Burst Pipe Repair in Brooklyn, NY
A burst pipe lets out a surprising amount of water in a few minutes. What you do before the plumber arrives decides how much of it ends up in the ceiling below.
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The first five minutes
Before you call Elite Pipe Solutions or anyone else, stop the water. Then call.
Close the main shutoff
In most Brooklyn houses it is in the cellar on the front wall, where the service line comes in, close to the meter. Turn it clockwise until it stops.
Open the lowest faucet
This drains the water still sitting in the pipes, so less of it escapes through the split.
Cut power to anything wet
If water is reaching light fittings, outlets or the panel, turn off that circuit at the breaker, if you can do so without standing in water.
Tell the neighbours
In an apartment or a semi-attached house, water travels. Warn the unit below or next door.
Why pipes burst in Brooklyn
Frost is the obvious cause. On the coldest nights of the winter, pipes running along an uninsulated front wall, through an unheated vestibule, or out to a backyard hose bib can freeze. Ice expands, pressure builds between the ice and the closed faucet, and the pipe splits, often some distance from where the ice actually formed.
Not every burst is about cold, though. An old galvanized fitting can give way after decades of corrosion, and a pipe knocked during building work may fail days later. The repair is similar; how to prevent the next one is not.
How a burst pipe is repaired
A split section is cut out and replaced with new pipe, going back far enough on each side to reach undamaged metal. For a frozen pipe we also check the rest of the run, because a pipe that froze in one place has often bulged in others without splitting yet.
If the pipe is still frozen when we arrive, it is thawed gradually with controlled heat, never an open flame against old timber and plaster.
Stopping it happening again
- Shut and drain outdoor hose bibs from the inside before winter
- Insulate pipes that run along exterior walls and in vestibules
- Seal draughts around the service line where it enters the cellar
- Keep the heat on in empty apartments and houses during cold spells
- Re-route a line away from an outside wall if it keeps freezing
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Frequently asked questions
Where is the main water shutoff in a brownstone?
Usually in the cellar or basement on the street-facing wall, close to the water meter, where the service line comes through the foundation.
My pipe is frozen but has not burst. What should I do?
Open the faucet it supplies so meltwater has somewhere to go, and warm the area gently. Never use an open flame. If you cannot find where it is frozen, call.
Will my insurance cover a burst pipe?
That depends on your policy and the cause. Photograph the damage before the clean-up and keep the repair invoice for your insurer.