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Metro Vancouver · 24/7

Burst pipe response

Freeze, PRV failure, or an aging supply line. Stop the water, extract, then dry the rooms it reached.

Call (604) 968-5835What to do first
Laundry-room wall opened to waist height around a leaking copper supply line, a tide line across the cavity, soaked insulation sagging onto the wet floor, and a technician taking a moisture reading off a stud.
FIG. S — PIPE · METRO VANCOUVER

Where the water went

Four source paths

Upstairs bathroom

  1. Source at the fixture or supply
  2. Down through the ceiling cavity
  3. Along joists
  4. Wall base two rooms away
  5. Subfloor under flooring that still looks fine

What looks fine but isn’t: Ceiling two rooms over · Wall base below the source · Subfloor under intact flooring

Kitchen

  1. Dishwasher, fridge line, or sink supply
  2. Into the kick space and cabinet floor
  3. Through the subfloor
  4. Into the ceiling of the room below if stacked

What looks fine but isn’t: Cabinet backs that look dry · Adjacent pantry toe-kick · Ceiling below

Roof

  1. Penetration or valley
  2. Attic insulation
  3. Ceiling drywall
  4. Exterior wall cavity on the downhill side

What looks fine but isn’t: Insulation that holds water out of sight · Top plates · Windows below the leak

Basement floor

  1. Slab or crawl
  2. Up the bottom plate
  3. Into the first wall cavity
  4. Under finished flooring at the edge

What looks fine but isn’t: Bottom plates · Carpet tack strip · The 'dry' corner on the other side of the room

On the job

Technician closing the main water shut-off valve in a utility cupboard, the floor around him already wet.
FIG. A — SOURCE STOPPED
Technician cutting the wet lower band of drywall away along a chalk line, a soaked section already pulled off beside him.
FIG. B — FLOOD CUT
Cut-out offcut of copper supply line held up to show the freeze split along its side.
FIG. C — THE FAILURE

Spec plate

  • Main shutoff first
  • Older stock and PRV failure
  • Water travels two rooms over

A documented job

Technician inspecting an opened ceiling cavity above a pooled hardwood floor in a Kitsilano townhouse at night.

1974 townhouse

Kitsilano supply line

A potable line failed in an upstairs bath. Water followed the joists into the living room below. Extraction the same night. Log closed on day 4 when every marked point met target.

Read the job →

Questions

Where is the main shutoff?

On a detached house it is often at the front wall or in a mechanical closet. In a condo, call the building before you hunt for a riser. Use the shutoff finder on First Hour.

The pipe burst upstairs. Why is the room below wet?

Water travels through ceiling cavities and along joists. The room that looks fine is often the one that needs the meter.

Does Vancouver get freeze bursts?

Less often than the Interior, but unheated garages, crawl spaces, and North Shore hillside lines still fail in cold snaps. We treat them as supply-line losses.

Should I use a shop vac?

Only on clean water, and never as a substitute for cavity extraction. Never on sewage. Photograph first.

Will you repair the pipe?

We stop the damage and dry. Pipe repair may be us or a plumber depending on the line. Rebuild is quoted after dry-out.

Is a burst pipe Category 1?

A potable supply line starts as Category 1. If it sits, it degrades. Time on the damage clock is the honest version of urgency.

Also:Water extraction · Structural drying

Still wet? Call.

We answer 24/7 — a person, not a service. If you would rather not talk, tell us what happened in four taps and we will call you.

Call (604) 968-5835Tell us what happened