The next five minutes
- 1
Close the main
Usually where the line enters the house, often near the front hose bib or in the garage. Turn it clockwise until it stops.
- 2
Drain the lines
Open the lowest faucet in the house, then a tub, so the water left in the pipes goes down a drain instead of out of the break.
- 3
Turn off the water heater
Set gas units to pilot or turn off power to electric units so the tank is not heating with no supply.
- 4
Stay clear of wet electrics
Do not walk through water near outlets or under a bulging ceiling.
- 5
Call
Call a plumber for the pipe and a restoration contractor for the water.
Where Richardson pipes usually burst
In a hard freeze, lines in the attic, exterior walls and garage are the first to go. North Texas learned this in February 2021, when DFW sat below freezing for days. Outside of freezes, the cause is usually age: many Richardson ranches still have original copper or galvanized supply lines, and fittings, washing machine hoses and toilet supply connectors fail without warning.
A split often shows somewhere other than the frozen spot, and an attic break shows up as a wet or sagging ceiling first. If a ceiling is bulging, stay out from under it.
Burst pipe emergency questions
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Pipe burst in your Richardson home?
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