SheikYerbuti Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 Spring's coming. Time to reseed and water the front lawn. Like a good homeowner, I winterized the hose bibs last fall. So, I go into the furnace room and turn the front hose bib line back on. . . .and the front hallway starts flooding with water. So, a few questions: 1. Who should I call first? A plumber? My homeowner's insurance? God? 2. Seriously, how much is this going to set me back? 3. Why did I bother winterizing the line when it burst anyway?? TIA! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darin3 Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 If this falls under your HOA purview, why not just contact them? Unless the need is dire, in which you call a plumber ASAP and deal with billing/payment issues later. Maybe call your HOA and ask them if they have a preferred plumber. The only thing I know about plumbing is the plumber's crack I have from time to time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SheikYerbuti Posted March 25, 2009 Author Share Posted March 25, 2009 If this falls under your HOA purview, why not just contact them? Unless the need is dire, in which you call a plumber ASAP and deal with billing/payment issues later. Maybe call your HOA and ask them if they have a preferred plumber. The only thing I know about plumbing is the plumber's crack I have from time to time. Probably not an emergency. . .I shut the line back off and that seemed to stop the problem. I then spent the next hour mopping up the mess. I actually flipped the line back on and hopped on my bike for an hour ride. Just before leaving I thought to myself "let's check and see if it's on. . . " Oh, it was on alright. If I'da just gotten on the bike and gone, I'd be in deep doo doo right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westvirginia Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 Spring's coming. Time to reseed and water the front lawn. Like a good homeowner, I winterized the hose bibs last fall. So, I go into the furnace room and turn the front hose bib line back on. . . .and the front hallway starts flooding with water. So, a few questions: 1. Who should I call first? A plumber? My homeowner's insurance? God? 2. Seriously, how much is this going to set me back? 3. Why did I bother winterizing the line when it burst anyway?? TIA! I'd call the insurance first, but if your deductible is high enough you might be better off not filing a claim. As to #3, if you didn't drain/blow out the lines after shutting them off you didn't really winterize. If the lines are full and they freeze, then they'll most likely rupture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SheikYerbuti Posted March 25, 2009 Author Share Posted March 25, 2009 As to #3, if you didn't drain/blow out the lines after shutting them off you didn't really winterize. If the lines are full and they freeze, then they'll most likely rupture. Nope, emptied them. . .double checked. I run so bad. I like the idea that it'll cost less than the deductible. Unlikely, but I have hopes. :fingerscrossed: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theeohiostate Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 (edited) You can replace yourself very easily and cheap. If you winterized the line, the bib should not have frozen, unless there was standing water in the stem and the bib was falling the wrong way or maybe not an anit-syphon frost free bib Call homeowners insurance and file claim if damage occured, otherwise fix the bib and forget about it. Normal charge for this in my area is around $125 to replace the faucet. You can do yourself for under $25 with no need for torch and sodder. Bib has threaded ends which you can use female adapter, then get a shark bite fitting to connect bib to existing line. No torch , no sodder , 5 minute job. Edited March 25, 2009 by theeohiostate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Footballjoe Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 I do plumbing repairs. Unless the water ran for some time and caused major water damage I would not file a claim. A plumber should be able to do the job in an hour or two depending on the circumstances. I would make the area accessible for him i.e open up the wall, etc. If you are handy you may be able to do the job yourself depending on what you find. If you need some advice on how to do a repair you can pm me for my number. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SheikYerbuti Posted March 25, 2009 Author Share Posted March 25, 2009 I do plumbing repairs. Unless the water ran for some time and caused major water damage I would not file a claim. A plumber should be able to do the job in an hour or two depending on the circumstances. I would make the area accessible for him i.e open up the wall, etc. If you are handy you may be able to do the job yourself depending on what you find. If you need some advice on how to do a repair you can pm me for my number. Wait a minute, what's this about opening up a wall?? I just fixed a few nail pops around the house 2 weeks ago and thought I was a toolbelt GOD. If the water was running for, oh, 60 seconds, should I be concerned about water damage behind my drywall? Anyway, I called and filed a claim with the insurance company. They said I could always repeal it later and my rates won't go up for filing a claim. I'm guessing I'll be spending the next week calling local plumbers getting the best price since my deductible is a thou. Good times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Footballjoe Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 Wait a minute, what's this about opening up a wall?? I just fixed a few nail pops around the house 2 weeks ago and thought I was a toolbelt GOD. If the water was running for, oh, 60 seconds, should I be concerned about water damage behind my drywall? Anyway, I called and filed a claim with the insurance company. They said I could always repeal it later and my rates won't go up for filing a claim. I'm guessing I'll be spending the next week calling local plumbers getting the best price since my deductible is a thou. Good times. You may need to open up the wall to get to the ruptured pipe. Just depends on where the leak is coming from and if there is access to it. Funny, I just repair a leak where someone was hanging a coat hook and drove a screw through a water line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skippy Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 TOS hit the nail on the head and Footballjoe is also giving you good advice on the wall. It is hard to say for sure but if the water was only on for 60 seconds and your were able to mop it up with a mop then I would say chances are that you only have to repair a pipe. Now if you can get to that pipe without opening up a wall then I would for sure go with what TOS said up there. If you must open up a wall and it is just a drywall wall and you can do a drywall repair then I would still follow what TOS said up there. If you can not do any of this on your own then you must have a friend that can. If you do not and you just feel like you can not do any home repair then you are going to have to call in a plumber. However, this really is no big deal but if you call in a plumber, you are going to pay for him to come. I don't know how much the wall part might cost so that may make it worth calling the insurance but the plumbing part can not be more than a couple hundred unless there is something really weird about the whole deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skippy Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 You may need to open up the wall to get to the ruptured pipe. Just depends on where the leak is coming from and if there is access to it. Funny, I just repair a leak where someone was hanging a coat hook and drove a screw through a water line. That is much more common than people would think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocknrobn26 Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 All the suggs above are sound, but I would think in NJ you'd have freeze proof bibs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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