The water pipes at Kyle’s house have been prone to freezing during severe cold spells, of which we had a fair share this winter. To combat the problem, we opened up the wall behind the pictured kitchen cabinet so that the pipes could be heated from the living space side. Today, Kyle added a vented valence to the top of the cabinet, which allows warm air from the kitchen to circulate past the pipes. Air enters from an opening in the wall behind the base cabinets and flows up and out of the openings in the new valence. Phase two of our plan includes adding insulation on the outside of the foundation wall but this work will have to wait for more temperate weather.