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Rack of tools

Call sheet: ice in the line

Frozen Pipe Thawing in Whitby

A tap that dribbles or stays dry at dawn in a deep freeze usually means a section of pipe has frozen solid. Thawing it carefully is the difference between a delay and a flood.

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  • Licensed & insured trade work
  • Scope agreed before we start
  • Urgent calls triaged first

Signs you need this

  • Brown rings growing on drywall under an ensuite
  • Water meter turning with every tap closed
  • Pinholes or green crust on copper
  • Low pressure at every fixture at once

Kit on the van, and the method

  1. Pipe cutters for copper, PEX and galvanized
  2. Torch, flux and lead-free solder
  3. Crimp and expansion tools for PEX
  4. Pressure gauge and moisture meter

Before we leave: Pressure-hold the repaired run and watch the gauge before walls close.

Where pipes freeze

Durham winters regularly bring stretches well below minus fifteen, and wind off the lake makes it worse along exposed walls. The usual freeze spots we see:

  • Lines inside outer walls, kitchen sinks most of all.
  • Pipes over garages or crawlspaces, and in cantilevered floors.
  • The water service where it enters a cold basement corner.
  • Hose bibs with a hose still attached.
  • Lines in cottage-style additions with thin insulation.

What to do right now

  1. Open the affected faucet so melting water can move and pressure has an exit.
  2. Find the main valve so you can close it fast if a split appears.
  3. Warm the room: open cabinet doors, raise the thermostat, use a space heater kept well away from anything flammable.
  4. Keep torches and flames away from frozen pipe. Torches start house fires every winter.
Field note. When nothing in the house flows and the meter corner is chilly, the service pipe itself may be frozen. That needs a different approach than a single branch.

How we thaw

For accessible copper and steel, we use controlled heat: heat guns, heat wraps, and on metal service pipes, electric thawing equipment that warms the pipe from inside by passing current through it, used with the house bonding taken into account. For PEX and plastic we use gentle heat only. For pipes inside walls we warm the cavity from a cut access or the room below. Throughout, a helper watches for drips as the ice releases.

After it flows

Thawing often reveals a split that was holding back water while frozen. We pressure-check the line and repair what we find, which our burst pipe repair page covers. Then we fix the cause: insulation, sealing air leaks at the rim joist, rerouting, or a heat cable. Our frozen pipes and winterizing notes cover prevention.

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