Damage from a frozen or burst pipe in Manchester, NH
Cut it open, dry it, rebuild
A pipe in an outside wall, an unheated stairwell or a crawl space freezes during a cold snap, the ice expands, and the split does not announce itself until things thaw and water starts moving again. By the time it reaches the surface it has usually been running inside the wall for a while.
The plumbing gets fixed first. Everything below is what happens afterwards.
What has to come out
More than you would like. Board that is soft, stained beyond the immediate area, or delaminating at the paper comes out to the nearest framing on each side. Any insulation that got wet comes out as well and is replaced rather than dried, because saturated fibreglass mats down and never fully recovers its loft. Cutting a neat rectangle around the obvious damage and closing it up traps damp material inside a stud bay, which is how a plumbing repair turns into a mould problem in April.
Drying is not optional and not instant
An opened cavity with air moving through it needs days, not hours, and longer in the middle of winter when the whole house is being heated and everything else is dry except that one bay. We would rather leave a wall open for a week than close it early. Where a lot of water got in, a restoration company with proper drying equipment is the right first call and we rebuild once they have finished.
Rebuilding an exterior wall properly
Insulation replaced to the correct depth without being compressed, any vapour control detail put back the way it was found, then new board tied to the studs, taped and built up. Getting the insulation right matters more than the board: a bay stuffed too tightly or left with gaps becomes the cold spot where the next pipe freezes.
While the wall is open
It is the cheapest moment in the life of the house to move that pipe out of the cold, add insulation behind it, or run a new line on the warm side of the framing. A plumber charges a fraction of the usual price when nobody has to open anything. Ask them before we close it up, not after.
Insurance
A sudden burst is generally a covered event under a homeowner policy, while slow seepage generally is not. We photograph the damage, the opened cavity and the finished work as a matter of course and the estimate is itemised by room and surface, so there is something to hand over if you are making a claim. We repair walls; we do not negotiate claims.
Often turns up alongside
People dealing with Damage from a frozen or burst pipe usually also ask about our a hole in the wall service, professional cracks over doors and windows and a brown stain on the ceiling services — call and we'll tell you which one your job needs.
Towns we cover
We take this work across the Merrimack Valley, including drywall repair in Bedford, Goffstown drywall repair calls, serving Hooksett, drywall repair for Londonderry property owners, Derry, drywall repair in Auburn, Candia drywall repair calls, serving Merrimack, drywall repair for Litchfield property owners, Bow, drywall repair in Concord and Nashua drywall repair calls, and the surrounding communities.
Send a photo of it
A photo of the damage is usually enough for a number the same day.
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