SERVICE №06 — THAW SERVICE FROM $189
Frozen & Burst Pipes
A Wisconsin specialty, unfortunately. Safe electric thawing, burst repair in copper or PEX, and the re-routing that stops the same pipe freezing every January.
For the kitchen faucet that quits every time it hits ten below, the cottage that didn't get winterized in time, and the wall that just started leaking during the thaw.
How we handle it
Every January cold snap, the calls stack up the same way: a kitchen sink on an outside wall stops running, then a hose bib splits, then somewhere on the block a supply line lets go inside a wall. Frozen pipes aren't bad luck — they're a design flaw meeting a -12°F night. We fix the emergency, then we fix the flaw.
Thawing a pipe safely matters more than thawing it fast. We use controlled electric thawing and heat guns with the water supply managed — never an open torch in a joist bay, which is how frozen-pipe calls become house-fire calls. Once water's moving, we pressure-check the run, because a pipe that froze hard has often split somewhere you can't see yet.
Then the part most companies skip: we tell you why it froze and what ends it for good. Re-routing the run off the outside wall, insulating the joist bay, a frost-free sillcock to replace the split hose bib, heat cable where re-routing isn't practical. Torch-sweat copper or PEX-A — done right, you stop budgeting for a plumber every winter.
What's included
- Safe electric pipe thawing — from $189, no open flame near framing
- Pressure test of the full run after every thaw
- Burst repair in copper (torch-sweat, not push-fit-and-pray) or PEX-A
- Frost-free sillcock replacement for split hose bibs
- Re-routes and insulation to stop repeat freezing
- Cottage and rental winterization service each fall
- Water damage referral to restoration crews we actually trust
Frozen & Burst Pipes — questions we actually get
My pipes are frozen but nothing's leaking. Do I still need you?
Open the faucet, keep gentle heat in the room, and don't use a torch. If it doesn't clear within an hour or two, call — ice expands and the longer the run stays frozen, the more likely it splits. And once it thaws, watch that run: splits reveal themselves at the melt, not the freeze.
Copper or PEX for the repair?
Both are right in different spots. We torch-sweat copper where it matches the system and stays visible; PEX-A where the run needs freeze tolerance or a long fish through framing — it expands instead of bursting. What we don't do is glue-and-go with push-fittings buried in a wall.
How do I keep this from happening again?
On brutal nights: cabinet doors open on outside-wall sinks, a pencil-thick trickle at the farthest faucet, garage door shut. Permanently: let us re-route or insulate the run that keeps freezing. One re-route usually costs less than two emergency thaws.
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