Burst pipe in exterior wall?
I recently had mice in my house (a family of 7, since deceased) living in an exterior wall. Friday temperature at my house were around a high of 20F with a wind chill. The kitchen faucet on the exterior wall were the mice were living did not turn on on Saturday morning. With the help of a hair dryer I was able to get it to run, no sweat. 2 days later i noticed my carpet on the floor below was soaked. No ceiling or wall stains at all. I am certain it is piping, now uninsulated from the mice issue, that burst as a result of the plunged temps. My question is what exactly would have burst (pipe, fitting, elbow, etc) and how difficult is the fix? Also, in a wood framed house, wouldn’t I expect staining on the GWB walls on the floor below the piping?
You have to knock out the portion of the wall to get to the leak. You didn’t say if you had old steel pipe or copper. It isn’t hard, but you will need help. It is something that any handyman can do. Once you get to the break, take it to Home depot, they will help you with the parts you need. I hope that you have copper. If it is steel, you will probably need a plumber. Good luck. Mice had nothing to do with the leak, other than pulling away the insulation. Your pipe obviously froze, that is what caused the leak. Once you get the new pipe in, wrap it with styrofoam insulation tubing. it is cheap, and put insulation back in the areas of the pipe.