Photo by Redvers

The recent freezing cold weather has caused a lot of strife to New York. Travel conditions were less than ideal, power outages were experienced, snow shovels had to be brought out, and many had to deal with flooding.

The flooding did not necessarily come because of an excess of rain. Rather, flooding was a result of frozen pipes that burst. This is true for a building in Watertown on Public Square. The damage was discovered the day after Christmas, after the ceiling had collapsed into the Wind and Wire Music Store. It is guessed that pipes on the 3^rd floor of the building froze a few days before the winter holiday and cracked after the frozen water expanded.

The Watertown Daily Times stated the building sustained water damage after the ice in the pipes melted. When water in pipes becomes frozen, the water expands. As a result of this expansion, the pressure within the pipe causes it to crack. As soon as water that has not melted is allowed to trickle through the crack, it will begin to melt the frozen water. The water will not then trickle through the crack, it will burst out like a garden hose shooting the maximum amount of water it can through a crack in the rubber when the valve is completely open.

The fire department responded to the incident as soon as it was discovered. Fortunately, the store did not have anyone in it when the ceiling collapsed. Read more about this incident.

What needs to happen now, after insurance companies are called, is clean-up. The building needs to be dried out completely to prevent mold damage. Items will need to be restored: sheet music will need to be dried and wet books remediated. If wooden instruments were damaged, they will need specialized remediation techniques to help get them dry without warping.

Learn more about frozen pipes and prevention.