or near the water heater, turn the water heater off as well, at the breaker for an electric heater or the gas control for a gas one. Then call a plumber. The [burst pipe guide](https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/guide/burst-pipe-what-to-do/) walks through each step, and [burst pipe repair](https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/burst-pipe-repair/) explains what the repair involves. If water reached ceilings or floors, photograph everything before cleanup; the [insurance guide](https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/guide/homeowners-insurance-repiping/) covers why.

## When to move the pipe instead

A line that freezes once in a rare cold snap may only need insulation and air sealing. A line that freezes most winters is telling you its route is wrong. A repair puts new pipe back in the same cold wall; a reroute moves it to an interior wall or a heated chase.

That is one of the quieter benefits of a [whole-house repipe](https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/whole-house-repiping/): every run is planned from scratch, so lines can be kept out of exterior walls and crawlspace edges. New material alone does not remove freeze risk. PEX tolerates freezing better than copper, as the [PEX vs copper guide](https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/guide/pex-vs-copper/) explains, but any pipe in a cold space can still fail at its fittings. If only one area is the problem, a [partial repipe](https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/partial-repiping/) can reroute just that branch.

For a check of the rest of the plumbing, the [Fix a Leak Week post](https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/blog/fix-a-leak-week/) has a simple leak routine for older houses. And if you are unsure whether your pipes are worth protecting or replacing, the [repiping guide](https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/guide/repiping-guide/) is the place to start. Call Slate Repiping Columbus when a cold-weather problem needs a plumber’s eyes.

## Questions about this post

### Should faucets drip on the coldest Columbus nights?

A slow drip at a faucet on an exterior wall can help on the coldest nights, because moving water is slower to freeze and an open faucet relieves pressure if ice does form. It is a stopgap. Pipe that needs it every winter is a candidate for insulation, air sealing or a new route.

### Can PEX still burst if it freezes?

Yes. PEX can stretch more than copper when water freezes inside it, which makes it more forgiving, but fittings, valves and fixtures on the line can still crack. New pipe in a cold exterior wall is still pipe in a cold exterior wall, whatever it is made of.

## Keep reading

- Learn [What should you do when a pipe bursts?](https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/guide/burst-pipe-what-to-do/)A step-by-step order for the first ten minutes, the first day and the week after a burst pipe, with what to photograph for the insurer and how to keep it from happening again in a Columbus winter.
- Decision Guide [PEX vs copper repiping: which fits your house?](https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/guide/pex-vs-copper/)Both are allowed by the Ohio Plumbing Code. The choice turns on the house: its access, its exposure to cold and sunlight, the budget, and how long the owner plans to stay.
- Learn [How does repiping a house work?](https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/guide/repiping-guide/)The whole picture in one place: what the water supply system is, why galvanized and older copper give out, how a repipe is scoped, permitted, installed and tested in Columbus, and what to ask before agreeing to one.
- Dates and Deadlines [Fix a Leak Week: a leak check for houses with older pipes](https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/blog/fix-a-leak-week/)Each March the U.S. EPA's WaterSense program runs Fix a Leak Week. The usual checklist covers toilets and faucets; older Columbus houses need a few more stops, from the meter to the galvanized joints in the basement ceiling.
- Learn [Does homeowners insurance cover repiping?](https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/guide/homeowners-insurance-repiping/)How policies usually separate sudden water damage from wear and slow leaks, why replacing old pipe is treated as maintenance, what to photograph and keep after a leak, and where to take a question about your own policy.