Frozen Pipe Repair and Thawing in Ogden
Shut the water off at the main before you thaw anything. If the pipe has already split, you will not know until it thaws and starts flowing, and by then you want the water already off.
What to do right now
Do these first. None of them need tools or plumbing knowledge, and they limit what this ends up costing you.
Stop and get out if any of these are true
Never use an open flame, a blowtorch or a propane heater on a frozen pipe. It is the most common cause of house fires during a cold snap in Northern Utah, and it can boil water inside a sealed section and rupture it.
- Shut off the water at the mainIn most Ogden homes the main shutoff is where the supply line comes through the foundation wall, usually in the basement or crawlspace on the street side, often near the meter or the water heater. Turn it clockwise. If it will not move, do not force it, because an old gate valve can snap.
- Get heat into the space, gentlyA space heater or a hair dryer, working from the tap end back toward the frozen section. Never an open flame, never a blowtorch, never a heat gun held in one place.
- Open the lowest tap in the houseOnce the main is off, open a basement or ground floor tap so the remaining pressure drains out rather than pushing water through the failure.
- Photograph everything before you clean upPhotos and a short video of the water, the source and every damaged item. If you claim on insurance this is the evidence, and it cannot be recreated once the area is dry.
Does this need a plumber tonight?
- No water at all while the house is below freezing
- A pipe that has frozen and then started leaking
- A frozen pipe you cannot reach or isolate
- Any frozen run near an electrical panel
- A frozen main line into the house
- One frozen outside hose bib you have isolated and drained
- A frozen line to a fixture you can leave off until morning
- Slow flow at one tap during a cold snap with everything else working
Why the damage shows up during the thaw
Water expands as it freezes and splits the pipe wall, but the ice itself plugs the split. Nothing leaks until it melts. That is why a burst pipe usually announces itself on the first warm afternoon rather than on the coldest night.
This is the single most useful thing to know during a cold snap. If you have had no water at a tap for a day or two, do not simply wait for it to come back. Shut the main off first, then thaw, then open the water slowly and watch the pipe while it fills.
It also explains the pattern of calls in Weber County. The phone is quiet during the freeze itself and then very busy two days later when temperatures climb back above freezing.
Which runs freeze first in Northern Utah houses
The same places every year. Uninsulated crawlspaces, pipes in exterior walls, garage walls, and hose bibs left connected to a hose over winter.
Ogden's bench neighbourhoods and the Ogden Valley communities of Eden and Huntsville run several degrees colder than the valley floor, and their overnight lows sit below freezing for longer stretches. Older homes with crawlspaces rather than full basements are the most exposed, because the plumbing sits in a space that is barely warmer than outside.
The single most preventable failure is the hose bib. A hose left connected traps water in the bib and in the wall behind it. Disconnecting it in October costs nothing and prevents a repair inside a wall.
- Crawlspace runs with no insulation, first to go every year
- Pipes inside north facing exterior walls
- Garage walls and unheated utility spaces
- Hose bibs with a hose still attached
- Lines to seldom used bathrooms in unheated additions
- Second homes and cabins left at low heat
Thawing safely
Warm the whole area gradually rather than heating one spot hard, and work from the tap end back toward the frozen section so meltwater has somewhere to go.
Open the affected tap first. That gives the melting ice an escape route and tells you the moment flow returns. A space heater in the room, a hair dryer moved constantly, or heat tape rated for the job are all fine. Heating one spot with a concentrated source can flash trapped water to steam inside a closed section, which does far more damage than the freeze did.
If you cannot reach the frozen section, if it is inside a wall, or if flow does not return after a reasonable effort, stop. A frozen main or a frozen run inside a wall is not a homeowner job.
What frozen pipe work costs
[PLACEHOLDER: PRICING] Pending from the client.
Thawing an accessible run is a short visit. Thawing something inside a wall or under a floor takes longer because reaching it is the work. If the pipe has split, the repair is priced as a pipe repair on top.
In a cold snap the honest advice is often preventative rather than billable: get heat into the crawlspace, open cabinet doors under sinks on exterior walls, and leave a tap trickling overnight.
Questions people ask about this
At what temperature do pipes freeze?
Pipe freezing generally starts to become a risk when the outdoor temperature holds around 20F or below for several hours, though an uninsulated crawlspace or an exterior wall can freeze well before the air temperature suggests it. Wind and duration matter as much as the number.
Should I leave a tap dripping?
During a hard freeze, yes. Moving water is much harder to freeze, and an open tap relieves the pressure that actually splits the pipe. A slow trickle at the fixture furthest from the main is the usual advice.
Can I use a hair dryer?
Yes, moved constantly and never left in one place. What you must not use is an open flame, a blowtorch, or a propane heater aimed at the pipe.
How do I know if it burst while frozen?
You often cannot until it thaws. Shut the main off before thawing, then open the water slowly and watch the pipe while it refills. That way any split shows itself while the water is still under your control.
My pipes froze once. Will it happen again?
Almost certainly, in the same place, unless something changes. Insulating that run, sealing the air leak that is chilling it, or adding heat tape is far cheaper than the repair.
Not sure how urgent this is?
Describe what you can see and hear. We will tell you whether it needs someone tonight, and what to do in the meantime either way.
Emergency line: [PLACEHOLDER: PHONE]
Or send it over
Four things and a photo.