Cleanup and drying after a frozen line splits and floods a Texas home once the ice thaws.
Fastest: call (833) 490-5225. Or send this and we call you back.
A frozen pipe often leaks only when it thaws, because the ice plugs the split until it melts. Shut off the main valve, then call. The crew removes standing water, checks attics and walls with moisture meters and dries the structure. A licensed plumber repairs the pipe. Phones are answered 24/7 across Tarrant County.
Water expands as it freezes, and a pipe full of ice can split along its length while the house is still cold. The ice acts as a plug, so you may see no leak at all through a freezing night. The flooding begins when the temperature climbs and the plug melts, which is why many people get the surprise at breakfast or when they come home after a trip.
North Texas gets a few hard-freeze nights in most winters, and the lines that fail are the ones in cold places: attics, exterior walls, garages, outdoor hose bibs and the pipes that feed a lawn sprinkler's backflow assembly. A house that is mild inside can still have a line running through an uninsulated exterior wall that sits near or below freezing.
This page covers what comes after the pipe splits: stopping the flow, pulling out the water, drying the walls, ceiling and floors, and documenting everything for your insurer. Fixing the pipe is a licensed plumber's job. For a split in a pipe that did not freeze, see the burst pipe water damage page.
Ice plugs the crack it creates. While the pipe stays frozen, little or no water escapes, but once the temperature rises and the ice melts, the full pressure of the supply line pushes water through the split. The flooding usually starts as things warm up, not at the coldest hour.
That is why a quiet freeze can still become a big loss. A pipe in an attic can thaw while you are at work, and the water runs for hours into the ceiling below before anyone notices.
If a tap is dry or slow during a freeze, treat it as a warning. Locate and close your main valve ahead of time, and check the attic or garage line if it is safe to reach.
The storm of February 14 to 18, 2021 brought some of the coldest weather recorded in Texas since 1883, and over 500,000 insurance claims were filed statewide, about 85 percent of them residential. State Farm said most of its Texas claims were frozen and burst pipes, concentrated around Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth.
Those figures come from industry and news tallies, with S&P Global Market Intelligence reporting insured losses above $8 billion and a Texas Department of Insurance count cited by Spectrum Local News. A survey found about 16 percent of Texas residents said their pipes froze and burst.
It was a regional event that reached the south metroplex, and no figure here is a Mansfield count. A prepared shut-off valve is worth more than any promise of speed when a freeze reaches a whole region at once.
A standard homeowners policy often covers sudden and accidental damage such as a pipe that freezes and bursts, but your insurer decides under your own policy. Some policies expect you to have kept the heat on or taken reasonable steps. Check your policy, call your insurer early and keep photos and receipts.
The crew can give you moisture readings and photos for your claim. It cannot negotiate for you or absorb your deductible, and Texas law keeps contractors from acting as public adjusters.
If a claim dispute comes up, the Texas Department of Insurance and the Office of Public Insurance Counsel offer consumer help.
Know where your main water valve is, insulate exposed pipes in attics, garages and exterior walls, cover or disconnect hose bibs, and let a faucet drip on the coldest nights. Leave the heat on if you travel, and open cabinet doors under sinks on exterior walls so room air can reach the pipes.
None of these steps is a guarantee, and a long power outage can defeat all of them. If the freeze is deep and lasting, shutting off the main and draining the lines is the safest move for a house that will be empty.
The National Weather Service in Fort Worth issues freeze warnings. Watch for them from November through February, since the first hard freezes often arrive in November.
Cold air holds little moisture, and a chilly house, a cold attic and cold materials all slow evaporation. Drying equipment works best in warm, controlled air, so the crew may heat the space or run dehumidifiers longer. Meters, not the calendar, decide when the structure is dry.
A thaw leak can also soak insulation in an unheated attic, where the water has no way to leave. Wet insulation is usually removed, as it holds moisture long after the ceiling below looks dry.
If the house has no heat or power, drying cannot start properly. Restoring heat, with the plumber's repair done, is part of getting the equipment to work.
Never use an open flame, a propane torch or a kerosene heater to thaw a pipe, and do not go into an attic with standing water near wiring. If a ceiling is sagging or dripping, stay out from under it until it has been opened safely.
Close the main valve as soon as you see or hear water. If a pipe is already thawing, closing the main stops the supply even if you cannot see where the split is.
Water from a ceiling can pool around fixtures and wiring. Stay out of rooms with water near outlets, and turn off power to the area only if you can reach the panel safely. A ceiling that sags is opened in a controlled way instead of being left.
Pumps and extractors take up water, and the crew uses meters and thermal tools to find water in the attic, walls and under floors. Wet insulation, soft drywall and saturated carpet pad are removed.
Air movers and dehumidifiers run on the wet areas. In winter the house is often cold, so drying is paced to the equipment and the weather, and readings decide when it is finished.
The crew can give you moisture readings and photos to send your insurer. Repairs after drying, such as drywall and paint, are quoted separately.
Pipes and equipment in the attic have little insulation between them and the cold. A split there lets water soak insulation and drywall, then drip through the ceiling. This is the most common case where the first sign is a stain on a warm morning.
A supply line against an outside wall or in a garage can freeze while the rest of the house is fine. The water runs down inside the wall and out at the floor, so the damage is often hidden at the baseboard.
An outdoor faucet or a sprinkler backflow assembly that was not covered can split, and the water enters the wall behind it. The leak is often small but steady, and it can run for days because nobody is looking at that wall.
Freeze jobs range from one wet wall to an attic that rained on three rooms. Price follows the area wet, the materials involved and the drying days needed.
| Job | Typical range | What it includes |
|---|---|---|
| Category 1 (clean water) mitigation, one room or small area | $1,200–$4,000 | Extraction, drying setup and monitoring |
| Wet attic insulation removal and replacement, per sq ft | $1.50–$4.00 | Common when an attic line splits |
| Ceiling water damage repair, one section | $500–$1,800 | Includes texture and paint |
| Structural drying for one room, 3 to 5 days | $800–$2,500 | Equipment plus monitoring |
| After-hours, weekend or holiday emergency fee | $100–$300 | Freeze thaws often happen at odd hours |
Estimates for the south Dallas-Fort Worth area in 2026, not a quote. The crew confirms your price on site, and you approve the emergency stage before work starts. Repairs after drying are quoted separately, and the plumber bills for the pipe.
Call any hour and explain what is going on. You get a clear price before any work starts.
North Texas winters are mild by northern standards, which means a freeze catches many houses less prepared than a northern one would be. Lines in attics and exterior walls, garage supply lines and irrigation backflow assemblies are the usual failures when a hard freeze arrives, and most winters have a few nights below freezing.
Mansfield sits on the south side of the metroplex, with homes of every age from the old center near Walnut Creek to subdivisions built in the last two decades, since the city grew from 56,368 people in 2010 to 72,602 in 2020. Newer homes are not immune: a line in an attic or exterior wall gets cold in the same freeze as an older one.
A long freeze also brings the problem of a power outage, and the February 2021 storm brought rolling blackouts along with the cold. If your heat is out for days, close the main valve and drain the lines before you leave, and call after the thaw if water shows up.
Water extraction and drying after a supply line splits in a wall, attic or ceiling, with the pipe repair left to a plumber.
Standing-water extraction from slab floors, carpet and ceilings in Mansfield, with the shut-off steps to take while a crew is on the way.
Stained, bulging or dripping ceilings: find the source above, relieve the water, dry the drywall and insulation, then repair.
Extraction and drying after a tank water heater fails in an attic, garage or closet, with the replacement left to a plumber.
Not sure if you're covered? Check your ZIP code.
Before a hard freeze, insulate exposed pipes, let faucets drip and find your main shut-off.
Only with gentle heat such as a hair dryer or warm towels, with the tap open, and never an open flame. If you find a split, close the main valve and call. A pipe that has already burst needs a plumber.
A licensed plumber. The restoration crew removes the water, dries the structure and cleans up. Having the plumber repair the line first or alongside drying keeps the leak from restarting.
Yes. A line in an attic, garage or exterior wall may thaw while you are away. A water meter that moves with every fixture off, or a ceiling stain after a freeze, is the usual clue.
Often 3 to 5 days for a room, longer if the attic and ceiling are both wet. Cold, damp weather can slow the equipment, so the crew goes by daily readings, not a date.
Your insurer decides, under your own policy and deductible. Many policies cover sudden freeze damage but have conditions. Ask your agent, and keep your photos, receipts and the crew's readings.
Close the main valve, drain the lines if you can, and call once you can reach the house. A crew is dispatched as fast as one is available, and in a regional freeze that can take time.