Water pipes in the ceiling

[Christopher]

We had a water pipe freeze and break in the ceiling of our garage. We lost the ceiling and a lot of our belongings. I didn't know there were pipes in the ceiling. Is this normal?

Our furnace and water heater are in the garage, but thankfully they are up off the floor.

I always thought there would be enough heat from the furnace to keep the garage warm, but this very cold weather was too much.

Can you give me some ideas to prevent the pipes from freezing again?

[home improvement guy]

I can think of two types of homes that might have pipes in the garage or the home's ceiling.

The first is a home with a concrete slab foundation. I have seen older slab homes with the water supply pipes overhead in the attic because they did not know how or were not willing to install them under the concrete slab.

The second is a home with a second story bathroom or a bonus room with a bathroom over the attached garage. Just because the furnace or water heater is in the garage is no guarantee there will be enough heat to protect overhead pipes.

In a past answer I recommended to the homeowner that the garage ceiling insulation needs to be against the upper floor and not on the ceiling. When there are water pipes in the ceiling, the pipes should be between the insulation and the floor above to stay warm.

Do not depend on the warm air that escapes the garage furnace or water heater to protect the water pipes. Add insulation to the ceiling, filling the entire ceiling cavity to fully encapsulate the water pipes and insulate the exposed pipes at the water heater. Make sure the pipes in the ceiling are close to the floor above and not the ceiling below.

The insulated pipes will then receive the warmth from the room above. If the room or attic space above the garage is not heated, then add an electric-fired garage heater.

I do not recommend heat tape for pipes that are between a floor and a ceiling or an unattended gas or oil-fired space heater in a garage. For an investment of less than $800, a 10 kilowatt electric heater will keep a closed two-car garage from freezing all winter long.