24/7 Burst Pipe Cleanup in Minnesota
Pipes do not burst because they freeze. They burst because ice forms between the blockage and a closed faucet, and the pressure in that trapped section has nowhere to go. The split usually happens somewhere you cannot see, and it often does not show until the ice thaws.
That is why the January call and the flooded basement are frequently two different days.
Kiser Construction runs burst pipe cleanup across Sherburne, Wright, and Anoka counties. The emergency line answers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, including holidays: (612) 518-8852.
The first ten minutes
- Shut off the main water valve. In most Minnesota homes it is on the basement wall facing the street, near the meter.
- Open a faucet on the lowest level to drain what is left in the lines.
- Kill power to the affected area at the breaker if water is anywhere near outlets or the panel.
- Take photos before you move anything.
- Call us.
If you take one thing from this page, make it the first item. Go find your shut off valve now, while nothing is wrong, and make sure it turns. Standing in an inch of water at 2 a.m. is the wrong time to learn that the handle is seized.
Which pipes go first
- Pipes in exterior walls, especially on the north side
- Unheated crawl spaces and attached garages
- Outdoor hose bibs where the hose was left connected through October
- Lines running through unfinished basement rim joists
- Any line in a house where the heat was turned down while nobody was home
That last one accounts for a lot of the worst losses we see. A pipe that lets go on a Tuesday in an empty house runs until somebody finds it. The damage is not proportional to the pipe. It is proportional to the hours.
What we do
We extract the standing water, then find how far it traveled. Water moves along joists and behind baseboards and shows up two rooms away from the break.
Then drying equipment goes in, sized to the space. We read moisture in framing, subfloor, and drywall and we log those readings daily. Equipment leaves when the numbers hit the dry standard for your building, not when the calendar says a week is up. Anything that cannot get back to standard comes out rather than getting sealed up wet.
Mold remediation is handled in house. We rebuild what we removed. Soaked furniture and boxes go through contents cleaning rather than straight to the curb.
The wider water damage restoration process is the same one we run on any loss, pipe or otherwise. Water showing up at the eave in February is a separate job, and that is ice dam removal.
Before next winter
Most of what follows takes an afternoon. There are more in our tips to help you prevent burst pipes.
- Disconnect and drain garden hoses before the first hard freeze
- Insulate lines in crawl spaces, garages, and rim joists
- Leave a slow drip on faucets fed by exterior wall pipes during a cold snap
- Open cabinet doors under sinks on outside walls so heat reaches the pipes
- If you travel, keep the thermostat at 55 or higher and have someone check the house
Common questions
How fast can you get here?
Our emergency line answers 24 hours a day, every day of the year, holidays included. We respond within a two hour radius of our Elk River office.
My pipe froze but has not burst. What now?
Do not use an open flame on it. Shut the main off first, then warm the area slowly with space heat or a hair dryer, starting at the faucet end and working back. If you cannot find the frozen section, or the pipe is inside a wall, call a plumber before it splits.
Do you fix the pipe too?
We handle the water damage, the drying, and the rebuild. Plumbing repair itself goes to a licensed plumber, and we coordinate with yours or bring in one of ours.
Is the inspection free?
Yes, with a written scope either way.
Insurance
We photograph the loss, log moisture daily, and give your adjuster a measured scope. We do not interpret your policy and we do not adjust your claim. Minnesota law reserves that for licensed public adjusters.
Call us
Burst pipe, any hour: (612) 518-8852. Office: (763) 633-2010.
