Shutting the water off
In most Arizona homes the main valve is on the supply line where it enters the front of the house, often near a hose bib or the softener loop in the garage, with a meter box out near the street.
Burst Pipe and Leak Cleanup
A split supply line can run for hours before anyone notices, and in a slab home the water spreads sideways into every room it can reach. An independent restoration provider handles the cleanup and drying after a pipe, fixture or appliance failure.
- Restoration Referrals
- Independent Pros
- Drying & Repairs
Signs of a Supply Line Failure
- Water appearing at the base of a wall with no fixture nearby
- A warm or unusually damp patch on the floor
- The water meter still ticking over with every tap closed
- A sudden drop in pressure with no work going on in the street
- Cabinet floors or toe kicks that have gone soft and dark
Older homes around Glendale and Sun City often have copper supply lines run under the slab, and pinhole leaks in them are common after decades of very hard water. Houses built between the early 1980s and the mid-1990s may still have polybutylene supply lines, which turn brittle and let go without warning.
What the Service Includes
The plumbing repair and the restoration are two separate pieces of work. An independent restoration provider handles the water, the drying and the damaged building materials, and should coordinate so the drying is not started before the leak is actually fixed.
Opening up what is wet
Water travels along the base plate and into cabinet bases. Small inspection openings show how far it actually went before the drying plan is set.
Drying and repair scope
Once the leak is repaired the structure is dried; ask the provider for a written scope for the drywall, baseboard and flooring work that follows.
What Usually Happens Next
A supply line failure usually leaves clean water, which means more material can be kept if drying starts quickly. A leak that has been running behind a wall for weeks is a different job with a different scope.
The cleanup starts with emergency water extraction and continues into structural drying. Where a wall has been wet for a long time, mold remediation may belong in the same scope. If the failure was at a hose or a tank rather than inside a wall, see appliance leak cleanup.
Read what to do in the first 24 hours, compare the options in the restore versus replace guide, or check your address on the service areas page.
Burst Pipe Questions
What should I do the moment a pipe bursts?
Shut the water off at the main valve, keep everyone away from standing water near outlets and appliances, and call. Do not stand in water to reach a breaker panel or an electrical fixture. Glendale Water Damage Repair connects callers with independent providers.
Who repairs the pipe itself?
Plumbing repair and restoration are separate trades. An independent restoration provider deals with the water removal, the drying and the damaged building materials, and the pipe repair is arranged alongside it so the two do not get out of order.
How do I know if the leak is under the slab?
A warm or damp spot on the floor, a meter that keeps running with everything shut off and hot water that never quite keeps up are the usual clues. Locating it takes equipment; see signs of hidden water damage.
Is the damage worse in an empty house?
Almost always. A line that lets go in a Sun City or Surprise home while the owners are away for the summer can run for days. If your house sits empty, have someone check it and consider shutting the water off at the main valve.
Arrange burst pipe cleanup in Glendale
Call and say where the water came from and how long it ran.