Burst pipe and frozen pipe water damage in Lexington
Most burst pipes in Central Kentucky are found the morning after the thaw starts, when ice in a split line melts and the water flows again. The first job is the valve. The second is the drywall.
Referral service, not a contractor. Your request goes to an independent Lexington-area restoration company. We do not do the drying or repairs.
Right now, in this order
- Close the main shutoff. Kentucky American Water's winter tips, republished by the city of Lexington, say the main valve is often in a utility room, a closet, the basement or the crawlspace. Turn it clockwise until it stops.
- Open a faucet on the bottom floor of the house to drain what is left in the lines and take pressure off the break.
- Turn off the water heater if the house will be without water for a while. Most units have a gas or power control and a cold-water inlet valve.
- Mind the ceiling. If a ceiling is sagging with water, do not stand under it. Keep people and pets out of the room.
- Photograph before you clean. The burst section, the wet rooms and anything damaged.
If the break is outside, between the street and the meter, that is the water company's side. If it is between the meter pit and the house, or inside, it is yours. The diagram below shows the split.
What Lexington's freezes look like
Kentucky winters swing hard. These two events from the National Weather Service in Louisville show why pipes that survive most of the season still split.
December 22 and 23, 2022
An Arctic front crashed temperatures 50 degrees in 12 hours, from the 40s on the afternoon of the 22nd to below zero the next morning. Wind gusts reached 40 mph and wind chills fell to 30 below, some of the coldest in 25 years. Daytime readings on the 23rd stayed in the single digits. The NWS 2022 review lists Lexington's low as 5 below zero on December 23. By the 29th it was back in the 60s.
January 2024
After two to four inches of snow on January 19, lows fell below zero for many on the 20th and 21st. The NWS January summary notes that Lexington dropped to 7 below zero on the 21st and then rose to 64 degrees on the 25th. A swing like that freezes a line, then thaws it four days later, and the leak shows up only when the ice melts.
Where Lexington pipes tend to freeze
Lines in exterior walls, crawlspaces, garages and under kitchen sinks on outside walls are the usual suspects. Kentucky American Water's tips include keeping a slow trickle running through faucets on pipes in unheated or unprotected spaces when temperatures drop below freezing, and setting the thermostat no lower than 55 degrees if you are leaving town. Disconnect garden hoses before the first hard freeze; a hose left on can keep water in the outside faucet. A line that splits under the house can soak the ground for hours before anyone notices; the crawl space page covers drying that space.
The plumber fixes the pipe. Someone else dries the house.
A burst pipe usually means two separate jobs. A plumber repairs or replaces the broken section. HomeGuide's national figures put a burst pipe repair at about $400 to $2,000, or $150 to $250 per linear foot, with emergency plumbing labor often $120 to $300 or more an hour. A basement location can run from $250 to $5,000.
The water damage is a different trade. A restoration company extracts the standing water, opens up wet walls and ceilings, and dries the framing. A supply-line break is clean water, so if it is caught quickly most of the structure can be dried rather than replaced. See the typical drying prices for typical drying ranges.
Questions for the restoration company
- Will you use a moisture meter or thermal camera to find where the water went inside the walls and ceiling?
- How many days of equipment do you expect, and how is that billed?
- Which parts will be cut out, and can I see the readings that justify it?
- Will you give me photos and drying logs I can pass to my insurer myself?
The Kentucky Department of Insurance's disaster page adds two more: ask for the contract in writing, with a description of the work, the total cost and a completion date, and do not pay for the whole job before the work is done.
Burst pipe questions
The water main on my street broke. Who do I call?
A break in the main under the street belongs to the water company. In most of Fayette County that is Kentucky American Water, and its emergency number is on your bill. If the water is flooding the road or a storm drain is overwhelmed, report the location to LexCall 311 as well. If your house took on water from it, a restoration company can dry it; questions about who pays for that go to the utility and your insurer.
After a break, is my tap water safe?
Follow your water utility. When a break causes a loss of pressure, utilities sometimes issue a boil water advisory for the affected area. If one is issued, use boiled or bottled water for drinking, cooking and brushing teeth until it is lifted. When service comes back, run the cold tap until the water clears.