Frozen & Burst Pipe Repair

What To Do Right Now If a Pipe Bursts

Shut off the main water valve first, before anything else, since every second the water runs adds to the damage. The valve is typically near the meter, in a basement or utility closet. If you cannot find it, shut off water at the street curb box if you know its location.

Once the water is off, open a low faucet to drain remaining pressure and switch off electricity near any pooling water. Move belongings away from the water and call us. The gap between a break and a repair crew arriving is when floors, drywall and belongings take the worst of it.

Where Pipes Actually Freeze

Pipes freeze where they meet cold air with little insulation, meaning runs through unheated basements, crawl spaces, garages and attics, along exterior walls, and near outdoor spigots. Older multi-family buildings often route piping through spaces never meant to stay heated, and those runs fail first during a hard freeze.

A pipe does not need to be outdoors to freeze. An interior wall with a gap in insulation or a draft nearby can drop cold enough to freeze a supply line during a deep freeze. A faucet that fails during every cold snap is usually pointing right at the vulnerable run.

Thawing a Pipe Safely vs. Calling for Repair

If you catch a pipe frozen before it splits, it can often be thawed without damage using a hair dryer, a space heater kept at a safe distance, or hot towels, working from the faucet end toward the blockage. Never use an open flame on a pipe.

If a pipe has already split, thawing only releases water once ice moves, so shut off the water before applying any heat. When you cannot locate the frozen section, or it sits behind a wall or ceiling, that is when calling us beats guessing.

Emergency Repair and Preventing a Repeat

When we arrive, the first job is confirming the water is fully isolated. From there we cut out the failed length of pipe, check the surrounding material for weak spots, and replace it with piping rated for the application. If corrosion or repeat failures show up nearby, we tell you honestly whether a larger repipe makes more sense than patching one section at a time.

Once the pipe is handled, standing water and soaked materials need quick attention, since wet drywall and flooring left damp for more than a day or two are much harder to save.

Preventing Frozen Pipes Next Winter

The fix for freezing pipes is almost always insulation and heat applied to the exact runs exposed. If you had a frozen or burst pipe last winter, dealing with the exposure now beats waiting for a repeat. We can identify vulnerable runs and insulate or reroute them.

• Foam pipe sleeves on exposed basement and crawl space lines
• Sealing drafts near exterior wall penetrations
• Heat tape rated for plumbing in persistently cold spaces
• A slow drip from faucets fed by vulnerable lines during a hard freeze
• Identifying which specific runs failed in past winters
• Rerouting or reinsulating repeat problem sections

Frequently Asked Questions