A hose left on through the first freeze is one of the most common ways a Southern Indiana home ends up with water inside a wall. Ten minutes in the fall prevents it.
When water in an outdoor faucet freezes, it expands and can split the pipe or the faucet, sometimes inside the wall where you won't see it until it thaws and floods. Preventing it is one of the easiest, highest-value fall chores there is.
Also on the freeze list: drain and blow out irrigation/sprinkler systems before the first hard freeze, and don't forget a faucet on a detached garage or barn. Any exposed pipe in an unheated space is a candidate to freeze.
If an outdoor faucet or an exposed pipe freezes, close the nearest shutoff and let it thaw slowly, never with an open flame. Watch closely as it thaws, because a split pipe only reveals its leak once the ice melts. If you see or suspect a burst, shut the water and call.
The fall routine is simple DIY. Call a plumber when you have no shutoff for an outdoor faucet and want one added, when a faucet drips or leaks even after draining, when a pipe has already burst or you find water inside after a freeze, or when you want exposed pipes in a crawlspace properly insulated or heat-taped. A burst supply line inside a wall is a fast-damage situation, better to prevent or catch early.
A burst line floods fast. Shut off your main and let us get a licensed plumber on it, or add the shutoff before next winter.
Gutters, seals, outdoor faucets, the roof once-over — the seasonal jobs are easy to put off until they cost you. With a Home Plan we handle them on a schedule so nothing slips, with member savings and priority scheduling.
From a one-time fix to a Home Plan that keeps the whole place handled — we're right here in Columbus.
The Blue Collar Crew, LLC provides home-improvement and repair services in Southern Indiana. The do-it-yourself guidance on this page is general homeowner information for common, non-hazardous tasks — it is not professional advice and is not a substitute for a licensed trade where one is required. Do not attempt electrical wiring, gas, structural, or in-wall plumbing work yourself. Indiana does not issue a statewide general contractor license; licensed-trade work is performed by Indiana state-licensed plumbers (IC 25-28.5) and locally licensed electricians. For homes built before 1978, work that disturbs paint follows EPA's lead-safe RRP Rule (40 CFR Part 745). Work at your own risk and follow all product and tool safety instructions. A quote request is not a contract; no work is authorized until a separate written agreement complying with IC 24-5-11 is signed. Insured.
The Blue Collar Crew