Frozen, burst pipes have plumbers in high demand across Kentucky

Repairing a broken water pipe inside a wall is tough, but sometimes just finding the leak can be maddening.

Ben Osmer, a plumber with Bluegrass Rooter in Lexington, repaired one pipe Tuesday afternoon in an apartment at a complex on Kirklevington Drive. But when he turned the water back on, splashing sounds indicated at least two more leaks somewhere inside the wall.

Osmer had to cut away drywall to find and repair them.

Plumbers are busy all around Kentucky this week, repairing untold numbers of pipes that froze and then burst during the bitterly cold weather late last week.

Lexington firefighters made at least 80 runs over the weekend to shut off water in homes or businesses where pipes had burst, Battalion Chief Joe Best said.

With more cold weather expected this week, there's no immediate break in sight.

Johnny Mulligan, who operates Mulligan Plumbing in Lexington, said he and his employees were tuckered out after repairing pipes most of last week and through the weekend.

"A man can only go so long," Mulligan said. His phone was still ringing with repair calls Sunday morning.

When pipes burst, about all homeowners can do is turn off the water and wait for the plumber. With so many pipes to be fixed, it can be a long wait.

"I'd say some may be having to wait two and three days," said Mulligan, who does both residential and commercial plumbing work. "I know I definitely can't take more calls until Thursday."

David Martin, who works for Blue Grass Plumbing & Heating in Richmond, said Monday that he's fully booked, even after taking "probably close to 100 calls" on Saturday.

"I'm still getting calls. But I'm booked up, probably to the end of the week," Martin said. "That's a long time to go without service, but you can only get what you can get."

Some plumbing contractors in Winchester said they couldn't talk to a reporter Tuesday because they simply didn't have time.

Ben Magedanz, who works for Fayette Plumbing, Heating and Air Conditioning in Lexington, said calls about broken pipes started Friday and just kept building.

"We got calls Friday morning from people who didn't have any water coming out of their faucets because their pipes were frozen," he said. "The same people were calling back Friday afternoon because their pipes had burst and they had water running through their walls and down on the floor."

Mulligan predicted that there will be more problems in the spring, when homeowners get ready to use their outside spigots and find that those have burst.

Ron Derington, who owns Bluegrass Rooter, said repairing pipes can take as little as a hour, or most of an afternoon if multiple breaks are involved. He said one job last weekend started out as one break and ultimately involved six.

Mulligan said the best way to avoid broken pipes is to keep faucets running during extremely cold weather.

"I'm talking about a steady stream of water, not drip, drip drip," he said. "Running water will not freeze."

Magedanz offered this advice: Turn up the thermostat in your home long enough for the heat to penetrate walls and reach the pipes. And don't leave your garage door open.

"We had calls from people who didn't close their garage doors, and the pipes running through their garage ceiling froze," he said.

Best, the Lexington fire official, said the most important tip is to know where your home's shut-off valve is and how to use it. Quickly shutting off the water can limit damage if a pipe does burst, he said.

"It's a simple thing that can be the difference between a $300 repair bill and a $3,000 repair bill," Best said.

This story was originally published February 24, 2015 at 4:32 PM with the headline "Frozen, burst pipes have plumbers in high demand across Kentucky."