Burst Pipe Repair in Kensington, MD

Why do Kensington pipes burst?

Kensington's median home was built in 1959, and the southern part of town is a planned Victorian-era layout listed as a historic district. Many homes still have original plumbing or a mix of old and newer pipe. Cold is the usual trigger: water freezes in a line running through an exterior wall, a porch floor or an unheated basement corner, expands and splits the pipe. Older valves and joints can also fail under a pressure change. Many breaks show only when the ice thaws and water starts to run.

Who do I call about the water outside, and who fixes the inside?

WSSC Water handles water and sewer service. For a break in the street, a leaking hydrant or water bubbling near the meter, call WSSC's emergency line at 301-206-4002. The pipes in your house are yours to have repaired by a plumber. WSSC also runs a Service Line Replacement Program with financial assistance and an address-searchable map of service line materials, which is worth checking if your house is older.

Do I need a Town permit as well?

WSSC Water issues plumbing, gasfitting and service connection permits. The Town of Kensington has its own forms for home construction projects, so if water damage leads to bigger repairs, call Town Hall at 301-949-2424 to ask what applies. The 20895 mailing area is much larger than the town itself; addresses outside the town limits go to Montgomery County for building permits. Pipe repairs themselves stay with WSSC and a plumber registered with WSSC Water.

A local note

If the home has lawn irrigation, a fire sprinkler system or a pool with a testable backflow assembly, WSSC requires an annual test by a WSSC-certified cross-connection technician, with the results sent to WSSC by a registered master plumber. Freeze damage on irrigation often shows up at that spring test, so book it early if the system sat outside through a hard winter.

One more thing worth doing once the repair is finished: find and test the main shutoff. In many older Kensington houses the valve is an original gate valve in the basement that has not been turned in years. If it is stiff or will not close fully, ask the plumber about replacing it while the water is already off.