How to Tell a Pipe Has Frozen
A frozen pipe rarely announces itself until you turn a tap and nothing comes out.
Watch for these signs, especially during a cold snap:
- One tap runs at a trickle or not at all while the rest of the house works
- Frost or condensation on an exposed section of pipe
- A visible bulge in a pipe run
- Banging or clanking sounds when you open a faucet
- A sink or bathroom on an outside wall that’s noticeably colder than the rest of the house
- An odd smell from a drain, which can mean the drain line itself has frozen
Catch it at this stage and it’s usually a thawing job. Miss it, and the next sign is water coming through a ceiling.
Frozen Pipe? Do This First (and What Not to Do)
What you do in the first ten minutes decides whether this stays a frozen pipe or becomes a flooded wall.
Here’s the safe order of operations before our plumber arrives.
- Leave the affected tap open. It relieves pressure in the line and gives melting water somewhere to go.
- Find your main shut-off valve so you can close it in seconds if the pipe turns out to be split.
- Warm the area gently. Open cabinet doors, let household heat reach the pipe, or aim a hair dryer at the frozen section, working from the tap toward the blockage.
- Never use an open flame. A torch or heat gun on high can boil water inside the pipe, burst it, and set the wall cavity on fire. Frozen pipe fires happen in London every winter.
- Call (226) 400-4485 if the pipe is inside a wall, under a floor, or the tap still won’t run. That’s exactly the job we’re equipped for.
Frozen & Burst Pipe Repair Services in London
Safe Pipe Thawing
Thawing a pipe too fast is how a freeze becomes a flood. We locate the frozen section, thaw it in a slow, controlled way with professional equipment, and watch the line for leaks as pressure returns.
No torches, no guesswork, no water damage on the way out.
- Locating the frozen section
- Controlled electric and heat thawing
- Pipes in walls, floors, and crawl spaces
- Frozen drain and supply lines
Burst & Split Pipe Repair
If the ice already won, speed is everything. Our emergency plumber team shuts the water down, cuts out the split section, and gets your supply back the same day, whether it’s a pinhole crack or a fully burst line.
- Burst pipe response, day or night
- Split section cut-out and replacement
- Fitting and joint repair
- Water shut-down and damage control
Hidden Damage Checks After a Freeze
A pipe can crack in three places and only leak from one. After thawing or a burst repair, we pressure test the line and use leak detection equipment to find hairline splits before the walls get closed up, so you don’t meet the same leak again in April.
- Pressure testing after thawing
- Acoustic and thermal leak checks
- Inspection of nearby fittings and joints
- Written summary of what we found
Freeze Prevention & Pipe Insulation
The cheapest frozen pipe is the one that never freezes. We insulate exposed runs, install heat cable on vulnerable lines, winterize outdoor faucets, and reroute pipes that sit in cold exterior walls, so next January is quiet.
- Pipe insulation and heat cable
- Outdoor faucet and hose bib winterization
- Rerouting freeze-prone lines
- Crawl space and garage line protection
