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Frozen pipes: prevent, thaw safely, and know the repair cost
The short answer
Prevent frozen pipes by insulating exposed runs, sealing drafts where pipes pass, keeping the house heated, and letting faucets on exterior walls drip during deep cold. Thaw a frozen pipe slowly with a hair dryer or space heater, never a torch, with the faucet open. A burst pipe repair typically costs $250 to $1,000 or more depending on access, and the water damage around it usually costs more than the pipe.
Pipes burst not where they freeze solid, but where ice expansion traps and pressurizes water downstream. That is why a pipe can split in a warm room fed by a frozen section in a cold one, and why thawing order and patience matter.
Cold-climate readers will find this routine. Sun Belt readers, whose homes were built assuming freezes do not happen, are the ones who need it most when the rare hard freeze arrives.
Prevention, before the cold snap
- Insulate pipes in crawlspaces, attics, garages, and exterior walls with foam sleeves
- Seal the holes and cracks where pipes and wires enter cold zones
- Disconnect hoses, shut interior valves to outdoor faucets, and drain them
- Know the main shutoff location and confirm it turns
- During deep cold: cabinet doors open under sinks on exterior walls, faucets dripping a pencil-thin stream, heat kept at 55 degrees or above even when away
Thawing, safely
Open the faucet first, so melting water and steam have somewhere to go. Apply gentle heat starting near the faucet and working toward the coldest section: hair dryer, heat lamp, or a space heater at a safe distance. Never use a torch, kerosene heater, or charcoal device indoors. If the pipe is inside a wall or you cannot find the freeze, a plumber with a thawing machine is the right call.
Stop and check constantly for leaks as it thaws. The split often reveals itself only when water flows again. Be standing at the shutoff, metaphorically, the whole time.
If it bursts
Shut the main valve first, then power to wet areas if outlets are involved, then call the plumber and start moving belongings. Photograph everything for insurance before cleanup. Pipe repair itself runs $250 to $1,000 or more by access and material. Drying, flooring, and wall repair are where the real money goes, which is the entire argument for the prevention list above.
Questions homeowners ask
Which pipes freeze first?
Runs in unheated spaces and exterior walls, especially on the north side, and any pipe in a draft path. Outdoor faucets and their interior feeds are the classic failure.
Does dripping really work?
Yes: moving water resists freezing and, just as importantly, an open faucet relieves the pressure that bursts pipes. A slow drip is cheap insurance.
My pipe froze but did not burst. Am I fine?
Mostly, but inspect the whole run as it thaws and for days after. Freeze stress can start a slow leak at a joint that shows up later.