Wilmington burst and frozen pipe damage

Rowhomes and twins in Wilmington were built with plumbing that has been altered many times. Original galvanized lines may still feed a bathroom; copper replaced some runs; plastic appears where recent work was done. Kitchens at the back of a rowhome are often in a later addition with less insulation, and their supply lines run along an exterior wall. Basements with old, drafty windows chill the pipes that run along their ceilings.

When a hard freeze arrives, often with wind, those are the pipes that freeze. Ice expands and splits the pipe or a fitting ^[1]. The leak often shows when temperatures rise and the ice melts, sometimes days later. Older plumbing also fails without any freeze: corroded galvanized joints and pinholes in old copper open up on their own.

Insulate pipes in back additions and basements, seal gaps around old basement windows, and close off outdoor faucets from inside before winter if your house has that setup. During extreme cold, the National Weather Service recommends letting faucets on exterior walls drip, opening cabinet doors under sinks and keeping the thermostat steady day and night ^[2]. If you will be away, keep the heat on and have someone check the house.

Plumbing for a rowhome bathroom sometimes runs in or near the party wall. If water ran inside that wall, the house next door may have wet plaster, stained ceilings or water in its basement. Tell your neighbor as soon as you can. Each owner normally uses their own insurer for their own house, but the contractor will need access to both sides to dry the wall properly. See the Wilmington area page for more on attached homes.

Photograph the split pipe before and after the plumber cuts it out, and ask them to keep it. Note when you found the leak and when you shut the water off, and photograph each floor. Insurers often treat sudden pipe failures differently from slow leaks and may ask whether the house was heated. The Delaware Department of Insurance has consumer help if you have questions ^[4].

A plaster ceiling that is stained but still tight to its lath can often be dried. One that sags, cracks in a dome, or has pulled away is removed in the wet area for safety. Old plaster and paint may contain lead or asbestos, so ask about testing before removal. For drying methods, see structural drying; for the overall process, burst pipe water damage.

Wilmington has houses that sit empty for stretches: between tenants, during renovations, while an estate is settled, or while owners travel in winter. A pipe that bursts in an empty rowhome can run for days, flooding the basement and soaking every floor above. Before leaving a house empty in winter, keep the heat on at a steady setting, have someone check it, and consider shutting off and draining the water. A plumber can winterize a vacant house properly.

If you discover a burst pipe after it has run for a while, expect more removal than usual. Water that sat in ceilings and walls for days is more likely to have caused mold and swelling, and plaster that has been soaked for days is more likely to fail.

In many rowhome basements, supply lines run along the joists near drafty front or rear windows. A split there sprays the basement directly, soaking stored items, the floor and any finished walls, and sometimes reaching the electrical panel. Insulating those runs and sealing the windows in fall is one of the simplest protections in an older city house.

A burst pipe that wets three floors of a rowhome usually needs several days of drying once the ceilings are opened and insulation is out. Plaster and old wood floors stretch that; basements with stone walls stretch it further. Readings on each floor decide when equipment moves on.

Water from a burst pipe often runs through ceiling light fixtures and along old wiring. Turn off those circuits from a dry spot, and have an electrician check fixtures and any older wiring that got wet before the power goes back on.