Finding the wet edge
Water from a pressurized line travels along framing and pipe runs, so the damage is often well away from the split. Readings map how far it reached before anything is opened up.
Burst Pipe Water Damage Cleanup
A split supply line releases water for as long as it runs, usually behind a wall or above a ceiling. Austin Restoration Pros cleans up after it, dries the structure and puts the finishes back once a plumber has made the repair.
- 24/7 Emergency Response
- Upfront Quotes
- Drying & Repairs
Signs a Line Has Let Go
- Water running somewhere you cannot see, with every tap closed
- A wet patch spreading across a ceiling or down a wall
- Pressure dropping at the fixtures, or brown water at first
- The meter dial still turning with nothing switched on
- Water appearing at a baseboard after a hard freeze
Shut the water off at the meter box near the curb if the valve turns easily, or at the main valve where the line enters the building. Then leave the wet area alone. Do not open a bulging ceiling to drain it, and stay clear of standing water near outlets, appliances or a water heater.
What the Service Includes
The repair to the pipe itself is a plumber's work. Everything the water touched is ours.
Controlled opening up
Where a cavity has to be reached, drywall is cut back to a clean line and insulation that soaked is removed. Cabinet kicks and flooring may be lifted so air can get underneath.
Drying and rebuilding
Equipment runs until readings match a dry part of the building, then drywall, trim, paint and flooring go back, with the scope agreed in writing beforehand.
Freeze Damage and Older Plumbing
February 2021 is still the reference point in this city. When the temperature stayed below freezing for days, uninsulated lines in attics, exterior walls and unheated garages split all over the Austin area, and a lot of them only made themselves known once the water came back on. Central Austin bungalows on raised floors, slab houses in the suburbs and apartment buildings with shared walls were all affected, and in the apartments and condos the water usually finished up in the unit below.
Once the pipe is repaired, the work is ordinary water damage restoration: extraction first, then structural drying. Whether soaked flooring and drywall are saved or replaced is covered in our restore-or-replace comparison, and what to do in the first 24 hours is worth reading while you wait.
Austin Restoration Pros covers Austin and nearby towns such as Pflugerville. See the full service area for the rest.
Burst Pipe Cleanup Questions
Do you repair the pipe as well?
No. Austin Restoration Pros handles the cleanup, drying and repairs to the building. The pipe itself is a job for a plumber, and the plumbing repair needs to happen before drying starts, otherwise the equipment is working against a live leak.
What affects the cost of burst pipe cleanup?
How long the water ran, how many rooms it reached, whether it came through a ceiling, and how much material has to be removed rather than dried. A leak caught in an hour is a different job from one that ran all weekend while nobody was home.
Where is the main shutoff on an Austin house?
Usually in a meter box set in the ground near the curb or the property line, with a valve next to the meter that needs a meter key or a wrench. Many houses also have a valve where the line enters the building. Find yours now and check it turns, rather than in the dark with water running.
Will the drywall have to come out?
Not always. Drywall above the waterline often dries in place, while insulation and the bottom few inches of a soaked wall usually come out so the cavity behind can dry. Austin Restoration Pros explains what is coming out and why before cutting anything.
Clean up after a burst pipe in Austin
Get the water off first, then call. We will take it from there.