Burst Pipe Repair in District Heights, MD

District Heights conditions

District Heights is a small, fully built-out city near Route 4, and many of its Cape Cod homes date to the 1940s, when builders put up modest single-family houses with FHA financing. The city's median home was built in 1968. With housing that age, older supply and drain piping is common, and fittings, valves and pipe walls have had decades to weaken. Cape Cods also tend to have plumbing in knee walls and basements close to exterior walls, which are the spots that freeze first.

WSSC Water supplies water and sewer service. WSSC owns the service line from the main to the property line, and the customer owns the part from the property line into the home. If water is pouring into the street or at the meter, call WSSC's emergency line, 301-206-4002. In Prince George's County, plumbing permits and inspections come from WSSC, not the county, and WSSC requires a plumber holding its license for service line repairs and interior repiping.

Comparing repair approaches

Signs to look for

• Water dripping from an upstairs bathroom into the room below
• Rusty water spurting from an old pipe
• A sudden drop in pressure across the house
• Water on the basement floor near the front foundation wall
• The meter turning with all taps closed

Timing notes

Breaks here usually come during or right after a stretch of freezing weather, often when a frozen section thaws and water starts flowing through the crack. Before winter, disconnect hoses, insulate exposed basement pipe and keep the heat steady even when you're away. If you smell gas during the emergency, leave and call 911 and Washington Gas at 844-WASHGAS (927-4427), option 1, from outside.