Frozen & burst pipes
Frozen Pipe Repair in Collingwood
The pipe freezes on the cold night and splits at the thaw. Frozen pipe repair here is mostly about houses nobody is standing in.
Close the main shut-off first. A frozen supply line is a closed pipe full of ice, and the damage arrives when the ice thaws and the split it caused starts to run. With the main closed, the thaw is an inconvenience. With it open, the thaw is a flood.
Why the pipe splits at the thaw
Ice forming in a pipe rarely splits it at the ice. Water expands as it freezes, and the plug traps pressure between itself and a closed tap further along. The split happens in that trapped section, often a metre from where the ice sits. So the water usually starts running on the mild afternoon after the cold snap, which is exactly when nobody is checking.
On this shoreline that afternoon is often in a chalet in The Blue Mountains or a cottage in Wasaga Beach that nobody will visit until Friday. The failure is ordinary. The discovery date is what makes it expensive.
What frozen pipe repair involves
- Find the frozen section. It is almost always on an outside wall, in a crawl space, near a garage, or where a supply line runs through an unheated space.
- Thaw it slowly with warm air or a heat gun held well back, working from the open tap toward the ice. Never an open flame.
- Pressure-test the line before trusting it. A split often shows only when the pressure comes back.
- Cut out the damaged section and repair it in copper or PEX, matching what is there.
- Fix the cause: insulation, heat trace cable, a re-routed line, or a shutdown routine for the empty months.
Copper, PEX and Poly-B freeze differently
Copper splits along its length. PEX stretches and usually survives a freeze or two, but the fittings do not always. Grey Poly-B supply pipe from the 1980s and 1990s fails at its fittings first. If a freeze has exposed Poly-B, Poly-B replacement is worth pricing before the next winter.
Burst pipe repair in a seasonal property
A house that was empty when the pipe let go needs more than the pipe fixed. Water heaters, well pumps and pressure tanks can freeze too, and the heating system may be the reason the pipe froze in the first place. Collingwood Plumbers checks the whole water side before the main goes back on.
Stopping it happening again next January
For a house that stays empty, draining is the only measure that removes the risk instead of managing it. Cottage winterizing covers the full shutdown. For a house that stays heated, the fix is the specific run of pipe that froze: insulation, heat trace or a new route inside the heated envelope.
FAQ
Frozen & burst pipes — common questions
How do I thaw a frozen pipe safely?
Close the main shut-off, open the nearest cold tap, and warm the pipe slowly with a hair dryer or warm air, starting near the tap and working toward the ice. Never use an open flame. If the frozen section is inside a wall or ceiling, leave the main closed and call a plumber.
Will my pipe burst when it thaws?
It may already have split, and the thaw is when you find out. The split usually happens in the section between the ice and a closed tap, where pressure builds. Keep the main closed until the line is thawed and checked.
Does insurance cover a burst pipe in an empty cottage?
That depends on the policy wording, and many policies on seasonal or unoccupied buildings set conditions, such as heat maintained, water shut off, or regular checks. Read the clause or ask your broker before winter, not after the thaw.
Talk to a Collingwood plumber
Collingwood Plumbers needs three things: the town, whether the house is on town water or a private well, and what the water is doing. Those three decide most of the job, from who you should actually call, to whether the fix is a valve, a pump or a pipe.