Frozen & Burst Pipe Repair in Maple Grove, MN
A frozen line usually splits where it's coldest — an exterior wall, a rim joist, or the hose bib behind the siding. You often don't see it until it thaws and lets go. Shut the water off, open a faucet to relieve pressure, and call. We thaw, repair and, where it makes sense, re-route the line so it doesn't happen again.
Signs you need this
- One fixture with no water on a cold morning while the rest of the house is fine
- A faucet that trickles and won't come up to pressure
- Frost or condensation on a visible section of pipe
- A bulge, split or pinhole in a copper line
- Water appearing on a wall or ceiling after a cold snap breaks
- A hose bib that works, then floods the basement when you shut it off
What we actually do
- Locate the frozen section and thaw it in a controlled way — never with an open flame
- Repair or replace the split section in copper, PEX or CPVC
- Replace burst hose bibs with frost-free sillcocks pitched correctly to drain
- Re-route lines out of exterior walls and unheated bays where the layout allows
- Insulate and air-seal the spots that froze, so the fix outlasts the winter
While you wait for us
Close the main shutoff. Open a faucet downstream of the freeze so melting water and pressure have somewhere to go. Open the cabinet doors under sinks on exterior walls. Keep space heaters away from anything that can burn, and never thaw a pipe with a torch.
What's different about this work up here
The Minnesota DNR puts the median maximum frost depth around 20 inches, with a record of 35.2 inches in the winter of 2007–08 and about 25 inches in 2024–25. Frost season generally runs from around November 23 to about April 10. That's four and a half months where an uninsulated line in the wrong bay is at risk.
Minnesota plumbing code 4714.0609 requires buried water service to be at least 12 inches below finish grade and at least 12 inches below the maximum local frost depth. Depth is why buried services rarely freeze here and interior lines in exterior walls do.
The most common call we get is the hose bib. People leave the garden hose connected into November, water stays trapped in the sillcock, and it splits. You don't find out until spring, when you turn it on and the basement gets wet.
Questions we get
How do I winterize a hose bib?
Disconnect the hose in the fall — that alone prevents most of these. Close the interior shutoff for that line if there is one, then open the outside spigot to drain it. A frost-free sillcock only drains if the hose is off and the bib is pitched down toward the outside.
Should I let a faucet drip in a cold snap?
A pencil-thin trickle on a fixture that has frozen before is cheap insurance during a deep cold snap. It's a stopgap, not a fix for a line that's in the wrong place.
Can I thaw it myself?
A hair dryer or a space heater kept well back from combustibles on an accessible, exposed pipe — sometimes. Never a torch. And if the pipe has already split, thawing it just starts the flood.
How deep does buried water service have to be?
Code 4714.0609 sets it at a minimum of 12 inches below finish grade and 12 inches below the maximum local frost depth.
Read more before you call
- How deep is the frost line in Minnesota?
- What should I do when a pipe bursts?
- How cold does it have to be for pipes to freeze?
- Does homeowners insurance cover a burst pipe?
- How do I winterize outdoor spigots in Minnesota?
What plumbing costs around here
Cities we do this work in
Describing it out loud is faster than typing it.
Maple Grove and 50 miles around it. Call (763) 342-0801.
Water where it shouldn't be? Call us.
(763) 342-0801A real person answers the phone — not a machine, not a call center in another state.