# Burst and Frozen Pipe Repair in Columbus, Ohio

> Burst pipe repair in Columbus: what to do first when a frozen supply line splits, how the repair is made, and how to reroute or insulate exterior-wall pipe.

URL: https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/burst-pipe-repair/

Frozen and split supply pipe repaired back to sound pipe, with the run that froze rerouted, insulated or protected so the next cold snap does not split it again.

Last Updated: October 29, 2026

Frozen and split supply pipe repaired back to sound pipe, with the run that froze rerouted, insulated or protected so the next cold snap does not split it again.

Last Updated: October 29, 2026

**103.2** Nights a year at or below 32F at the Columbus airport station, by NOAA's climate normals

**27.6** Days a year when the temperature in Columbus never rises above freezing

**32 in** Frost line depth for the City of Columbus, set by Building and Zoning Services

**0 to 10F** Winter design temperature for Columbus, the cold that heating and pipe protection are planned around

[Slate Repiping Columbus](https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/) handles burst and frozen supply pipe repair in Columbus houses and small buildings and across nearby Franklin County communities. A burst pipe is a supply line that split, usually because water froze inside it, and the water keeps flowing at full pressure until someone shuts it off. The repair is the second step. The first is stopping the water, and that is something you do yourself before anyone arrives. The work is carried out by licensed and insured plumbing contractors.

The steps below come before calling anyone. The [burst pipe guide](https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/guide/burst-pipe-what-to-do/) goes into more detail on each.

## What to do right now

> Safety first
>
> Water and electricity together are dangerous. If water is near the electrical panel, outlets, a ceiling light or an appliance, do not walk into it or touch anything electrical. Leave the area and call the electric utility or an electrician.

1. **Shut off the main.** In most Columbus houses the main shutoff is in the basement near the inside water meter, where the service line comes in. Turn a round handle clockwise or a lever a quarter turn across the pipe. If the valve will not move, do not force it until it breaks. The valve at the curb is part of the City’s service, so call Columbus Water & Power or your suburb’s water department about it.
2. **Open a faucet at the lowest point** in the house, such as a laundry tub or a basement sink, to drain pressure out of the lines.
3. **Deal with the water heater.** Once the main is off, if hot water is draining out, set a gas heater to pilot or vacation, or switch off an electric heater’s breaker from a dry spot.
4. **Move what you can** out of the water and start pulling it away from walls. Photograph the split and the damage before cleanup for any insurance claim.
5. **Call** and describe the pipe, the location and whether the water heater or electrical service is involved. Emergency calls for burst pipes are answered around the clock, and the [emergency pipe repair page](https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/emergency-pipe-repair/) explains what the urgent visit covers.

Never thaw a frozen pipe with an open flame. A hair dryer or warm air near the pipe is safer, with a faucet open so meltwater can escape, and only where the pipe has not already split.

## Why Columbus pipes freeze

Columbus is cold for long stretches rather than briefly. By NOAA’s 1991 to 2020 normals for the airport station, the city averages 103.2 nights a year at or below 32F, and 27.6 days a year when the temperature never rises above freezing at all. There are about 10 nights a year at or below 10F, and a couple at or below zero. Building and Zoning Services uses a frost line depth of 32 inches and a winter design temperature of 0 to 10F for the city.

Those numbers matter because a pipe freezes when the space around it stays below freezing for hours, not when it is briefly cold outside. A sustained cold spell after a mild stretch, a power outage, a furnace failure, or a house left with the heat turned low while people are away are the usual triggers. The pipes that freeze first are the ones closest to the cold: supply lines in exterior walls, the kitchen sink line under a window, hose bibb lines through the rim joist, pipe in crawlspaces and unheated garages, and lines in additions built over an open or poorly insulated floor.

## How a burst pipe is repaired

The split is cut out back to pipe that was not damaged. On copper that is easy to see, because freezing leaves a lengthwise bulge or crack. On PEX the tubing itself may survive while a fitting cracks. On older galvanized, a freeze often finds the rusted threads first, and the [guide to identifying pipe material](https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/guide/how-to-identify-pipe-material/) helps tell which you have. New pipe goes in and joins the existing material through a listed fitting or transition, the same way any [supply pipe repair](https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/pipe-repair/) is made.

The rest of the run is checked as well. A pipe that froze can have weakened spots that have not opened yet, and fittings loosened by the ice may leak later. Bringing the whole frozen run up to pressure before closing anything is how those are found. If the split was inside a wall, the opening also shows whether the cavity is wet and needs drying, which is a separate job for a water damage restoration company. The [page on calling a plumber for water leaks](https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/plumber-for-water-leaks/) covers that side, including how insurance usually treats a sudden burst.

## Rerouting and insulating exterior-wall runs

A pipe that froze once will freeze again unless something changes. Repairing the split puts the same pipe back in the same cold spot. There are three ways to change that, and the right one depends on the house.

### Reroute the line inside

Moving the supply line from an exterior wall to an interior wall, a cabinet back or the basement ceiling takes it out of the cold altogether. This is the most reliable option, and it is often a short reroute: a kitchen sink line that drops into the basement through the floor rather than running up an outside wall, for example. In a house that is being [partially repiped](https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/partial-repiping/) or fully repiped anyway, the new layout should keep lines off exterior walls wherever possible.

### Insulate and air-seal

Where the line cannot move, the cavity around it can be improved. Insulation goes on the outside of the pipe and, more importantly, between the pipe and the cold side of the wall. Air leaks matter more than people expect. A gap in the rim joist or a hole for a cable can blow freezing air directly onto a pipe in an otherwise warm basement. Sealing those gaps is often the cheapest fix there is. If you cannot find where a slow drip is coming from after a thaw, [water leak detection](https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/water-leak-detection/) narrows it down before walls are opened.

### Protect the hose bibbs

Outside faucets are a common freeze point. A frost-free hose bibb puts the valve inside the heated wall, but only works if the hose is removed before cold weather so the line can drain. An interior shutoff and drain valve on the hose bibb line gives a second layer of protection. The [freezing pipes in Columbus winter post](https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/blog/freezing-pipes-columbus-winter/) covers what to do each fall.

## Does new pipe stop freezing?

Not by itself. PEX can stretch slightly as ice forms, so it often survives a freeze that would split copper, but fittings can still crack and repeated freezing still damages it. Copper splits more readily but is just as protected as PEX once it is inside the heated space. The material choice is covered in the [PEX vs copper guide](https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/guide/pex-vs-copper/); the freeze answer is location. A new pipe in the old exterior-wall route is a repair, not prevention. In a house where several runs have frozen and the pipe is old anyway, a [whole-house repipe](https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/whole-house-repiping/) is the chance to move every line inside.

## What a burst pipe repair depends on

There is no set price for a burst pipe. It depends on how much pipe the freeze damaged, how much of the wall or ceiling has to open to reach it, the material, and whether the line is repaired in place or rerouted. Water damage cleanup, drying and finish repairs are separate from the plumbing and are usually priced by a restoration company. Insurance often treats a sudden freeze split differently from a slow leak, and the [homeowners insurance guide](https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/guide/homeowners-insurance-repiping/) explains the general distinction.

## What's included

- Help finding the main shutoff and confirming the house is isolated
- Location of the split and any other damage on the frozen run
- Removal of the split section back to undamaged pipe
- New pipe and fittings, joined to the existing material with listed transitions
- A pressure check of the whole run that froze, not just the visible split
- A plan to reroute, insulate or protect the line so it is not exposed again
- A note of openings made and who closes them

## Three ways to deal with a pipe that froze in an exterior wall

|  | Repair in place | Insulate and air-seal | Reroute to an interior wall |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| What changes | Only the split section | The cavity around the pipe | Where the pipe runs |
| Freeze risk afterwards | The same as before | Lower, depends on the wall and the cold | Lowest, pipe is inside the heated house |
| Openings | One, at the split | The full length of the exposed run | Interior walls or cabinets along the new route |
| Fits when | The freeze had a one-time cause, like heat off | The run cannot move | The same run has frozen before |

## Related resources

- Learn [What should you do when a pipe bursts?](https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/guide/burst-pipe-what-to-do/)A step-by-step order for the first ten minutes, the first day and the week after a burst pipe, with what to photograph for the insurer and how to keep it from happening again in a Columbus winter.
- Learn [Does homeowners insurance cover repiping?](https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/guide/homeowners-insurance-repiping/)How policies usually separate sudden water damage from wear and slow leaks, why replacing old pipe is treated as maintenance, what to photograph and keep after a leak, and where to take a question about your own policy.
- Decision Guide [PEX vs copper repiping: which fits your house?](https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/guide/pex-vs-copper/)Both are allowed by the Ohio Plumbing Code. The choice turns on the house: its access, its exposure to cold and sunlight, the budget, and how long the owner plans to stay.
- Learn [How do you identify lead pipes and other pipe materials?](https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/guide/how-to-identify-pipe-material/)A refrigerator magnet, a coin and a flashlight answer most of the question. This guide shows what each pipe looks like, how to check safely, where Columbus's map helps, and what each material means for the house.

## How a repipe runs

1. First call Describe the houseIts age, the pipe you can see in the basement, the leaks so far and which floors lose pressure.
2. Walk through Map and scopeMains, branches, shutoffs and fixtures traced from the meter; material, openings and permit agreed in writing.
3. Pipe day Replace and reconnectWater shut off in stages, new lines run, fixtures and the water heater reconnected.
4. Sign off Test, inspect, patchPressure test and flush, permit inspections, then the openings are closed.

## What this work looks like

Copper pipe split open and bulged from freezing, lying on a towel on a workbench, in an older Columbus home

Gray foam insulation on a water line running along the top of a basement wall near the rim joist, in an older Columbus home

Opening cut in the wall beside a sink cabinet showing wet insulation and a copper pipe, with a fan drying it, in an older Columbus home

Gloved hand turning the round handle of an old main shutoff valve beside a water meter, in an older Columbus home

## Burst pipe repair questions

### Should I turn off the water heater when a pipe bursts?

If the main is shut off and hot water is draining out of the house, yes. On a gas heater, set the control to pilot or vacation. On an electric heater, switch off its breaker, but only from a dry spot. An electric element running in a tank that has drained can burn out.

### Is PEX less likely to burst in a freeze than copper?

PEX can stretch a little as water freezes, so it often survives a freeze that would split copper. It is not freeze-proof. Fittings can still crack, and a line that freezes repeatedly can fail. Moving or protecting the run matters more than the material.

### Why did my pipe leak days after it thawed?

Freezing can bulge or crack a pipe without opening it right away, and a fitting can be loosened by the ice. The leak shows when pressure returns or the weakened spot finally gives. That is why the whole run that froze is pressure checked, not only the visible split.

### Where do pipes freeze most in Columbus houses?

Along exterior walls, especially kitchen sink lines under windows, hose bibb lines through rim joists, crawlspaces, unheated garages and additions built over open or poorly insulated floors. Pipe near a foundation vent or a gap in the rim joist freezes before pipe in the middle of the basement.

## Related services

### Pipe repair

A leaking joint, a split section or a rotted galvanized nipple repaired in matching or listed transition material, with an honest read on the pipe around it.

### Water leak repair

A known leak, from a ceiling stain to a wet wall or a meter that will not stop, traced to its source, stopped and repaired, with the water damage side kept separate and documented.

### Partial repiping

One section of the water supply replaced, such as the hot side, a bath group, a floor or the basement main, with the boundary and the old pipe that stays written into the scope.