Winter Brings Frozen Pipes

by Vincent Sakraida, PE

During the Christmas week, I was called to the home of a young couple whose pipes had frozen.  The house subsequently flooded, and to make matters worse, the woman had just given birth to their first child two weeks prior. 

This kind of failure may seem commonplace to those of us working in the industry, but to homeowners, it can be traumatic. The urgent call from the claims rep confirmed our goal: get on site quickly and determine the cause so repairs could be made as soon as possible. 

The problem originated not with the pipes, but with the home's heater. It went out, and before repairs could be made, the pipes froze. Once identified the problem was quickly solved.

Vincent A. Sakraida, PE, LEED AP is the Manager of Mechanical Engineering at Western.  He is a recognized leader in engineering systems for laboratories, cleanrooms, pharmaceutical production facilities, and other high technology  facilities.  He graduated from Georgia Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering and is a registered Professional Engineer in the states of CO, OH, IN, MT, and MI.  Mr. Sakraida was recently appointed as an ASHRAE Distinguished Lecturer.

He has worked over 26 years performing design engineering, commissioning, and forensic engineering of facilities for corporate, government and institutional clients.  He has performed engineering for laboratories, hospitals, pharmaceutical production facilities, museums, ships, dormitories, office building, maintenance facilities, and ranger stations.    

Mr. Sakraida has authored a number of technical articles including Manufacturing the Right Moisture (Engineered System, April 2007); University District Steam System Design (HPAC Magazine, March 2008); Cleanroom Design n 10 Easy Steps (Engineered System, April 2008), Direct Gas-Fired Air Handling Units (HPAC Magazine, September 2008),  Basics of Refrigerant Chillers (December 2008). He has presented seminars at four national conferences and numerous seminars at regional conferences. More

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