A frozen pipe that splits can push hundreds of gallons through a wall or ceiling before anyone notices. We connect you with a local specialist who handles it.
A burst supply line releases water continuously until the main is shut off — a half-inch pipe can move several hundred gallons an hour into a wall cavity, and the damage compounds every minute it runs.
When you call, we connect you with a local specialist who will shut down the affected line, extract the water it released, and dry the cavity before mold sets in.
Call now, or can it wait?
Call now if
A pipe has split, or water is coming through a ceiling or wall — shut the main first, then call.
You cannot find the main shutoff, or it will not close.
Water is reaching light fixtures or outlets.
It can usually wait for a scheduled visit if
A tap has slowed to a trickle in a freeze but nothing is leaking. Leave it open and warm the line from the tap end.
What Suffolk County measures for frozen pipe burst
Suffolk County has a large seasonal housing stock — 46 of 155 areas have 15% or more of their homes occupied only part of the year. A burst line in an empty house runs until someone opens the door.
The stock is old enough to matter too: about 50% predates 1970, when supply lines often ran through unheated crawlspaces and exterior walls.
Frozen Pipe Burst drivers across Suffolk County, town by town
Town
Areas
15%+ seasonal homes
Median seasonal homes
Median built pre-1970
Babylon
13
1
0%
70%
Brookhaven
44
1
1%
48%
East Hampton
8
8
62%
31%
Huntington
20
0
0%
70%
Islip
23
2
0%
61%
Riverhead
7
4
19%
38%
Shelter Island
2
2
52%
39%
Smithtown
8
0
0%
51%
Southampton
20
18
43%
30%
Southold
10
10
31%
49%
Counts and medians of the areas we cover in each town, measured over developed land. An
area spanning two towns is counted under the first. Your own street can differ — each
area page has its own figures. Sources and limits.
What the frozen pipe burst job actually involves
So you know what you are agreeing to, and can tell a thorough quote from a cheap one.
Shut the main and drain the affected line.
Locate the split, which is often not where the water appears.
Repair the line and pressure-test it.
Open the cavity and dry it actively — insulation holds water long after the surface is dry.
Advise on insulation or rerouting for the runs that froze.
A burst line needs two things and they are different trades. Stopping the water and repairing the split is plumbing; extracting what escaped and drying the cavity before mold sets in is restoration. Which arrives first depends on whether the water is still running.
What makes it worse
Thawing from the middle, which traps meltwater between two ice plugs and splits the pipe.
Using an open flame on a pipe.
Closing the wall before the cavity is dry.
Relying on a low thermostat setting in an empty house, which fails the moment the power does.
What the standards and official guidance say
Closing up a house for the winter
The American Red Cross advice for a home you leave in cold weather is to keep the heat on, set no lower than 55°F. Before the cold arrives, drain pool and sprinkler supply lines as their installer directs, take in and drain garden hoses, and open the outside hose bibs so they can drain.
The Red Cross lists outdoor hose bibs, pool supply lines and sprinkler lines among the pipes that freeze most often, which is why those come first.
A sudden burst is normally a covered peril. The exception worth reading is the unheated-dwelling clause: many policies exclude freeze damage in a property left unoccupied without heat maintained or the system drained.
General guidance, not advice on your policy — coverage varies by insurer and endorsement, and
the wording is what decides it. Read yours, or ask your agent, before you need to.
Signs you need frozen pipe burst help now
No water, or a sudden drop in pressure, at one fixture in cold weather
Frost or condensation on an exposed supply line
Bulging, staining, or a damp patch on a wall or ceiling
Water sounds running inside a wall with every tap closed
A pipe in an unheated crawlspace, attic, or garage that feels iced
What to do before help arrives
Worth doing whether or not you call us.
Shut the main off before anything else if a line has already split.
Open a tap on the affected line to relieve pressure and give meltwater somewhere to go.
Warm a frozen line from the tap end backwards, with warm air — never an open flame, and never starting in the middle.
Open cabinet doors under sinks on exterior walls to let house heat reach the pipes.
If the house is going to be empty in a freeze, drain the system rather than trusting the heat to stay on.
How to keep it from happening again
Find the main shutoff before winter and make sure it turns.
Disconnect garden hoses in the fall, and shut off and drain outdoor spigots.
Insulate pipes in crawlspaces, garages and exterior walls.
Seal drafts where cold air reaches pipe runs.
In a hard freeze, open cabinet doors under sinks on outside walls and let a tap drip.
If the house will be empty, keep the heat on, consider shutting off and draining the water, and fit a low-temperature or water alarm.
Frozen Pipe Burst: common questions
A pipe is frozen but has not burst. What should I do?
Open the faucet it feeds so water can move as it thaws, and warm the pipe slowly with a hair dryer, warm towels, or by heating the room. Never use an open flame. If you cannot find the frozen section, or it runs inside a wall, call before it splits.
How do I protect a seasonal home that sits empty in winter?
Either keep the heat on and have someone check the house regularly, or have the plumbing drained and shut off before you close it up. Check your policy as well: many homeowners policies limit freeze claims when a home was left unheated or unoccupied.
Where do pipes usually freeze?
Where the cold reaches first: crawlspaces, exterior walls, unheated garages, and sink cabinets on outside walls. Opening those cabinet doors during a cold snap lets house heat reach the pipes.
A pipe burst inside a wall or ceiling. What should I do?
Shut the main water valve first. If water is near lights or outlets, switch that room off at the breaker panel. Water inside a wall or ceiling spreads further than the stain shows, and it does not dry on its own at any useful rate, so the cavity normally has to be opened and dried with equipment. Photograph it before anything is cut out.
My pipes have been frozen for a day or more. Will they burst?
Not always, but the risk grows the longer they stay frozen, and a split often shows only when the ice thaws and water runs again. Shut the main valve before you thaw anything, so a split cannot flood the house. Open the taps and warm the pipe gently with a hair dryer or warm towels, never a flame. If you cannot find or reach the frozen section, call a plumber.
Who do I call for a burst pipe: a plumber or a restoration company?
Both, for different jobs. A plumber repairs the pipe. The water that got into floors, walls and ceilings is a drying job for a water damage specialist, and it is the part that turns into mold if it waits. Once the main valve is shut the leak has stopped, so the drying is the urgent call.
Local conditions change what causes this and how it behaves, so each area where the
drivers behind frozen pipe burst are actually present gets its own page with that
area's measured data. 93 of the 155 areas we cover
qualify; 36 of those pages are published so far and the rest are being added.