Burst Pipe in Fort Worth: What to Do First

The order that limits the damage

1. Close the main. While that valve is open, the split keeps pushing water into the wall, ceiling or crawlspace.
2. Shut down the water heater. Flip the breaker off for an electric unit, or set a gas unit's control knob to "pilot" or "off".
3. Open faucets to drain what's left. Run the lowest tub or sink on hot and cold, plus one upstairs faucet if you have a second floor, so the water still in the lines leaves there instead of through the break.
4. Cut power to the wet rooms, but only from a dry spot.
5. Photograph the damage before you mop.
6. Call us, then lift rugs and electronics off the floor and set buckets under any drips.

Where the main shut-off is in local homes

The meter box

The water meter sits in a box set into the ground, usually near a property line. The city's own freeze advice points residents to the valve on their side of the meter box; that's the one to turn. Lift the lid with care (wasps like it in there) and turn the house-side handle until it stops; many need a meter key or a big pair of pliers. Once it's closed, the flow indicator on the meter face stops moving. Put the lid back, since the city says it helps insulate the meter.

The house valve

Many homes also have a valve where the supply line reaches the building. On slab houses, look by the foundation near a front hose bib, in the garage or in the water heater closet. In older pier-and-beam houses in Riverside, Oakhurst and Six Points, near our N Sylvania Ave address, check where the line comes through the foundation or just inside the crawlspace opening. Old wheel-style valves often seize, so turn firmly but don't snap the stem.

Condo and apartment units

Many condo units have their own shut-off, often in the water heater closet or behind an access panel. If you can't find one, close the stop valve under the leaking fixture. Management or the HOA controls the building main, so call them next, especially if water may be reaching the unit below.

Keep electricity and water apart

Water from a split pipe finds outlets, light fixtures and power strips. If the breaker panel is somewhere dry and you can reach it without standing in water, switch off the circuits for the wet rooms. If the panel is in the flooded area, or water is dripping through a ceiling light, stay out and leave it to an electrician. Keep people and pets out from under any ceiling that bulges with water; it can give way.

Photos and notes for your insurance claim

• Shoot wide pictures of each wet room first, then close-ups of the broken pipe, stained drywall and swollen cabinets.
• Note when you found the leak and when the water went off.
• Keep the cut-out piece of pipe after the repair; an adjuster may want to see it.
• Save receipts for fans, towels and other emergency costs, and photograph ruined items before they go to the curb.

Call your insurer early, and before you throw anything away.

Where freeze bursts happen in Fort Worth houses

During Winter Storm Uri in February 2021, frozen pipes flooded buildings around Fort Worth, and the city logged more breaks on its own water mains after Feb. 14 than in all of 2020. Inside homes, the usual weak points are:

• Attics. Many slab homes carry supply pipe overhead, and a split up there shows up as a stained or sagging ceiling.
• Exterior walls. Kitchen and bathroom lines on outside walls freeze behind closed cabinet doors.
• Crawlspaces. Pier-and-beam houses hang pipe in vented space under the floor, often old galvanized steel.
• Hose bibs. A hose left attached traps water, and the faucet can crack inside the wall, unseen until spring.

For thawing advice and prevention, read our frozen pipes page and the freeze prep checklist.

What the plumber does on arrival

• Confirms the supply is off, then finds the break, opening only as much drywall as the repair needs.
• Cuts out the damaged length and splices in new copper, PEX or CPVC to suit your system, with the right transition fittings where it meets old galvanized pipe.
• Refills the lines slowly and checks the whole system under pressure, since one freeze can crack several spots.
• Puts the water heater back in service.
• Flags weak points, such as bare attic runs or galvanized lines worth repiping, and uses leak detection if water keeps turning up after the fix.

Our repairs are done under Texas plumbing license # M-27587. Offers that apply: a $0 dispatch fee with a repair and $50 off for new customers (terms on our coupons page).

Burst pipe questions

Pipe burst? Close the main, then call

Once the water is off, phone (817) 755-5621 from Fort Worth or the nearby Tarrant County towns we serve. For other urgent problems, see emergency plumbing.

Office hours 8 AM–11 PM daily · 24/7 emergency service