Do This First
- Shut off the main water valve. If you do not know where it is, look where the water line enters the house, in the crawlspace, garage, or near the water heater. A frozen pipe that splits can flood a house fast once it thaws.
- Open the faucets the pipe feeds so pressure can escape as it thaws.
- Keep water away from electrical. If water is near outlets, a panel, or appliances, shut the power to that area off at the breaker if you can do it safely.
- Do not thaw with an open flame. Torches start fires in crawlspaces and walls. A hair dryer or space heater kept well clear of anything flammable is safer, but if you cannot reach the pipe, leave it for us.
- Take photos of the damage before cleanup if you plan to file an insurance claim.
Where Pipes Freeze Around Here
Most homes here are not built for long hard freezes, so the weak spots are predictable:
- Supply lines in vented crawlspaces with missing or fallen insulation
- Kitchen and bath lines on exterior walls, especially in older homes
- Pipes in garages and unheated additions
- Hose bibs that are not frost-free, or frost-free bibs with a hose still attached, which traps water in the valve
- Lines near foundation vents that let cold air blow straight across them
How We Repair a Burst Pipe
- Find every split. Freeze damage often cracks a pipe in more than one spot, and a hairline split can stay hidden until the line is pressurized.
- Cut out the damaged section and replace it, usually with PEX, or with copper to match an existing copper system where that makes more sense.
- Pressurize the system and check every repair and every joint we touched.
- Walk you through what froze and why, and quote any prevention work separately.
If the split is inside a finished wall or ceiling, we open only what we need to reach the pipe. If the leak location is not obvious, we use leak detection instead of opening walls to search.
Fixing Why It Froze
- Swapping old hose bibs for frost-free models (see hose bib replacement)
- Rerouting a line away from an exterior wall or foundation vent
- Adding a shutoff and drain-down so an exposed line can be emptied for winter
- Recommending pipe insulation or crawlspace work where it is the real fix
What's Included and What's Not
We do the plumbing: locating, thawing where we can reach it, cutting out and replacing damaged pipe, and pressure testing. Water extraction, drying, drywall, insulation replacement, flooring, and mold remediation are separate trades. We give you a written invoice and photos that document the plumbing repair for your insurer.
What It Costs
Flat-rate by repair, quoted before we cut anything. No trip charge in our service area and no emergency upcharge. After-hours service may be available when on-call coverage is available.