Frozen and burst pipe repair in northern Utah

A frozen pipe shows up as a faucet that gives a trickle or nothing on a cold morning. Do these things in order:

1. Open the faucet that the pipe feeds, hot and cold. You will see when water starts to flow again, and moving water helps melt the ice.
2. Find your main water valve now, in case the pipe has split.
3. Open the cabinet doors under the sink so the room's heat reaches the pipe.
4. If you can see the frozen section, warm it with a hair dryer or a space heater. Start at the faucet end and work toward the cold part. Keep the heater away from anything that can burn, and keep cords out of water.
5. Never use a torch or any other open flame. South Jordan City gives the same warning (source).

Stop and call us if you cannot find the frozen spot, if it is inside a wall or a ceiling, or if the pipe has split or bulged. We find the frozen section, thaw it safely, and repair the pipe if it split.

A burst pipe lets out a lot of water quickly, so stop the water first.

1. Close the main water valve. Pleasant Grove City says most houses have a valve just inside the house where the water line comes in (source). Turn the handle until the water stops.
2. Stay out of standing water near outlets, cords, or appliances. Shut off power at the breaker only if you can reach the panel from a dry spot.
3. Open the faucets, starting on the lowest floor, to drain the water left in the pipes.
4. Move rugs, boxes, and furniture out of the water's path, and take photos of the damage.
5. Call our emergency line. It is answered 24/7.

Leave the main water valve closed until the pipe is repaired. A split in a pipe that is still frozen may not leak at all until the ice melts. Close the valve as soon as you see a split or a bulge, even if the pipe is dry.

A frozen pipe usually splits while it is frozen, but the leak shows up when it thaws.

Water expands when it turns to ice. As ice grows inside a pipe, it squeezes the water trapped between the ice and the closed faucet. The pressure in that trapped water climbs until the pipe or a fitting gives way. That is why the split is often not at the frozen spot.

While the ice is in place, it plugs the pipe, and little or no water comes out. When the ice lets go, water under full pressure runs out of the split. A pipe can freeze on a cold night and flood a room the next afternoon.

This is why the main water valve matters. Know where it is before you warm a frozen pipe, and watch the pipe as it thaws. If you see a split, a bulge, or a drip, close the valve and call.

The pipes that freeze first have cold air on them and no heat nearby.

• Pipes in outside walls. The usual spot is behind a kitchen or bathroom sink cabinet.
• Pipes in unheated spaces. South Jordan City names crawl spaces, garages, unfinished basements, and attics, and says these exposed pipes are the most susceptible to freezing (source).
• Hose bib lines. The pipe to an outdoor faucet freezes sooner with a garden hose left on it.
• Shallow buried lines. Summit County's building design criteria, effective July 1, 2026, list a frost line depth of 36 inches (source).
• Cabins and vacant homes. The heat is off or set low, and nobody is there to notice.

Hard freezes are routine here. The 1991–2020 climate normals for the Heber weather station show a normal January low of 12.5°F, and an average of 4.5 January days with a low at or below 0°F (source).

A frozen pipe repair has two parts: getting the water moving again, and fixing what the ice broke.

1. Find the frozen section. We check which fixtures have water and which do not, and follow the line to the cold spot.
2. Thaw it safely. We warm the pipe with the main water valve ready to close, and watch for leaks as the ice lets go.
3. Find every split. Ice can break a pipe in more than one place, and some splits are inside walls or ceilings.
4. Cut out the damage. We cut out the split section and put in new pipe and fittings.
5. Pressure-check. We turn the water back on and check the new joints and the rest of the line.
6. Look at the cause. We tell you why that pipe froze and what would protect it.

If the pipe is old and failing in many places, one repair will not end the leaks. Ask about repiping. Wet drywall, insulation, and flooring have to dry out after the pipe is fixed.

We give free estimates and do not post prices. These are the things that change the cost of frozen and burst pipe work:

• Frozen or burst. Thawing a pipe that did not split is a smaller job than replacing pipe.
• Where the pipe is. A pipe in an open basement or under a sink is easy to reach. A pipe inside a finished wall, a ceiling, or a crawl space takes more work.
• How many splits. One freeze can break a pipe in several places.
• The pipe material. Copper, PEX, CPVC, and galvanized steel are each repaired with different fittings.
• The cause. Moving a pipe out of an outside wall or replacing an outdoor faucet adds to the job.
• Water damage. Drying and repairing drywall and flooring is separate from the pipe repair.

Ask your insurance company what your policy covers before you approve the repair. We tell you the cost before we start the work.

Pipes freeze when cold air reaches them and the water inside sits still. Most of the prevention is done in the fall.

Before the first hard freeze:

• Disconnect garden hoses from the outdoor faucets.
• Insulate pipes in the crawl space, the garage, and the attic.
• Seal gaps where cold air blows in around pipes.
• Find your main water valve and make sure it turns.

On the coldest nights:

• Keep the heat on, even when you are away.
• Open the cabinet doors under sinks on outside walls.
• Let a faucet on an outside wall run at a trickle.
• Keep the garage door closed if water lines run through the garage.

Eagle Mountain City recommends winterizing a sprinkler system each October, or when temperatures consistently turn colder (source). A home or cabin that will sit empty needs more, and our winterization page explains it. If the pipes froze because the boiler quit, see boiler repair.