Supply line failures ยท Emergency service
Burst pipe water damage restoration in central and northeast Maryland
A pressurized supply line keeps pushing water for as long as it's open. Whether it's a split pipe, a failed fitting or a line that gave out behind a wall, we connect you with local crews who remove the water, find where it travelled and dry the structure properly.
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If it's still spraying, call while you head for the main shutoff.
Call Now: (833) 869-1696The first five minutes
What to do right now
Close the main shutoff
In most houses here it's in the basement or utility area, on the pipe where water enters, often near the front wall. Turn it clockwise until it stops.
Open a low faucet
Once the main is closed, opening a basement or ground-floor tap drains the water still sitting in the pipes, so less comes out of the break.
Keep away from wet electrics
Burst lines in ceilings often soak light fixtures. If water is near outlets or panels, do not enter and call your utility and emergency services.
Warn the units below
In a condo or apartment, water from a broken line travels down fast. Knock on the door below, and call the management office.
Move what you can
Pull rugs, electronics and boxes out of the wet area and away from drips.
Photograph the break
A picture of the failed pipe or fitting helps the plumber and the crew, and it's gone once the repair is made.
Can't find the shutoff? We'll help you look while you're on the phone.
Call and We'll Walk You Through ItWhy burst pipes cause so much damage
Drain leaks only happen when someone uses water. Supply lines are different: they're under constant pressure, so a break keeps flowing, day and night, until the valve is closed. A split half-inch line can release a lot of water in the time it takes to notice, and it keeps coming at the same rate whether anyone is home or not.
That water goes wherever gravity takes it: across floors, under cabinets, down through ceilings into rooms and units below, and into wall cavities. The damage from a burst pipe is often much larger than the spot where the pipe broke, and most of it isn't visible from the room where it started.
The break is usually small. The area it reaches rarely is.
How burst pipes show up
- Spraying or running water you can hear inside a wall or ceiling
- A sudden drop in water pressure at the taps
- A ceiling that bulges, drips or comes down
- Water spreading from under a vanity, kitchen cabinet or toilet
- A water meter spinning with every fixture off
- An unexplained jump in the water bill, for slower failures
Not every failure is dramatic. Pinhole leaks in copper and slow drips at fittings can run for weeks before a stain or a musty smell gives them away.
Why pipes fail in houses here
Freezing
The biggest single cause in winter. Pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces, garages and unheated additions freeze in a cold snap, and the break shows when they thaw. There's a separate page on frozen pipe bursts.
Old galvanized steel
Many houses built before about 1960 still have some galvanized supply pipe. It corrodes from the inside and eventually fails at threaded joints.
Pinhole leaks in copper
Copper usually lasts a long time, but water chemistry and age can cause small pinhole leaks, often in more than one spot along a run.
Polybutylene
Gray plastic polybutylene supply pipe was installed in some houses built from the late 1970s into the mid-1990s. It's known for failing at fittings and is often replaced when found.
Fittings and connections
Compression fittings, push-fit connectors and the braided supply lines to sinks and toilets all have lifespans. They're involved in many of the breaks crews see.
High water pressure
Where incoming pressure is high and there's no working pressure-reducing valve, joints and supply lines are under extra strain all the time.
The first hour
Once the main is closed, the focus shifts to finding out how far the water went. Check the rooms below and beside the break, the ceiling underneath, and the basement. Note every wet area and take photos. A plumber repairs the pipe; the restoration crew handles everything the water reached.
In a shared building
A break in one unit can reach several below it within minutes. Tell the management office right away: they know where the building's shutoffs are, which risers serve which units, and how to get into units where nobody's home.
If you rent
Call your landlord or manager as soon as the water is off, and follow up in writing. The pipe repair and the cleanup both need the owner's approval.
Water above you may be from another unit. We'll help you work out who to call.
Water Coming Through the Ceiling? Call NowHow burst pipe damage is restored
Confirm water is off
The crew checks the shutoff and that the break is isolated or repaired.
Extract
Standing water on floors and in carpet is removed first.
Trace the spread
Moisture meters and thermal imaging follow water through ceilings, walls and floors, including into rooms and units that look dry.
Open what has to be opened
Sagging ceiling drywall, soaked insulation and the lower part of saturated walls come out. Access openings are kept as small as the job allows.
Dry the structure
Dehumidifiers and air movers go in, sometimes with cavity drying for walls and ceilings.
Monitor
Readings at each visit until every area is dry.
Document and hand off
A record of the break, the spread, what was removed and final readings, ready for repairs.
What affects time and cost
- How long the line ran before it was shut off
- Which floor it broke on, and how many floors or units below it reached
- Ceilings and walls that need opening
- Flooring type: carpet, hardwood, tile, laminate
- Whether the break was in a finished ceiling, wall or crawl space
- Coordination between several units in a shared building
The crew prices cleanup and drying before work starts. The plumbing repair is separate, and so is rebuilding once everything is dry.
Know the cleanup price before the first ceiling panel comes down.
Call for Upfront PricingAfter the repair
Once readings confirm the structure is dry, rebuilding can follow: ceiling and wall patches, paint, flooring. It's also a good time to ask the plumber what failed and whether the rest of that pipe run is likely to follow. A house with one galvanized or polybutylene failure often has more of the same pipe.
Learn where your main shutoff is and make sure it turns. Old gate valves seize, and a valve that won't close is no help in an emergency. Replacing aging braided supply lines to sinks, toilets and appliances is inexpensive and prevents a large share of breaks.
Keep the crew's records with your own photos. If you're contacting your insurer, what applies depends on your individual policy, so ask them. In a condo, notify the association promptly.
Related services and areas
Related services
- Frozen Pipe Burst Cleanup
- Water Leak Behind a Wall
- Ceiling Water Damage Repair
- Emergency Water Damage Restoration
- Condo & Shared-Building Water Damage
- Drywall Water Damage Repair
Regions
Questions
Burst pipe questions
In most houses here it's where the supply line comes through the foundation, usually in the basement or utility room, often on the wall facing the street. In homes without a basement, look in a utility closet, crawl space or near the water heater. Condos may have a unit valve in a closet or under a sink.
Don't force it with tools, since old valves can break. Many homes also have a curb stop at the meter near the street, which a plumber or the water utility can close. Call a plumber and let them know the valve is stuck.
Usually both. The plumber repairs or replaces the failed pipe. The restoration crew removes water, opens up wet areas, dries the structure and documents it. On many jobs they're at the house the same day.
Water collects on top of ceiling drywall and soaks the insulation above it. If it's left closed, it dries very slowly and the drywall may sag or come down. Opening a section lets the cavity dry and removes material that won't recover.
Often, if drying starts quickly. Hardwood absorbs water and cups, but specialty drying mats and dehumidification can bring many floors back. Boards that stay cupped after drying may be sanded or replaced. The hardwood page covers the details.
It's a gray plastic supply pipe used in some homes from the late 1970s to the mid-1990s. It's often stamped PB and may be visible near the water heater or main shutoff. If you have it, a plumber can advise on replacement.
Knock on their door, then call your management office or association if they aren't home. The office usually has keys and can shut off water to that unit or riser. A crew can start drying your unit while the source upstairs is dealt with.
They're small holes that develop in copper pipe, often from a combination of water chemistry and age. They tend to show up as a drip or a stain rather than a spray. If one appears, a plumber may check the rest of the run, since there are often others.
Commonly a few days to about a week once equipment is running, depending on how much water there was, what it soaked into and how quickly drying started. Ceilings and walls that were opened dry faster. Daily readings show progress and when it's done.
Pipe let go? Shut it off, then call.
We'll connect you with a local crew that finds where the water went and dries it properly.
Tell us where it broke and what's below it.
Talk to a Restoration Pro