Sand bags and jugs of water will hold down the bottom edge of the plastic. But if you are trying to tape plastic at the corners, I found that spring clothes pins work for me. The silver tape came right off. I had to cover a large shade house for my orchid collection. I have several overturned garbage cans with a big rock on each to hold my tarps from billowing in the wind. We are in the middle of 10 days in a row with temperatures below 70 degrees. And Saturday is going to be bone-chilling under 50 degrees and rainy. Linda Leaf

Bill, I've had two foam containers outdoors for at least 5 years now. They have never split. The only problem I've had, is that the plant that hangs over the rim of the pot has caused the finish to degrade so when I need to prune that plant back, it doesn't look very pretty before it grows back in. I could refinish it I guess, but I haven't. I feel like I've gotten my money's worth out of them. I haven't repotted the plants in them and I should have. I'm not sure how it will work out when I attempt that, after 5 years. I have another pot that I like better, that I also have left outside all winter. I really don't know what the material is that they are made of, it's nothing that I'm familiar with. I've never seen them again since that one time I bought them, or I'd buy more of them. The only reason I like the other pot better, is that I don't feel good about using styrofoam that has such a long life and doesn't break down in land fills. I have one guess about what the material is and I'm sure I'm wrong, but it might give you an idea of what I'm talking about. Have you ever seen those pegboards that are made for the wall of your garage. The old fashioned kind that are not plastic, but are some sort of pressed material? It reminds me of that, but it's weatherproof, with some kind of paint finish. I'd take a photo but I don't think it would help unless they were empty and I could show you the inside of them and they're still full of mums. I would like stone or concrete, but they are so heavy, I just can't see dealing with them, but they are organic. Metal is also an organic material and will withstand weather but I don't want the upkeep of dealing with it when it rusts.

Adding insulation, or a longer freeze proof hose bib, will only work if the garage is heated or otherwise stays significantly above freezing in really cold weather. Of course, the hose should be removed from the spigot before weather reaches freezing so that the water can drain. If the garage doesn't stay significantly above freezing, then you need to install heat tape or a shutoff inside the house with an air break so that you can drain/blow-out the line. Those are really your only two options -- other than completely relocating the hose bib to a heated part of the house. Relocating the hose bib would avoid a lot of maintenance problems later. Heat tape will require that you run power to it. Perhaps the new stuff is more reliable than the old stuff, but I've seen heat tape fail too often. Installing the shutoff and blowing out the line is reliable if you do it well-- but it takes time and is easy to forget. If you are going to stay there, relocate the line.

"Is there a DIY method of solving this?" For some,yes. For some,no. Here's where to start and if you get cold feet after doing this,no harm because you saved the plumber from doing it. If siding is brick or stone I prefer cutting a 10"x10" hole in drywall indoors. If inside of wall is covered by fireplace,water heater or something, chip mortor out of brick surrounding facuet. Facuet will be soldered to water line or screwed into a threaded adapter. That's all there is to it.