Kitchen Faucet Issues

[mrakers85]

We have had a rough winter in the midwest, which has led to some fun in my wife and I's first home.

Our kitchen sink gave us fits last year by freezing up and not working until it thawed, but not busted pipes.

This year, I got some insulation to place around the pipes leading up to the kitchen (which border an outside wall) just to be safe. We have also allowed the sink to drip when we have very cold temps and everything has gone well.

Until today, of course.

I just came home to a dripping sink and thought I would check to see if our hot water was back to working (it always freezes up when it is cold, but still allows us to have water in the kitchen). Still nothing there, but now it would make the sounds as though water was running out, but there was no water. The moment I move towards cold, water begins to flow and we have cold water, but the hot continues to not work all the way to the left, and more towards the middle makes sound but nothing.

Normally, no big deal, except I noticed the wall on our patio that the pipes run up through, now has leaking water out on the patio through the siding, but not underneath, nor downstairs to my knowledge.

Likewise, there was a lot of water under the sink, because it appears the trap is just holding and leaking water.

I have no idea what I am doing, but would like to have an idea before I call someone in for the job.

I did check downstairs, and the only sign of leaking is around the pipes up from the water line in the kitchen where the leak from the U-trap has dripped down. Not tons of water, but there is definitely some.

This is the only place in the house we have issues, and it is only with the hot. Everything else works fine and dandy.

Just looking for a lead so I can jump on this ASAP.

 

[DIYeverything]

Sounds like your hot line froze and burst, is still frozen solid on the supply line prior to the burst, (hence no sound of running water) and when you try to mix hot and cold AT THE FAUCET, the cold water passes through the faucet and down the hot line to the point of rupture, and out into the wall.

I would reroute both lines straight through the bottom of the sink base cabinet to keep the lines entirely within the heated envelope of the house and not up the exterior wall at all.

 

[mrakers85]

Sounds like your hot line froze and burst, is still frozen solid on the supply line prior to the burst, (hence no sound of running water) and when you try to mix hot and cold AT THE FAUCET, the cold water passes through the faucet and down the hot line to the point of rupture, and out into the wall.

I would reroute both lines straight through the bottom of the sink base cabinet to keep the lines entirely within the heated envelope of the house and not up the exterior wall at all.

Sorry, we have cold water coming out of the faucet, but no hot water. The leak outside is only when I turn it to the hot water in which it sounds as though water is running, but there is nothing coming out of the faucet (just out of the siding on the patio...)

The lines run in my basement and up through the flooring, straight up into the cabinet beneath the sink. The only area that is not visible is that which is between the floor and the bottom of the cabinet. None of the lines actually run outside. The basement pipes just run into a small knook that is hard to reach and borders and outside wall.