Christmas surprise- a burst pipe

Submitted by Dense_Paper t3_zvb1ed in rva

After a long day of travel I arrived home to find that I had a bust pipe in my crawl space. I was able to shut the main water line off to stop the ongoing water leak. The pipe is in the craw space so I’m uncertain if the line will freeze without running water - unlikely to find an emergency plumber tonight. Any thoughts?

UPDATE: Alright, so I was able to find a plumber to fix the pipe. Unfortunately my pipe near the main shut off valve also froze but this was replaced. No troubles with the water heater as the tank was still full. Definitely going to add some insulation around my pipes to try and prevent this in the future!

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groundcontrol3 t1_j1o72rp wrote

Same thing here but in my basement. My plan is to start calling plumbers tomorrow morning.

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Dense_Paper OP t1_j1o7gyi wrote

Not sure if it is a burst or what because it is right at a corner weld. Hopefully we can fine someone tomorrow!

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wwojohn3 t1_j1o95qu wrote

With the water line off, open the outdoor spigot or sink to drain as much water out of your plumbing.

You also could buy a heat tape to keep it from freezing

AHB 12-ft 84-Watt Pipe Heat Cable https://www.lowes.com/pd/EasyHeat-AHB-12-ft-84-Watt-Pipe-Heat-Cable/1068425

Edit: this advice is if a supply (water incoming) line freezes. I’m not sure if it’s good advice for a drain line freeze.

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Dense_Paper OP t1_j1o9gaf wrote

Thank you! I will look into this

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wwojohn3 t1_j1odqaq wrote

Do you know if it’s a supply line or drain line? My advice is for a supply line

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Dense_Paper OP t1_j1ojezl wrote

It is a drain line - the pipe burst at a 90 degree corner. I will probably try and replace it with a sharkbite 90 degree corner if I can.

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lunar_unit t1_j1pas4j wrote

If you had an ongoing water leak when you arrived home, it's definitely not a drain line.

The worst that could happen in a drain, is that the water in the traps could freeze. It would not result in ongoing water gushing.

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YourBlackSailorScout t1_j1omx61 wrote

Right there with you, but in my apartment in the kitchen. Been without water since Christmas Eve and emergency maintenance never called me back

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wonson42 t1_j1ogd7r wrote

Sorry to hear that! My pipes are currently frozen solid, not sure if we have a burst pipe just yet. Let me know how things go!

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MaryDellamorte t1_j1ol6e7 wrote

Sorry to hear about that. I’m house sitting and the same thing happened to my client’s house. I’m glad I was here or it would have kept flooding for another 24 hours.

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DeanOSGP t1_j1odlm9 wrote

I’m in the same boat. Let me know how it goes.

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RivetedReader t1_j1p8whf wrote

Currently vacationing in Colorado and our neighbor texted us the fun news we had the same thing happening! Such a fun time!

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carbondrewtonium t1_j1ppnpr wrote

This may only be helpful in the future, but can anyone confirm that if the water is turned off and pipes are drained, its not possible for them to bust?

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LeicesterHoult t1_j1ps0ht wrote

I thought that’s the case, but I’m wondering if you have to turn off your hot water heater? Wondering if with no water the heating element would just burn up.

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rvapedant t1_j1puwk5 wrote

> hot water heater

Technically that's a cold water heater, or just a water heater ;-)

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guiltyofnothing t1_j1psycv wrote

Anytime I’ve traveled and turned off my water, I’ve also turned off my hot water heater.

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wonson42 t1_j1q7gzy wrote

My water just came back in after being frozen since the 9 degree day. Doesn’t appear to have caused any issues with the pipes inside the house so I guess the main froze underground? Hopefully y’all have a similar result!

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Ashbin t1_j1rdmxf wrote

I heard a church on Nuckols Road in Glen Allen had a pipe burst Saturday night. Eight year earlier the same pipe went and plumbers were called in to repair it. That section was supposed to be insulated, and when they did the work eight years ago, they never put on the insulation. So all damage and loss is due to sloppy work done eight years earlier.

When someone is there to fix things, make sure they do what they should/or said they would be doing to correct the problem.

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