Burst and Frozen Pipe Water Damage Cleanup in Plano, TX

North Texas houses are built for heat, not long freezes. Supply lines often run where cold air reaches them easily:

Water expands when it freezes. Pressure builds between the ice and a closed faucet until the pipe splits, often somewhere other than where it froze. PEX handles freezing better than copper, but it can still fail at fittings.

• Exterior walls, especially on the north side and behind kitchen and bathroom sinks
• The attic, where lines to upstairs bathrooms and the water heater run over the ceiling insulation
• The garage, including laundry lines and tankless water heaters on exterior walls
• Outdoor hose bibs and the pipe just inside the wall behind them
• Sprinkler system backflow preventers and pool equipment outside
• Under sinks on exterior walls, behind closed cabinet doors

In February 2021, Winter Storm Uri brought days below freezing and long power outages. At the peak, roughly 50,000 Plano homes were without power, and with no heat, pipes froze even in interior walls. The worst flooding came days later, as temperatures climbed and water flowed back through pipes that had cracked while frozen. Plumbers across DFW were booked for weeks.

The lessons that matter for the next freeze:

Our Plano winter freeze checklist covers the full prep list.

• Damage often shows up after the thaw, not during the cold.
• Losing power is what turns a cold night into burst pipes, because the house loses heat.
• Knowing your shut-off before it happens saves the most damage.
• Dripping both hot and cold faucets and opening sink cabinets help keep pipes above freezing.

Cracks often stay hidden until water flows again. Once temperatures rise, walk the house and check:

If something feels off but you can't see water, moisture mapping finds wet areas behind walls and ceilings without opening them.

• Ceilings under bathrooms and under attic pipe runs
• Walls behind kitchen and bathroom sinks on exterior walls
• The garage ceiling and walls around laundry and water heater lines
• Floors and baseboards along exterior walls
• Outside hose bibs, the sprinkler backflow preventer and pool equipment

Water from a burst supply pipe starts clean. Left for a day or two in a warm house, it picks up bacteria from carpet, drywall and the slab, which changes what can be saved. Starting quickly matters.

• Confirm the water is off and make sure power to wet areas is safe.
• Extract standing water from carpet, pad and hard floors. See water extraction.
• Map the moisture in walls, ceilings and floors so nothing wet gets missed.
• Remove what can't be saved: soaked carpet pad, crumbling ceiling drywall, and wet insulation inside walls. Drywall wet only at the bottom gets a short flood cut, not a full replacement.
• Dry the structure with dehumidifiers and air movers sized to the space; see structural drying.
• Save floors where possible. Hardwood gets drying mats; see hardwood floor water damage. Carpet is often saved when the water was clean and caught quickly; see wet carpet drying.
• Monitor and document daily until readings match dry areas of your home.

A sudden burst is one of the most common water claims in Texas, and many homeowners policies treat it differently from slow leaks. Some policies have conditions about frozen pipes, for example requiring reasonable heat to be kept in a home you're away from. Check your own policy. We document every wet area, reading and removed material from the first day. See sudden vs. gradual water damage in Texas.

• Know where your main shut-off is and keep a meter key in the garage
• Disconnect garden hoses and cover hose bibs before a freeze
• Insulate pipes in the attic, garage and along exterior walls
• Drip both hot and cold taps on the coldest nights and open sink cabinets on exterior walls
• Keep the thermostat set day and night during a freeze, even if you're away
• Shut off and drain the sprinkler system and protect the backflow preventer

We also cover West Plano, North Plano, Frisco, McKinney, Murphy and Wylie. See water damage restoration in Plano for everything we handle.

• East Plano and Downtown: older homes with less insulation and some pier-and-beam houses where pipes run through a cold crawl space.
• Central Plano: 1970s to 1990s homes with supply lines in exterior walls and attics.
• Allen: two-story homes with attic lines over bedrooms.
• Richardson: older neighborhoods and apartment buildings where one burst can reach several units.

Shut off the main and call (972) 945-2118. We'll start removing water and drying while your plumber handles the repair.