Kirsten Larsen
Northern News Services

NNSL (Jan 06/98) - Phoning around to the 13 different plumbing contractors in Yellowknife will likely result in a busy signal this time of year.

Yellowknife plumbers have been overwhelmed again with the number of pipes bursting and frozen lines in residences that have been left unattended during the holidays.

It would be assumed that plumbing businesses would make a killing with the amount of work they get during this time of year, but Alex Brazeau, owner of Brazeau Plumbing and Heating, said it's more like a nightmare than a blessing.

"My board is full," said Brazeau. "We've been like this for two straight weeks. We were really busy even before the Christmas holidays when we had those power failures and furnaces went out."

Brazeau said the amount of overtime he is paying and having to put in himself is a strain.

The company's receptionist said she has had so many calls from people with line breaks that she has had to direct some callers to other companies.

Slade's Mechanical, which does not advertise like some of the other plumbing companies in town, had messages left on its answering machine over the weekend while the business was closed. The calls were not regular clients either, which is unusual for the business.

The suggestion from plumbers is residents should take precautions and have someone stay over during the holidays, and not just stop over to check the heat or flush the toilets.

"Flushing once a day could make it worse," said Brazeau. "If the toilet drips there could be a big problem."

A person who is living in the home rather than stopping by will notice a problem quicker or a change in temperature which could indicate the furnace has gone out.

"Even a power bump can shut it off," said Brazeau. "The pilot might not come back on. That's what happened to most this week."

If a housesitter is not an option, a professional should be called in to drain the pipes, and put antifreeze in them. The hot water heater can then be shut off as an energy saver.

"The water circulator would be on, but you could save money because you're not heating water that nobody is using," said Brazeau.