24/7 service
Burst Pipe Repair
Emergency repair of split, cracked and burst water pipes, including freeze damage, with the cause addressed so the same run does not fail again.
- Licensed and insured
- Answered 24 hours a day
- A plumber who works your area
Shut off, then drain
Two actions, in that order, before anything else.
Close the main. Then open the lowest cold tap in the house. The first stops more water arriving; the second lets what is already in the pipes run out at ground level instead of continuing to push through the split into a wall or ceiling.
If water is anywhere near electrical fittings or an appliance, cut power to that circuit first and stay out of standing water until you have.
Freeze damage shows up late
The flood usually arrives on the warm day after the cold snap, which catches people out.
Water expands as it freezes and, in a closed pipe, has nowhere to go. Pressure builds between the ice and a closed tap until the pipe splits, frequently at a point some distance from the ice itself. While everything stays frozen, the split leaks nothing. It starts when the thaw lets water move again.
So a house that came through a freeze with no apparent damage is not necessarily fine. If a run through an unheated space was frozen, it is worth checking it as things warm up rather than waiting to find out.
And the repair is only half the job. The pipe froze because it runs somewhere cold with no insulation, and that has not changed.
Does this sound familiar?
Problems this service solves
- A pipe that has split after freezing and thawing
- Water spraying or running inside a wall, ceiling or floor
- A supply line that has failed at a corroded section
- A flexible connector to an appliance that has burst
- Sudden loss of pressure with water appearing somewhere else
- A pipe damaged during other building work
Signs you need burst pipe repair
If more than one of these is true, the problem is usually past the point a plunger or a store-bought cleaner will fix.
- Water appearing through a ceiling or at the base of a wall
- A sudden drop in pressure at every fixture
- The sound of running water with everything closed
- A section of pipe that is visibly split, bulging or wet
- Water pooling with no fixture nearby to explain it
What to expect
How the visit works
Isolate the supply
The main goes off first, then pressure is relieved by opening a low tap so the pipe drains rather than continuing to push water into the structure.
Expose and assess
The split is opened up enough to see the actual extent. A burst often runs further along the pipe than the visible failure, particularly after a freeze.
Replace the failed section
The damaged length is cut out and new pipe spliced in, matched to the existing material or upgraded where the old material is the reason it failed.
Deal with the cause
If it froze, the run gets insulated or rerouted. If it corroded, you are told what that means for the rest of the system, because the other joints are the same age.
What's included
What you get on every job, whoever we send.
- Guidance to stop the water before anyone arrives
- The full extent of the split found, not just the visible part
- The cause addressed, not only the symptom
- An honest assessment of whether the rest of that run is next
Questions
Burst Pipe Repair questions
What do I do the moment a pipe bursts?
Shut off the main immediately, then open the lowest cold tap in the house. That drains the remaining water downwards and out rather than leaving it under pressure in a split pipe. If the burst is anywhere near electrical fittings or an appliance, cut power to that circuit before going near the water. Then call. Those two actions do more to limit the damage than anything a plumber can do in transit.
Why do pipes burst in a freeze?
Water expands as it freezes, and in a closed pipe there is nowhere for that expansion to go. Pressure builds between the ice plug and a closed tap until the pipe splits, often at a point away from the ice itself. The split usually goes unnoticed while everything is frozen, and the flooding starts when it thaws and water can move again. That is why the damage shows up on the warm day after the cold snap, not during it.
Can just the burst section be replaced?
Usually yes, if the rest of the run is sound: the damaged length is cut out and new pipe spliced in. The question worth asking is why it burst. If the cause was freezing, the same length will freeze again next winter unless it is insulated or rerouted, so the repair is only half the job. If the cause was corrosion, the neighbouring joints are the same age in the same condition.
Will my insurance cover it?
Often for the water damage, and often not for the pipe itself, but policies vary enough that it is worth checking yours rather than assuming. What helps either way is documentation: photograph the damage before anything is cleaned up or replaced, keep the section of pipe that failed, and keep the invoice. Those three things make a claim considerably easier.
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Get it fixed
Burst Pipe Repair, handled locally
Call with your ZIP code and what you are seeing. We route you to a licensed plumber in your area who does burst pipe repair every week.
- Licensed and insured
- Answered 24/7
- Price before work