Burst pipe repair in Bristol

Bristol is mild most winters, which is part of the problem. Pipes in lofts, garages, rear extensions and outside walls are easy to forget until a hard frost. Bristol Water says water expands by nearly 10 percent when it freezes, which can split even new pipes, and that every winter it sees a high number of bursts on customers' private pipes.

The split often does not leak until the ice thaws. That is why a burst shows up in the morning, or when you get back from a weekend away.

Not every burst is frost. Old lead and iron supply pipes in pre 1970s terraces wear thin, and ground movement can crack buried pipes under paths and drives.

Bristol Water's advice is worth following:

• If you have no water but your neighbours do, your pipes may be frozen.
• Turn off the inside stop tap and look for splits. A split will not leak until it thaws.
• If the heating is already on, leave it on. If it was off, do not switch it on to thaw the pipes.
• Drain the cold system by flushing the toilet and opening cold taps.
• Thaw the pipe gently with a warm towel or a hot water bottle in a towel. Never use a naked flame.
• Turn the water back on slowly and check again for leaks.

If you find a split, call us before turning the water back on.

Most repeat bursts come from the same few places: the pipe to an outside tap, the feed to a loft tank, pipes in an unheated garage and the overflow pipe from a cistern. Lagging helps, but rerouting a pipe away from a cold outside wall is often the better fix. If you are going away in winter, leave the heating on low.

If your burst was on the supply pipe outside, it may be time to replace it rather than patch it. Bristol Water offers a subsidy if you replace a leaking supply pipe within 21 days, and its help with leaks page sets out the terms.

The material of the pipe changes the repair. Copper is the most common inside Bristol homes and is usually repaired with a new section and compression or soldered fittings. Older homes may still have lead pipes, especially on the supply from the street and the first run to the kitchen tap. Lead cannot be joined with ordinary fittings, so the right fix is usually to replace that length in modern pipe rather than patch it.

Some 1960s and 1970s homes have old galvanised iron pipes, which rust from the inside and split along their length. Newer homes, such as those in Bradley Stoke, often have plastic push fit pipe, which can come apart at a joint if it freezes or was not fully inserted. We match the repair to the pipe, and if a run is near the end of its life, we tell you so you can plan to replace it.