Burst & Frozen Pipe Repair Cost
A simple burst pipe in an accessible spot runs $400 – $1,000 to repair. Inside a wall or ceiling, expect $500 – $2,000 plus drywall, and after-hours emergency rates add 1.5 to 3 times the base. The repair is the easy part: the water damage and the question of why the pipe failed (a freeze, or copper pinholes that signal more to come) decide the real cost.
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| Location | Repair range | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Accessible pipe (basement, crawl, garage) | $400 – $1,000 | Open run, cut out and replace the section |
| In-wall pipe | $500 – $2,000 | Plus drywall cut, patch and paint |
| Ceiling pipe | $500 – $2,000 | Plus ceiling repair and any water damage above |
| Pinhole leak in copper | $150 – $600 | Small fix, but often a warning of more to come |
| Frozen-burst repair | $500 – $2,000 | Often multiple splits once a run freezes |
| Factor | Effect | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Emergency / after-hours rate | 1.5 – 3x base | Nights, weekends, holidays, active flooding |
| Drywall or ceiling repair | $300 – $1,500 | Patch, texture and paint over the opening |
| Water extraction & drying | $500 – $3,000 | If the burst flooded a finished space |
| Multiple splits from one freeze | +$300 – $1,000 | A frozen run rarely fails in just one spot |
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Why location decides the price
The plumbing repair for a burst pipe is nearly the same wherever it happens: cut out the failed section, clean the ends, and splice in new pipe. What changes the bill is getting to it and closing it back up. An accessible burst in a basement or crawl space is $400 – $1,000 because the plumber walks right up to it.
A burst inside a wall or ceiling runs $500 – $2,000 because the crew has to open finished surfaces, work in a tight cavity, and then patch drywall, texture and paint. If you suspect a hidden break, our guides to a pipe leaking in a wall and a water leak in the ceiling cover the first containment moves before the plumber arrives, which can keep the water-damage line off your final bill.
Emergency rates: when 1.5 to 3 times applies
A burst pipe that is actively flooding does not wait for business hours, and the rate reflects that. After-hours, weekend and holiday calls run 1.5 to 3 times the standard labor rate. A repair that would be $500 at 10 a.m. on Tuesday can be $1,000 – $1,500 at midnight on a Saturday.
You can blunt this. The moment a pipe bursts, shut off the main water valve, that one move stops the flooding and converts a 2 a.m. emergency into a morning appointment at standard rates. Open a low faucet to drain the lines, and if you know which run failed, mention it when you call so the plumber arrives with the right fittings. Detailed emergency pricing lives on our emergency plumber cost page.
Pinhole leaks: the warning inside the wall
A pinhole leak in copper is a small repair, $150 – $600, but it is rarely a one-time event. Pinholes come from pitting corrosion, the copper eaten through from the inside by aggressive water chemistry, high velocity, or stray electrical current. The pipe that pinholed today is the same age and chemistry as every other copper run in the house.
So the question after a pinhole is not just how to patch it, but whether more are coming. One pinhole is a repair. A second within a year or two, especially in different parts of the house, is the corrosion telling you the copper has reached the end of its service life. At that point a whole-house repipe in PEX stops the pattern, where patching each new pinhole just postpones the next call.
Frozen pipes: the seasonal burst
Most winter bursts follow the same script: water freezes in an unheated section (an exterior wall, an unconditioned crawl space, a garage line), expands, and splits the pipe. The split often does not leak until the ice thaws and water flows again, which is why the flood and the freeze can be hours apart. A frozen run rarely fails in just one spot, so freeze repairs run $500 – $2,000 and frequently involve replacing several feet rather than one fitting.
If you catch a pipe frozen but not yet burst, our guide to thawing frozen pipes safely can prevent the split entirely. After the repair, the lasting fix is prevention: insulating exposed runs, sealing the air leaks that let cold reach them, and keeping a trickle running on the coldest nights. Pipes on exterior walls and in crawl spaces are the repeat offenders.
What the repair visit looks like
For an accessible burst, the plumber shuts the water, cuts out the damaged section, and splices in new pipe (a soldered coupling on copper, a crimp or expansion fitting on PEX, or a push-fit fitting like a SharkBite for a fast splice with no soldering), then pressure-tests and restores water, often within the hour. The bill is mostly the plumbing.
For an in-wall or ceiling burst, add the demolition and restoration: opening the surface, drying the cavity, and patching. If a finished space flooded, a restoration crew may handle extraction and drying ($500 – $3,000) as a separate trade. Ask whether the quote includes returning the wall to paint-ready, since that line is easy to leave out and expensive to add later.
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