Broken Water Line
Shut the main off first, then work out which side of it the break is on. Inside the house is a plumbing repair. Between the meter and the house is excavation and a different conversation entirely.
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
Water has reached an electrical panel, an outlet or an appliance and you cannot cut the power from a dry position. In that case leave the area, do not touch switches, and call from outside.
- 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.
- 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.
- Move what water can ruinLift boxes, rugs, electronics and anything sitting on a basement floor. Most of the cost of a plumbing emergency is damage to belongings rather than the repair itself.
- 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?
- Water escaping that you cannot stop
- A break on the line before the house shutoff
- Water surfacing in the yard or at the kerb
- Loss of pressure with the meter spinning
- A break you have isolated at the main with the area dry
- A break on an outside line you can leave off overnight
Inside or outside the shutoff
If closing the house shutoff stops the water, the break is inside and it is a normal repair. If water keeps flowing or the meter keeps turning, the break is on the buried run and that is a larger job.
This distinction is worth establishing before anyone quotes, because the two jobs have very different costs and are sometimes conflated. A homeowner who has been told they need their service line replaced should be certain the failure is actually out there.
In cold weather a break on the buried run may produce no surface water at all, which is why the meter is the more reliable evidence.
Why lines break
Freezing, corrosion, ground movement and physical damage from digging. In Ogden the first two account for most of it.
Freezing splits the pipe wall from the inside. Corrosion thins it until it can no longer hold pressure, which is the galvanised story again. Ground movement stresses joints, particularly on older jointed materials.
Physical damage is the avoidable one. Anyone digging on a property should establish where the service line runs before starting, because striking it is both expensive and entirely preventable.
- Freezing, particularly on shallow or unprotected runs
- Corrosion of galvanised steel service lines
- Ground movement stressing older joints
- Damage during excavation or fence post work
- Tree root pressure against a service line
What a broken line costs
[PLACEHOLDER: PRICING] Pending from the client.
An interior break is a standard pipe repair. A buried service line failure is priced by depth, length and what has to be dug through.
Questions people ask about this
How do I know if the break is outside?
Close the house shutoff and watch the meter. Still moving means outside. It is the same test as for a hidden leak and it is equally decisive.
Who pays for a break in the street?
The utility is normally responsible for the main and the meter, and the homeowner for the line from the meter to the house. Confirm the boundary with your provider.
I hit a pipe while digging.
Shut the main immediately and call. Do not attempt to patch a service line under pressure, and note exactly where it was because that saves considerable time.
If that is not quite what you have
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.
Or send it over
Four things and a photo.