West Linn Burst & Broken Pipe Repair: What to Shut Off and Do Before the Plumber Arrives

Stop the water first: the first five minutes

1. Shut off the main water. Close the main shutoff valve, usually where the supply enters the house, near the meter or in a garage, basement or utility area. Know where yours is before you need it.
2. Open a faucet at the lowest point. With the main closed, open a tap on the lowest floor, then a high one, to drain the pipes and relieve pressure.
3. Switch off the water heater. Cut power to an electric heater or set a gas heater to pilot, so it does not run dry and overheat.
4. Watch the electrics. If water is near outlets, a panel or appliances, stay clear and switch off the affected circuits only if you can reach the panel without standing in water.
5. Move what you can. Lift rugs, electronics and furniture away from wet areas, and take photos for later.

If you smell gas at any point, leave the building, call 9-1-1, then call NW Natural from outside. A gas smell is a utility emergency, not a plumbing visit.

Frozen pipes: how a freeze becomes a burst

Water expands as it freezes, and a frozen section can split a pipe. The split often shows only once the ice thaws and water starts to flow. After the January 2024 winter storm, burst pipes were reported across the Portland area, as one KPTV report described, with plumbers urging people to know their shutoffs.

Signs of a frozen pipe include a faucet that runs slowly or not at all in cold weather, frost on a pipe and a pipe in an unheated space such as a garage, a crawlspace or an exterior wall.

If a pipe is frozen but has not burst

• Open the faucet it feeds, so water can flow as it thaws.
• Warm the pipe slowly with a hair dryer or warm towels. Never use an open flame.
• Watch for leaks as it thaws, and close the main if one appears.
• If you cannot reach it or cannot thaw it, call a plumber.

Prevent the next freeze

• Know where your main shutoff and your outdoor hose bib valves are.
• Disconnect garden hoses and shut off and drain outdoor faucets before a freeze.
• Keep the heat on, even in rooms you do not use.
• Open cabinet doors under sinks on exterior walls so warm air reaches the pipes.
• Let a faucet drip during a hard freeze, since moving water is harder to freeze.
• Insulate exposed pipes in garages and crawlspaces.

Written about the Portland area, not about any one West Linn street, those steps are the ones to take whenever a hard freeze is forecast.

Burst and broken pipe repair: what the plumber does

Once the water is off, the plumber finds the break, cuts out the damaged section and replaces it with new pipe and fittings, then restores the water and checks for leaks.

A broken pipe in the ground, between the meter and the house, is a different repair from one in a wall. Ask the City of West Linn where its side of the meter ends and yours begins, and call 811 before anyone digs. For repeated leaks, the page on whole-house repiping explains when replacing is the better option.

Water damage from a burst pipe

Stopping the water is the plumber's job. Drying what it soaked is a separate job with its own timing. The EPA's guidance is that mold generally will not grow if wet items are dried within 24 to 48 hours, which is why calling quickly matters even after the water is off.

Burst pipe water damage cleanup means removing standing water, lifting soaked carpet and padding, and drying the structure. The page on water damage cleanup explains how that works and shows its own phone number.

Record the damage and keep what failed

Take photos and short video of the break and every wet area before you clean up. Keep the section of pipe the plumber removes if you can, because it shows what failed.

If you plan to make an insurance claim, call your insurer early to ask what it needs, and keep the plumber's invoice and notes. This page cannot say what a particular policy covers.

After the pipe is repaired

Once the new section is in, the water is turned back on slowly while the plumber checks fittings and nearby joints for leaks. Open the faucets that were drained, run them until the water is clear, and look at the repaired section again after a day. If water has soaked drywall or flooring, the repair is only half the job.

Residential and commercial burst pipes

This page is written for homes. If a commercial building is involved, say so on the call, because access, pipe size and scheduling can be different.

What to say when you call about a burst pipe

• Where the water is coming from, and whether you closed the main.
• Whether the break is in a wall, a ceiling, a floor or outside.
• Whether it followed a freeze.
• Whether water has reached electrical items.
• What rooms are wet.

Burst pipe questions