Burst, Frozen or Leaking Pipe?
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500+ Google reviews
Tommy Bynum repairs burst, frozen and leaking pipes in Gastonia and Gaston County homes. Call (704) 825-4463 for fast plumbing service. We’ve been in Gastonia homes since 1979, and pipe repair is the same phone number and the same company that handles your heating and air.
- Serving Gastonia since 1979
- Licensed plumbing contractor (L.12997)
- 500+ Five-Star Google Reviews
What Should You Do When a Pipe Bursts?
01. Close the main shutoff valve. It’s usually where the water line comes into the house. If it won’t close, tell us when you call.
02. Open the faucets. Leave them open until the pipe is repaired. That drains the line and takes the pressure off.
03. If the break is on a hot water line, turn off the water heater. Use the breaker for an electric heater or the gas control for a gas one.
04. Stay out of standing water near outlets and cords, and call (704) 825-4463.
We take emergency calls 24/7. Take photos and note when you shut the water off. A burst pipe can qualify for a full sewer credit from the City of Gastonia, and the city asks for both with a leak adjustment request.
What Pipe Repairs Do We Handle?
Tommy Bynum repairs supply and drain pipes in Gastonia homes: burst and frozen pipes, split and pinhole leaks, and joints and fittings that have started to drip. That covers copper, PEX, CPVC and galvanized steel, in crawl spaces, under sinks, inside walls and on the line from your water meter to the house. If you know water is escaping but can’t see where, start with leak detection. A drain that’s slow rather than leaking is a drain cleaning call.
Can the Pipe Be Repaired, or Does It Need Replacing?
Most pipe problems are a repair. One split, one bad joint or one leaking section gets cut out and replaced, and the rest of the line is fine. The exception is pipe that’s failing along its whole length, where fixing one leak only moves the next one a few feet down the line. What the pipe is made of, and how many times it has leaked, usually tells us which kind of problem it is.
| What we find | What it usually means |
|---|---|
| A split or burst section after a freeze, on copper or PEX | A repair. We replace that section and check the rest of the run for more damage |
| One pinhole leak in copper | A repair. Repeat pinholes on the same line mean it's wearing through, and replacing the line is worth talking about |
| A leak in galvanized steel, or rust-colored water | Usually a repipe conversation. Once galvanized leaks, the pipe next to it is usually in the same condition |
| A leak in polybutylene, a gray plastic supply pipe installed in many homes from 1978 to 1995 | A repair stops that leak. These systems were the subject of a national class-action settlement over leaks, so a second one is a repipe conversation |
| A leak on the buried line from the meter to the house | A repair when the break can be reached. We tell you what reaching it involves before anything is dug up. A galvanized line that keeps leaking is usually better replaced |
| A cracked or leaking drain pipe under a sink or in the crawl space | A repair of that section |
When Do Pipes Freeze in Gastonia?
Pipes in an unheated part of a house start to freeze when it’s about 20°F outside, not 32°F. That’s the threshold the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) gives for southern homes. Gastonia drops below freezing about 61 nights in a typical year, but it reaches 20°F only about seven, according to NOAA’s 1991-2020 climate normals for the Gastonia station. In a typical winter the first of those nights comes around New Year’s and the last in mid-February.
Why 20°F and not 32°F
A crawl space or attic stays a few degrees warmer than the air outside, and water cools a few degrees below freezing before ice starts to form. IBHS bases it on University of Illinois tests and a survey of southern plumbers, who saw bursts start once temperatures fell into the teens. Wind changes that. A pipe near a crack in an outside wall, or in a drafty crawl space, can freeze on a milder night.
A frozen pipe usually bursts where there's no ice
Ice doesn’t split a pipe by pushing on its walls. Once ice blocks the pipe, the water trapped between the blockage and a closed faucet has nowhere to go, and IBHS says the pressure that builds there is what breaks it, usually where little or no ice has formed. That’s why a dripping faucet works: it gives that water somewhere to go. It’s also why we check the whole run on a freeze repair, not just the spot that froze.
Where pipes freeze in Gastonia houses
The Red Cross lists the usual places: crawl spaces, attics, garages, kitchen cabinets, outside walls, and where the water line comes through the foundation. Many southern houses were built with pipes outside the insulation. Outdoor faucets are their own case, and a hose left attached can split one inside the wall. If your heat goes out in a cold snap, open the cabinet doors under the sinks and let the faucets drip until the heat is back on. We take both calls.
How a Pipe Repair Works
Every pipe repair follows the same order, and you get the price before any work starts.
The four steps
01. You tell us what happened. We tell you what to shut off, whether it can wait, and when we can be there.
02. We find the break and check the line around it. After a freeze, we check the other faucets too.
03. You get the price before work starts. If the pipe is worth repairing, you get the repair price. If it’s the kind that will keep leaking, you get the repair and replacement prices side by side.
04. We repair it and test it. We turn the water back on, check the repair and the joints around it for leaks, and your invoice describes the break and the repair.
Pipe Repair Across Gaston County
We repair pipes in Gastonia, Belmont and Kings Mountain, and across Gaston County from our shop at 2232 Plastics Drive in Gastonia. Call (704) 825-4463 and we’ll tell you when we can be there.
Pipe Repair Questions From Gastonia Homeowners
It depends mostly on reaching the break. A split on exposed pipe in a crawl space is a short visit; the same split inside a finished wall takes longer. A pipe repair call starts with a $95 diagnostic. Ask about current offers when you call. Drying out and repairing drywall or flooring after a burst is separate work.
If you turn on a faucet and only a trickle comes out, suspect a frozen pipe. The Red Cross says to keep that faucet open and warm the pipe with a hair dryer, an electric heating pad, towels soaked in hot water, or a space heater kept away from anything flammable. Never use an open flame. Keep going until full pressure comes back, then check the other faucets, since others may have frozen too. If you can’t find or reach the frozen section, call us.
Yes, on nights near 20°F, at faucets fed by pipes in a crawl space, attic or outside wall. Even a slow drip is enough, according to IBHS. If the faucet has hot and cold, open both. If the drip stops, leave the faucet open, since the pipe may have frozen and still needs the relief.
Sometimes. A small split on exposed copper or PEX is a common do-it-yourself repair. The risk is missing damage further along the same line. Turn the water back on slowly and check every exposed run before you call it done. If the break is inside a wall or on the line from the meter, call us.
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