Reconstruction Services An Important Step in Addressing Frozen Pipe Damage

1/24/2016 (Permalink)

Frozen pipes break and flood homes and businesses everyday. Are you ready? Ask us about creating an Emergency Ready Profile for your property today.

This week’s frigid temperatures remind us that winter is here and invariably with such severe cold and blustery winds often comes frozen pipes, which lead to water damage, which then require reconstruction services.

As a full-service emergency services and reconstruction company, we not only clean up after a water damage, we do the construction work, a part of our building services division, to truly make the damage like it never even happened.

The surprising thing about burst pipes is the cause. Most people believe that the only time pipes “burst” and spew water from them is when they have frozen, but that is not always the case.

Yes, there is an increase in the number of pipes bursting due to freezing temperatures during the winter. And yes, more often than not, frozen pipes occur when the power goes out or the heat has been turned off and a cold snap freezes the water in the pipe. And we all remember from our elementary school science class that when water freezes it expands. And when ice inside a pipe expands, it creates a crack and once the ice thaws, the water traveling through the pipes at a very high pressure, forces its way out of that crack and into our homes or businesses.

But there are a number of reasons why pipes freeze or crack. When plumbing pipes run on an exterior wall or in a section of a house that jogs out a bit, called a cantilever, these pipes are more exposed to the freezing temperatures and harsh winter winds making them more susceptible to freezing, even though the heat in the home is running properly.

Sometimes a pipe will leak due to good old-fashioned corrosion. This usually happens in areas where the water is highly acidic and corrodes the pipe with tiny little pinholes. When you consider that the pressure of the water running through the pipe is extremely high, the amount of water that comes out of those tiny pinholes is significant, causing significant damage. And that is why it is important to hire an emergency services company that has a building services division.

The damage that water causes can be significant, requiring more than just cleaning up the spill and drying out the space. Often cabinets are damaged as well as other parts of the room, including the flooring. This is when it’s important to hire a restoration company that not only specializes in the clean-up but can do all of the reconstruction services. Once a homeowner experiences a disaster like a flood in their home, the last thing they want to do is deal with the complexities of the insurance industry or call various subcontractors to put their home back the way it was before the damage occurred.

At SERVPRO of Upper Cape Cod & The Islands, we understand the stress that our clients are dealing with when a disaster strikes their home or business and that’s why we go the extra mile to handle all aspects of a damage, from calling the insurance company to cleaning up the damage to complete reconstruction services.