Emergency response for water damage from burst and frozen pipes in Sullivan, Sullivan and Jefferson County homes and businesses.
Fastest: call (833) 490-5225. Or send this and we call you back.
Frozen pipes are a winter fixture in Jefferson County. Water expands when it freezes, so a pipe carrying water in an unheated space—a garage, an addition, a crawl space, or an exterior wall—splits. The crack may not show until the thaw, when water pours out. Once the pipe is identified and shut, the water damage begins: standing water to extract, wet materials to dry, and sometimes contents to clean up. A plumber handles the pipe replacement. The restoration side handles the water damage.
Frozen pipes and burst pipes are a cold-weather problem across Jefferson County, especially in unheated spaces and in older buildings with poor insulation. Garages, additions, crawl spaces, and porches left unheated are common trouble spots. The freeze happens slowly, and the damage may not show until the ice thaws and the crack lets go. By that time the water has had hours or overnight to spread.
The first sign is often a puddle. A crack in the pipe behind an exterior wall shows up as water inside the living space, usually running down a wall or spreading across a floor. In a crawl space, standing water accumulates where no one sees it until the ceiling above gets damp. In an attic, insulation soaks up water and mold grows unseen for months.
Shut off the supply to the frozen section if you can identify it. If the main valve is frozen too, heat the pipe gently with a hair dryer or heat tape—never an open flame or a propane heater in an enclosed space. Then call both a plumber for the pipe and a restoration crew for the water.
Never try to thaw a pipe with an open flame or a propane heater in an enclosed space like a crawl space or attic; the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning and fire is too high. Use a hair dryer or heat tape. Do not reach for pipes or electrical outlets if water is standing. Stay out of crawl spaces with standing water. If water is dripping from a ceiling, leave the room below empty until it can be evaluated; a burst pipe or rot can weaken the structure.
A supply or drain line inside a wall or a slab freezes and splits. The water may not flow out until the ice thaws days later. Damage is usually confined to one area because the wall or slab is not large. Interior freezes are less common than exterior ones, and they often show up late because the water is hidden.
An outside wall with poor insulation, or an addition that is inadequately heated, drops to freezing temperatures on the water side of the insulation. A supply line in that cavity freezes, and water spreads down the interior wall as it thaws. Damage typically covers a line of wall and can reach the basement below or the floor beneath.
Unheated spaces reach temperatures below zero, and any water-bearing pipe freezes. A water heater in a garage goes first, followed by supply lines. Crawl spaces and attics hold pipes that feed upper bathrooms or exterior faucets, and freezing there can damage insulation and framing or drop ice-cold water inside a living space above as it thaws.
Call any hour and explain what is going on. You get a clear price before any work starts.
Because winter temperatures here regularly drop well below freezing, and unheated spaces in houses are colder than the outside air. January averages about 24 degrees. Any water-bearing pipe in an unheated garage, crawl space, attic, or inadequately insulated addition is at risk.
Freezing happens from December through March, with the deepest freezes in January and February. The risk is highest when an outdoor temperature drop is sudden and sharp, because exterior walls and unheated spaces do not have thermal mass to absorb the change. A burst pipe can go unnoticed for days or weeks if it is in a crawl space or an attic, and the damage compounds as water drips or spreads.
Prevention matters. Insulation, heat tape, pipe wrapping and letting a trickle of water run through a line that is prone to freezing all help. The first thaw after a freeze is when burst pipes show themselves, so a walk-around after a warm spell following a hard freeze is worth doing.
Insulation is the best defense. Crawl space vents can be closed in winter. Supply lines in unheated spaces can be wrapped with foam or trace-heated with heat tape. Interior cabinets below sinks can be left open so warm room air reaches the pipes. Exterior faucets and hose bibs can be drained and disconnected in fall.
If a pipe has frozen before, mark it and protect it before the next winter. Heat tape controlled by a thermostat is reliable and inexpensive. Pipe wrap insulation is cheap and easy to install. Running a trickle of hot water through a pipe that is actively freezing can keep it open long enough for the freeze to pass. The cost of prevention is a tiny fraction of the cost of restoration.
Extraction usually takes hours. Drying the framing and cavities around the pipe takes several days, depending on how much water was involved. Winter cold air helps drying because outdoor air is dry, so opening windows speeds the process.
A small puddle in a garage might be gone in a day or two. Water inside walls or in a crawl space takes longer because it has to evaporate rather than be extracted. If drywall is cut or insulation is removed to reach the water, the drying process is faster because air can circulate. Structural drying and dehumidification explains how that works.
Usually the owner or landlord, because building codes require heat to be maintained to prevent pipe damage. If the tenant deliberately turned off heat or failed to notify the owner of inadequate heating, responsibility might be split. Check the lease and notify the owner or manager immediately in writing.
Multi-unit buildings have the additional problem that water travels: a burst pipe upstairs shows up as a ceiling stain two floors down. Notify management or the condo board as soon as you know, in writing, and keep your photographs. Access and drying also work differently in shared buildings.
The plumber locates it using the water pressure and water flow. Sometimes they can shut off the supply to just that section; sometimes the main has to be turned off. Once it is identified, drying can start even before repair, because the wall can be opened to allow air circulation and equipment placement.
Wall cavities are the hardest to dry because they are hidden. Holes may need to be drilled for air flow, or drywall may need to be removed to place equipment. That depends on the readings and the extent of the wet. A thermal camera shows where the cold spots are, narrowing down where the water went. All of this is explained to you, and you approve it before work starts.
A plumber locates the freeze by checking where water stops flowing. If it is a local freeze in a garage or addition, the supply to that area is shut. If the main line is frozen, it may need to be thawed first before it can be turned off. The technician confirms that power is off to any heaters or electrical equipment in the area before applying heat.
Standing water in a basement, crawl space or garage is located and measured. Damp spots in walls and ceilings are found with a thermal camera and pin meters. The water boundary is documented with photographs so you have a record of what happened. If the pipe is still in the walls, the freeze damage is usually confined to one area, but water travels and can reach places not obvious from the doorway.
Pumps and extractors remove standing water. Insulation and padding soaked by water are removed so air can reach the framing. Drywall that wicked water and wood studs that are saturated are evaluated: some dry in place, others are removed if drying would trap moisture. Everything is listed and photographed.
Air movers and dehumidifiers are set up to reach all the wet areas. In a crawl space that means portable equipment; in a wall cavity it might mean removal and targeted drying. Readings are taken daily, and the equipment is repositioned as the water leaves the materials. Drying is finished when readings match an unaffected baseline.
Once the structure is dry, affected surfaces are cleaned. Drywall, insulation, subfloor and exterior cladding are replaced as the readings confirm the framing is dry. Where a repair involves a building permit, the contractor doing the repair work needs to check whether Wisconsin DSPS dwelling-contractor credentials are required. Ask and verify before that work starts.
Freezes in Jefferson County happen every winter, and the history is clear. January is the coldest month, with average temperatures near 24 degrees Fahrenheit across this part of southern Wisconsin. Older farmhouses with poor attic and basement insulation, unheated additions and garages are the most common trouble spots. Newly built homes with modern insulation and maintained heat have far fewer frozen-pipe calls.
The build year matters more in Sullivan than the location within it. Older homes have plaster, wooden framing and limited insulation, and water lines run through exterior walls and unheated spaces without protection. Newer homes have code-required insulation and supply lines inside the insulated envelope. A technician working in an older building knows to expect the plumbing to be harder to reach and the materials to be slower to dry.
The thaw cycle is when damage shows. Water frozen in a pipe cannot flow, so no damage appears. A few days of above-freezing weather melts the ice, the crack opens, and water pours. By the time the damage is noticed, the water has had time to spread into cavities and onto materials. The sooner extraction and drying start, the less costly the repair.
Not sure if you're covered? Check your ZIP code.
Extraction, structural drying with daily moisture readings, and cleanup for Sullivan homes, farmhouses and businesses across Jefferson County.
Extraction of standing and absorbed water from basements, crawl spaces, slab floors and garages across Sullivan and Jefferson County.
Professional structural drying and dehumidification for Sullivan homes and businesses, with daily moisture readings, ambient humidity control, and verification of complete drying to prevent mold and secondary damage.
Ice dam damage and roof leaks in Sullivan after winter storms, with assessment of attic insulation, ventilation and flashing failures that let meltwater into the structure.
When a pipe bursts in winter, shut off the main valve if you can reach it safely, keep out of standing water near outlets and appliances, and call (833) 490-5225.
Frozen pipes show up suddenly in the cold months, and water pressure drops in just one area or one side of the house. A supply-line problem usually affects hot water or cold water, and a drain-line problem shows backing up. If pressure dropped after a cold snap, and you can see ice on pipes in an unheated space, it is almost certainly a freeze.
Sometimes. If the freeze is in an accessible spot like an exterior faucet, heat tape, a hair dryer or warm water applied to the outside can do it. If the freeze is deep in a wall, the wall may need to be opened so a heat source can reach the pipe. Once the pipe is thawed and the shut-off valve works, the water supply is turned off and drying starts.
Most homeowners policies cover sudden pipe breaks, but not damage to the pipe itself or damage from lack of heat or maintenance. Some policies exclude damage if the house was vacant or if heat was not maintained. Read your policy or call your agent to confirm what is covered before filing a claim.
Phones are answered 24 hours a day and a crew is dispatched as soon as one is available, including in winter. Winter conditions affect travel time. While you wait, shut off the water if you can, keep the area clear and take photographs. Do not try to heat the pipe with an open flame.
If the burst is in a supply line that has been shut off, the furnace can stay on and the house stays warm. If the main supply is shut, water is off to the whole house until the pipe is repaired. The plumber and the restoration crew coordinate so repair and drying can run together.
For an accessible pipe, a hair dryer, heat lamp, or heat tape can work. Never use an open flame. If you do thaw a pipe, turn on the faucet to confirm water flows, then turn it off immediately and call a plumber and a restoration crew. Do not assume the pipe is safe because water flows now; thawing does not fix the crack.