Emergency Pipe Repair and Repiping | Burst, Frozen and Worn-Out Pipes Handled in Levittown, PA

Whole-house repiping: when it makes sense

Repiping replaces the supply lines through the house, and it is the right answer when the pipe itself has aged out instead of one fitting having failed. A single leak in sound pipe is a repair. Repeated leaks in the same material are a pattern.

• Pinhole leaks that keep appearing in different spots
• Brown or rusty water from the cold taps as well as the hot
• Low pressure at every fixture that a regulator does not fix
• Corroded or green fittings at the shutoffs and heater
• Visible flaking, bulging or pitting on exposed pipe
• A pipe material on the known-problem list for its era

The work is planned so water is off for as short a window as possible. A plumber opens as little wall as the layout allows, runs the new lines, tests under pressure and leaves the fixtures working.

Pipe repair: spot fixes that hold

Many failures are local. A fitting weeps, a joint lets go, a section is dented or split. When the surrounding pipe is sound, a repair is the sensible choice. The plumber cuts out the damaged section, joins in new pipe with proper fittings and tests the line.

Pinhole leaks deserve a second look. One pinhole in copper may be a flaw. Several in a short run usually mean the wall of the pipe is thinning from the inside, and a patch only moves the failure down the line. A plumber can show you the inside of a cut section so you see what the pipe looks like.

Copper, PEX, galvanized and the rest: what each material does

Each pipe material ages differently, which is why the material in your walls matters more than its age alone. The table shows how the common ones behave and what a repair usually involves.

Pipe replacement and Philadelphia permits

Replacing a section of pipe is a smaller job than repiping the house, but the same principle holds: join new pipe to sound pipe with the right fittings and test the result. Where a line is replaced in Philadelphia, including Bustleton, a licensed plumber must do the repair. Minor repairs there need no permit, while larger replacements may. Elsewhere, such as Bristol Township or Bensalem, a call to the local building department before a larger job settles whether a permit applies.

Source: Philadelphia L&I plumbing permits.

The first ten minutes after a pipe fails

A burst line is the emergency that does the most damage in the least time. What you do before the plumber arrives matters.

1. Close the main shutoff, usually where the line enters the house.
2. Open a faucet at the lowest point in the house to drain the line.
3. Turn off the power to wet areas only if you can reach the panel safely.
4. Move belongings and photograph the water and the pipe.
5. Call the emergency line and say whether the water has stopped.

Frozen pipes follow the cold. The National Weather Service issues freeze warnings for Bucks County, and pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated rooms go first. A pipe that is frozen but not yet split should be thawed slowly, with the faucet open, and never with an open flame. If any pipe has split, the thaw becomes a repair. For wider flooding, see the water removal and drying page.

Emergency service and the plumbers who respond

Burst-pipe calls reach licensed and insured plumbers serving your area at any hour, and the dispatcher puts a running line first in the queue. A plumber may reach you the same day if one is open. Slow leaks and repipe quotes wait for the next open slot.

Repiping and pipe repair questions