Frozen Pipe Burst in Prosper, TX

Hard freezes are rare in Prosper, but when they come they hit a housing stock built for heat. In February 2021, DFW stayed at or below freezing for 139 straight hours and dropped to 2 degrees below zero, and burst pipes became the main cause of water damage across Texas. Most Prosper homes are two-story builds on slabs, with lines running through exterior walls, garage walls and attic spaces where cold air sits. When those lines split, water often waits behind the ice, then floods drywall, insulation and flooring all at once during the thaw, and every home on the street is calling for help the same morning.

Within the first hour of thaw, water pours from the split into the wall cavity and across the floor, and garage drywall soaks from the bottom up. At 24 hours insulation in the wall is saturated and carpet pad in nearby rooms is wet. By 48 hours mold can begin on wet drywall paper and framing, especially when the furnace is running hard and warming the damp cavity. After a week, swollen baseboards, cupped flooring and stained ceilings show up, and the house smells musty even after the plumbing is fixed.

Water from a frozen line is clean when it first comes out, so much of the structure can be dried in place if the crew gets there early. Studs and plates in an exterior wall dry well once the wet insulation is pulled and air is pushed into the cavity. Carpet can often be saved by floating it and drying from underneath, and tile or sealed concrete in a garage dries quickly with air movers. Ceiling drywall below an attic split can sometimes be dried if it is still firm and attached, using small vent holes and upward airflow.

Wet fiberglass or blown insulation in exterior walls and the attic almost always comes out, because it packs down, holds water and stops insulating. Garage drywall that wicked water from the slab is usually flood cut a couple of feet up. Ceiling drywall that sagged under the weight of thaw water has to be replaced, and so do laminate planks that cupped. When a split went unnoticed for days during a long freeze, water may sit long enough for mold to start on wall paper and framing, and more material is removed.

Across Prosper, frozen pipes show up in a few predictable places: lines in garage walls next to the water heater, hose bibs and their supply runs, and pipes in upstairs exterior walls or attic spaces. Large two-story homes in Star Trail and Lakes of Prosper often have bathrooms or bonus rooms over the garage, where cold reaches the line from more than one side. Older streets in Gentle Creek Estates and estate homes in Whispering Farms have long runs to far wings and outdoor fixtures that are easy to forget when a freeze arrives.

The same freeze reaches nearby Aubrey, Celina and McKinney. Rural lots around Aubrey add barns and outbuildings with exposed lines, and older homes near downtown McKinney can have pipes in less insulated walls. Wherever you are in the served area, one call connects you with a local restoration pro. Tell them where the split is and whether the water is off, and a crew is dispatched as quickly as the freeze workload allows.