Frozen pipes causing ceiling damage

Which pipes freeze

The pipe that splits is almost always one that runs somewhere the heat doesn't reach, like an outside wall, an attic, a crawl space or the ceiling over a garage. A gap in the insulation or a draft blowing on the run is usually what lets the cold in. The first hard night of the season does the most damage, because nobody has closed off the outside taps or sealed the drafts yet.

The first hour

• Close the main shutoff, then open the lowest tap in the house to drain what is left in the lines.
• Switch off the lights and any circuit feeding the wet ceiling at the breaker panel.
• Keep everyone out from under a ceiling that sags or bulges. Wet drywall gives way without warning.
• Photograph the ceiling, the floor below and anything soaked before you move it. Your insurer will want the pictures.

Why the stain is not under the split

A frozen pipe usually splits where it was coldest, often near an outside wall or above an unheated garage. The water then runs along the pipe, the joists or the top of the drywall until it finds a low point, and that is where the stain appears. Cutting the ceiling open directly under the stain often misses the pipe. Tracing the run first keeps it to one opening.

Opening, drying and closing the ceiling

Soaked drywall is opened so the cavity can dry and the split can be repaired. The insulation above it is usually wet as well and comes out. Only once the framing is dry does the ceiling go back up. Closing it while the cavity is still damp is how a burst pipe turns into a mold job a few months later.

The pipe repair is plumbing. Hanging, taping and finishing the new drywall is a separate job, and it is priced separately so you can see both numbers before work starts.

What sets the cost

How much pipe split and how easy it is to reach, how far the water spread, how much ceiling has to come down and whether the room below needs its floor or contents dealt with. Each of those goes on the written price. If you are claiming on insurance, ask for the plumbing and the ceiling work itemized so the adjuster can follow it.

Stopping the next one

Insulate the run that froze, seal the gap that let cold air reach it and, on the coldest nights, leave the cabinet doors under sinks on outside walls open. If the pipe sits in a space that cannot be kept warm, rerouting it inside the heated part of the house is the permanent fix.