If you’re in Austin, TX, then you know that snowpocalypse freeze conditions can happen. Homes in central and south Texas were not designed for hard 20F and below freezes. So when hard freezes happen here, water pipes burst and cause major water damage. This post describes in detail how to repair a burst pipe using simple press-on fittings if you hear water gushing after a hard freeze.
PREVENTION: shut off the water
Some homes have an auxiliary shut off valve for cutting water to the whole house without having to mess with the city meter. This is a ball valve either in your yard between the street and your house, or in your garage. This is convenient when you know that it’s going to be super cold overnight AND you want to be super safe from burst pipes. You can simply pre-emtively shut off water to your house by closing this valve and then draining pressure from your pipes by opening up a couple faucets. Any residual water in the pipes will then have planty of room to expand even in a hard freeze to prevent bursting. Then when things warm back up, you can simply turn the water back on.
A lot of older homes in Austin don’t have this option. In that case, you can still easily just turn off the water right at the meter. Your water meter will be located at or near the street usually on the left or right property line. It’s in an underground cover to protect from freezing. Look for a round metal manhole-style or rectangular plastic cover like this:
You should be able to lift up the metal cover with a screwdriver. If it’s filled with some dirt or leaves etc, then just dig around until you uncover the actual shutoff valve. It will look like this:
You can close the shut off valve by turning it clockwise (righty-tighty) 90degrees to the off position. You can use simple pliers or a crescent wrench to turn the valve, but it’ll be a lot easier to use a $15 “water key” from any hardware store:
You might have to clear out some loose dirt to find the valve initially. And these valves can sometimes be quite hard to turn if they’ve not been touched in years. If it’s really sticky, then try getting as much leverage as possible by using the longest crescent wrench (or channel-lock pliers work well too) that you can fit in the meter box.
Or, just invest in a water key tool. This can be key to preventing major water damage in case of a hard freeze, so it’s great insurance!
REPAIR STEP ONE: locate the leak
If you do get a burst pipe, then shutting off water to your home is the first step to preventing flood water damage. You can then get a head start on the plumbing work (and maybe get the water back on yourself) by dong some CSI work to locate the leak. This should be pretty easy if the burst pipe is in a wall or attic. Just go to wherever the drywall is wettest or to wherever the sound of running water was loudest.
IF the source is obvious, then try to see if the water that gushed out is warm or cold. If the leaked water is warm, then that means a hot water pipe burst at that spot. If the leaked water is quite cold, then that means a cold water pipe burst at that spot.
IF the source is not obvious, then you can try opening up the main shutoff valve just a bit to let enough additional water leak to locate the burst pipe spot.
IF THE LEAKING WATER IS WARM, then you can at least get your cold water taps working again right away by shutting off the hot water tank supply line. You will then be able to turn the main cutoff valve back on. To shut off just the hot water, look for a valve in one of the pipes at the top of your water heater tank and just turn it to the right until it’s shut tight (if there’s a valve on both lines, then just go ahead and shut ’em both off):
IF THE LEAKING WATER IS COLD and you can’t find the place where it’s coming from, then you’re unfortunately going to be without water for awhile until a pro plumber can visit. But having the water supply shut off at the main will at least prevent further damage.
REPAIR STEP TWO: get access to the burst pipe
If you have a burst pipe after a hard freeze, then you’re going to have to wait for a plumber. Every plumber is always in high demand after a hard freeze in Texas. However there are some things you can do in the meantime that will make the plumbing work faster (and therefore less expensive). You can also cap a burst pipe yourself to get the water back on in the meantime.
IF water is leaking from a burst pipe in your attic or pier-and-beam foundation crawlspace, then that’s great. You can get up into the attic or down into the crawlspace to find the spot of the burst. You can then temporarily repair the pipe by simply capping it with some simple DIY tools. Once the burst pipe is capped, you can turn the water back on to the rest of your home.
A burst copper pipe looks like this:
There usually won’t be more than one rupture per pipe run. Also, it will usually be a 1/2-in diameter copper pipe.
IF water is leaking from a burst pipe in a wall, then you will need to open up the wall to expose the pipe. Don’t worry about making a neat hole in the drywall. You will need to eventually rip out and replace any drywall that got soaked anyway. Also don’t worry about pulling out a vanity cabinet or cutting into the back of kitchen base cabinets to temporarily repair a burst pipe. Again, this’ll have to be done anyway before the pipe can be permanently fixed.
Cutting open access to cap a burst pipe will simply save a pro plumber’s time and effort, which will actually save you money in the long run.
REPAIR STEP THREE: cap the pipe
Hopefully the section of pipe that burst has at least an inch or more of space all around it for some working room. If not, then cutting and repairing the line will still require a pro plumber with specialized tools but at least the plumber will now have access to the pipe.
IF the burst section of pipe has some working room around it and it is a copper pipe, then you can cut and cap the line yourself with just some basic tools. This will temporarily repair the burst pipe and let you turn the water back on to the rest of your home.
Here is a step by step guide for how to cut and cap a burst water pipe.
GET YOUR SUPPLIES
Go to Home Depot, Lowes, or any other hardware store with a plumbing section and buy these three things.
1) Pipe cutter for copper pipe. Looks something like this and will cost $15 or so:
If there’s not at least 1-in of working room around the pipe then you may need to saw through it using an old-school close work hacksaw like this:
2) Sharkbite push-on end cap fitting. Looks like this:
Sharkbite fittings come in 1/2-in, 3/4-in, and 1-in diameters. Almost all residential copper piping has an outside diameter of 1/2-in, but it’s a good idea to measure first to be certain. You will need the correctly sized fitting.
3) Sandpaper. Just about any plain ‘ol sandpaper will do so long as it’s not a superfine 200+ grit. Look for any sandpaper that’s 60-180 grit:
You’ll be using this for cleaning up a rough cut in a pipe especially if you have to cut the pipe with a hacksaw. Copper is soft, so that’s why plain sandpaper will work.
CUT THE PIPE
You’ll need to make two cuts in the pipe to make room for the push fitting. You can cut the upstream side of the pipe in any convenient spot. You can also then simply bend the upstream section of pipe out of the way. Remember that this is just a temporary repair. A pro plumber can clean things up afterward.
You will need to make a nice smooth cut in the downstream side of the pipe that you’re going to cap. Sharkbite push-fit fittings will only work on sections of pipe that are perfectly round and clean. So, pick a straight length of pipe that is not near an elbow or bend and cut the pipe there.
After cutting, you’ll want to remove any burrs or sharp bits that the cutting caused. Again, the cut end of the pipe needs to be ROUND AND SMOOTH for the push-fit fitting to work properly. Make sure to roll up some sandpaper to get inside the pipe to remove any burrs like this:
CAP THE PIPE
This is actually the the easiest final step to repair a burst pipe. Once you cleanly cut the pipe and prep it with a bit of sanding, you can simply wipe it clean and push on the endcap fitting. There’s no twisting needed, simply push it straight on. The sharkbite fitting will slide into place on the pipe with just a good firm straight push:
TEST THE CAP
Now you can turn the water back on to check and see if the push-on fitting is sealed and secure. It’s a good to have a helper for this. One person to slowly open the water main valve while another person watches the endcap fitting for any drip leaks. If there are no drips, then the pipe is now sealed shut.
YOUR BUSTED WATER LINE IS NOW CAPPED!
If installed correctly, a sharkbite end-cap fitting is a near-permanent fix to repair a burst pipe. You can now wait for however long it takes (days, weeks, months, even years) to get a pro plumber to do a permanent fix.