Burst Pipe Water Damage in San Marcos, TX
The power came back on Thursday after three days, and so did the water. You heard it before you saw it: a steady splash inside the wall between the garage and the kitchen, and a line of water running out from under the baseboard. A PEX fitting in the attic had frozen and split sometime Tuesday night, and the thaw opened it up. This site passes your call to an independent local provider who handles burst pipe water damage in San Marcos and across Hays County.
After the freeze: what the crew does with a split attic line
Valve first. If you have not already, the provider closes the house valve at the meter box and opens a low faucet to drain the lines. A plumber repairs or caps the break; the water damage crew's job starts the moment the water stops. Standing water on the floor is extracted. Then the meter goes to every wall below the break, because water from an attic line runs along the top plate and down inside the studs, soaking insulation and the back of the drywall where you cannot see it.
Wet insulation comes out through a cut along the bottom of the wall. Wet ceiling drywall that is sagging comes down before it falls. Everything else gets a reading, and structural drying equipment goes where the readings are high.
What to do while the water is still draining out of the walls
Close the valve and open a tub faucet so the lines drain instead of pushing more water through the break. Cut the breaker to any room with a wet outlet or a wet ceiling fixture. Poke a small hole in a bulging ceiling only if the crew tells you to; otherwise stay out from under it and set a bucket. Photograph everything, including the attic if you can safely reach it. If the house was empty during the freeze, note when you last saw it dry.
Which materials survive a freeze break, and which do not
Fiberglass batt insulation that got wet comes out; it does not dry inside a wall. Drywall that is merely damp on the back often dries in place once the insulation is removed. Ceiling drywall that sagged is finished. Tile floors survive. Laminate and the pad under carpet usually do not after days of water. Solid wood trim and doors can often be dried and reused. For each item that leaves, ask the crew which reading or which condition made the decision.
Why February 2021 hit San Marcos houses the way it did
Most San Marcos houses were built for heat, not cold. The water lines run through unconditioned attics and along outside walls with little insulation, and a lot of houses have a hose bib on every side. When Winter Storm Uri held the whole county below freezing from February 14 to February 19, 2021, lines froze in attics from Blanco Gardens to La Cima, and the breaks showed up as the thaw and the power came back together. Plumbers were booked for weeks; the water damage came first, and the pipe repair second.
Rentals near campus took it hardest, because many sat empty over the break and nobody was there to hear the splash. If you own a rental in San Marcos, a tenant's text about a stain on the ceiling after a freeze is a reason to get a crew there the same day, not after the semester starts. A line that burst inside a wall and dripped for a while can also show up weeks later as a damp smell, which is a leak detection call if the meter is still moving with everything off.
A pipe that bursts in a freeze is the kind of sudden loss many Texas policies respond to, and a lot of Hays County homeowners filed exactly that claim in 2021. Ask the crew to date every photo and reading from the first visit so the record shows when the house got wet and when it was dried.
Call about the pipe that let go
Tell us where the water came out, whether the valve is closed, and whether the house was empty when it happened. Mention any ceiling that is sagging or any wall that is wet to the touch. Call (737) 283-4979 and describe what you found.
