Burst pipe repair cost
Repairing a burst pipe costs $150 to $1,200, typically $600. What turns that into a $5,000 bill is not the plumbing. It is the drywall, the flooring and the drying.
National average
$600
per project
On this page
- What the repair costs
- The first ten minutes decide the cost
- Why pipes burst
- Repair or repipe
- Preventing the freezing one
- Frequently asked questions
- Will insurance pay for it?
- How do I know there is a leak inside a wall?
- Can I patch it with a repair clamp myself?
- Why did it burst several feet from where the pipe froze?
- Should I turn the water back on myself once it is fixed?
Repairing a burst pipe costs $150 to $1,200 for the pipe itself, typically around $600. What turns that into a $5,000 bill is not the plumbing. It is the drywall, the flooring and the drying.
The repair is often an hour of work. The water damage is the project.
What the repair costs
| Situation | Typical cost |
|---|---|
| Accessible pipe, basement or crawl space | $150 to $600 |
| Inside a wall, one section of drywall opened | $400 to $1,200 |
| Under a concrete slab | $1,500 to $6,000 |
| Beneath a finished floor | $800 to $3,000 |
| Main water line outside the house | $1,500 to $6,000 |
| Emergency call-out premium | add $150 to $400 |
| Drywall repair and paint, per opening | $150 to $500 |
| Water damage drying and dehumidification | $500 to $4,000 |
| Flooring replacement, per room | $800 to $5,000 |
The last three rows are why two burst pipes with identical plumbing bills can differ by $6,000.
The first ten minutes decide the cost
Shut the water off at the main. Then open the lowest tap in the house, which drains the pressure still sitting in the pipes and stops the leak feeding itself.
Then, in order: photograph everything before you move it, get standing water out, move furniture and anything absorbent off wet flooring, and get air moving.
Water in a wall cavity begins growing mould in 24 to 48 hours. That is the deadline that turns a repair into a remediation, and it is why a drying company on the same day is cheaper than a cheaper one on Thursday.
Why pipes burst
Freezing is the common one, and it does not burst the pipe where the ice is. Ice expands and pushes water along the pipe toward a closed tap; the pressure builds between the ice and the tap, and the pipe fails at the weakest point in that stretch. That is why the split is often several feet from the frozen section.
Pressure. Municipal supply above about 80 psi stresses every joint in the house. A $15 gauge on an outside tap tells you in ten seconds. Above 80, a pressure reducing valve costs $350 to $800 and pays for itself.
Corrosion. Galvanised steel from before about 1960 corrodes from the inside and fails without warning. Copper in aggressive water develops pinholes.
Age and material. Polybutylene, installed widely between 1978 and 1995, fails in ways that made it the subject of a class action. If you have grey plastic supply pipe with crimped fittings, that is what it is, and it is a repipe conversation.
Repair or repipe
One burst in a copper system that is otherwise sound is a repair.
Repipe when:
- The pipe is galvanised steel or polybutylene
- This is the second or third failure in two years
- The plumber shows you pinholes elsewhere on the same run
- The house is being renovated anyway and the walls are open
A PEX repipe costs $4,500 to $12,000 and copper $8,000 to $22,000. Against $600 a time plus drywall, three failures makes the maths obvious.
Preventing the freezing one
- Disconnect and drain outside hose bibs before the first freeze, every year
- Insulate pipes in crawl spaces, attics, garages and against exterior walls
- Below freezing, open cabinet doors under sinks on exterior walls so house heat reaches the pipes
- In a hard freeze, let one tap furthest from the main run a pencil-thin stream
- Leaving for the winter: shut the main, drain the system, and leave the heating at 55°F rather than off
Frequently asked questions
Will insurance pay for it?
Sudden and accidental water damage is normally covered. The pipe itself usually is not, and gradual leaks are typically excluded. Frozen pipes are covered in most policies if you maintained heat in the house, which is why the 55°F rule matters.
How do I know there is a leak inside a wall?
A water meter test settles it: turn off every fixture, note the meter, wait two hours without using water, and read it again. Any movement is a leak. Other signs are a warm patch on a floor, a stain that returns after painting, and a bill that jumped without explanation.
Can I patch it with a repair clamp myself?
A clamp is a legitimate temporary measure on a straight section of copper or steel, and it will hold for days rather than years. It is not a repair, and an insurer who sees one may treat what follows as neglect.
Why did it burst several feet from where the pipe froze?
Because the ice pushes water toward a closed tap and the pressure builds ahead of it. The pipe fails wherever that stretch is weakest, not where it is coldest.
Should I turn the water back on myself once it is fixed?
Slowly, watching the repair. A fast-opening main valve sends a surge through the system that finds the next weak joint.
Read next
Frozen pipe repair cost$200 to $3,000per projectThawing a frozen pipe costs $200 to $700 if it has not split and $400 to $3,000 if it has. A frozen pipe is not yet an emergency; one that bursts while you are out is.
Cost to repipe a house$4,500 to $22,000per projectRepiping a house in PEX costs $4,500 to $12,000, typically $7,500 for a two-bathroom house. Copper runs $8,000 to $22,000 because every joint is soldered.
Emergency plumber cost$150 to $300per hourAn emergency plumber costs $150 to $300 an hour against $75 to $150 in business hours, plus $150 to $350 to arrive. The emergencies that cannot wait are the ones where water is moving and you cannot stop it.
Water leak detection cost$150 to $800per projectLeak detection costs $150 to $800, typically $350. It is the step people skip and the one that decides whether the repair costs $600 or $6,000, because a leak guessed at is three holes in the wall.
How long does plumbing last$4,500 to $12,000per projectCopper lasts 50 to 70 years, PEX 40 to 50, cast iron drain 50 to 100. Plumbing is the system that fails quietly for years and then all at once, and the material in your walls says roughly where you are.