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What to Do if Your Home’s External Pipe Breaks

Posted on February 18, 2020 by Melbourne Plumber

Many homes here in Central Florida are made from concrete block. Consequently, the external pipes to items such as water sprinklers or outdoor spigots run on the outside of the home and are bolted or fastened against the surface of the concrete. Many of these pipes are made from PVC or other plumbing plastics.

Day after day these pipes are exposed to the rays of the sun. It may seem innocuous but over decades time, the suns rays can have a warping and degrading effect on these pipes. The pipe becomes brittle and one day while you are watering your lawn or flowers the pipe may snap. Now water is pouring out everywhere. What to do?

1. Don’t panic. The amount of water escaping won’t really increase your bill that much. And the mild flood it creates will dissipate in 24 hours. Its Florida, we are used to an abundance of water.
2. Turn off the source to that pipe. Many times there will be an an/off knob somewhere down the line. You can shut off the pipe. If there is no shut-off valve, just shut the house main water off until you can regroup.
3. You can choose to cap this pipe or put a new faucet on it. The supplies are at the local hardware store. Make sure you have the correct size pipe and get yourself a saw and pipe glue.
4. If you don’t trust your skills at pipe repair, call your local plumber. He can have you fixed up in a jiff. A repair like this can cost anywhere between $150-$250 depending on what needs to be done.

Again, this happens every day and you should not panic. Get yourself a nice new outdoor spigot and get back to watering your lawn and/or garden in now time.