- Service
- Burst Pipe Repair
- Category
- Pipes and leaks
- Where
- Newmarket and nearby York Region
- Booking
- By telephone
Clues that point to burst pipe repair
- Water spraying or gushing from a wall, ceiling or pipe.
- Pressure falling away suddenly across the house.
- A ceiling sagging or dripping after a cold snap.
- Water appearing in a basement with no rain outside.
Your first five minutes
- Turn the main valve off. It sits on the pipe beside the water meter downstairs. Clockwise closes it.
- Turn off the water heater. Switch a gas tank to pilot or an electric tank off at the breaker.
- Open a low tap to drain remaining water from the pipes.
- Keep away from wet electrics. If water is near outlets or lights, cut the power to that area at the panel, provided you can reach it without stepping in water.
- Call us. Then call your insurer.
Bench note
If you are unsure where your main shut-off is, find it this week. Our shut-off circular shows the usual places.
Our method, in order
We cut out the damaged section and join new pipe, copper or PEX depending on what is there and what makes sense. Where the break was caused by freezing, we look at the whole cold run, since ice often splits more than one spot. We pressure test the repair with the main back on and watch for drips along every joint we can reach.
Newmarket houses and this job
Most of our burst pipe calls arrive in January and February, after a few nights well below minus twenty. The usual locations are pipes on exterior walls, runs over cantilevered floors and supply lines to outdoor taps. Older homes near Main Street and in Gorham-College Manor, with less insulation in the rim joist, show up more often than new builds.
A smaller number of bursts have nothing to do with cold. A failed washing machine hose, a corroded copper elbow or high water pressure can do the same damage in July. If your pressure is high, a pressure reducing valve protects the whole house.
Preventing a repeat
- Insulate the rim joist and pipes on outside walls.
- Reroute lines that keep freezing to an interior wall.
- Retire rubber laundry hoses in favour of braided steel.
Call right away
Ring us any time. Frozen but still in one piece? Read about frozen pipe thawing.
Phoned-in questions
Can repair tape hold a split pipe for now?
A wrap of self-fusing tape or a hose clamp buys an hour or two on a pinhole. It is a stopgap, nothing more.
Should I call my insurer first or the plumber?
Stop the water and call the plumber first to limit damage, then your insurer. Take photos before cleanup if you can.