Austin wasn't built for sustained freeze events. Uri 2021 burst pipes across the metro. The 2024 January cold snap produced another round. Every subsequent freeze event reactivates the risk in homes that were never properly remediated.
Here's what to do — and what not to do — in the next 5 minutes. The window between the loss starting and significant structural damage is short. Every hour matters.
Austin freeze-event pipe bursts surprise homeowners who thought their homes were freeze-resistant. Texas building code allowed plumbing in attics and exterior wall cavities — locations that work fine in normal Austin winters but fail catastrophically when sustained sub-freezing temperatures arrive.
Most Austin homes built before 2000 have copper or PEX supply lines running through the attic. Attic insulation isn't designed for sustained sub-freezing weather. When pipes freeze in the attic, the burst dumps water onto the ceiling and into wall cavities.
Supply lines running through uninsulated exterior wall cavities are vulnerable in any sustained sub-freezing weather. Bursts present as wet drywall on exterior walls.
Plumbing in unheated garages, exterior laundry rooms, and pool equipment houses freeze first in any cold snap. Common Austin configuration in West Austin custom homes.
Cantilevered hillside construction in Westlake, Rollingwood, and Lakeway puts plumbing in unique freeze-vulnerable locations. Cold air settles in low spots and around exposed pipes.
Our IICRC-certified crew arrives with extraction equipment, structural drying gear, attic-access ladders, and moisture meters. In the first 60 minutes: water extraction from the floor below the burst, attic access to inspect the burst location, moisture mapping, photographic documentation, and isolation of the burst area.
Over the next 24-48 hours: extraction of saturated attic insulation, controlled drying of ceiling drywall and exposed framing, antimicrobial pre-treatment, daily moisture monitoring, removal of demolished materials, contents inventory, and coordination with insurance and your plumber.
We bill your insurance carrier directly so your out-of-pocket cost is typically just your deductible. We work with every major Texas carrier — and the high-net-worth specialty carriers for Westlake, Rollingwood, and Lakeway custom-home losses.
Same-hour dispatch to all of these Austin-area cities. Our crews are local to Central Texas — we know the neighborhoods, the watersheds, the Hill Country topography, and the carriers.
Yes, in almost all cases. Standard homeowners covers sudden and accidental discharge from plumbing, including freeze bursts. Uri 2021 resulted in record claim volumes across Austin and carriers paid them. We bill direct.
Three factors: location of plumbing (attic vs interior wall), house insulation quality, and whether you left a faucet trickling during the cold event. Sometimes it's luck — pipes near edge of failure can survive one event and fail in the next.
Insulate attic and exterior-wall plumbing with foam pipe insulation, drip faucets during sustained sub-freezing weather, keep cabinet doors open on exterior walls, maintain interior temperature above 60°F throughout, drain pool equipment lines before freezes, and consider shutting off the main if leaving town during a cold snap.
Burst sections have to be cut out and replaced. Whether the broader system needs repipe depends on age and condition. Multiple bursts during one freeze event often justifies full repipe.
Single-burst loss with limited damage: 7-14 days mitigation plus 2-4 weeks reconstruction. Multiple bursts: 3-4 weeks mitigation plus 6-12 weeks reconstruction. Uri-scale losses took 6+ months for hardest-hit homes.
Same-hour IICRC-certified crew dispatch. Direct insurance billing. Free on-site assessment. Every hour of delay means more damage.