Scranton Water Damage / Frozen and burst pipes
Frozen and burst pipes in Scranton
Scranton winters give pipes plenty of chances to freeze. The pipes that go are the ones near the cellar's outside walls, in a kitchen wall facing the wind, or in a back addition that was closed in years after the house was built.
How cold it gets here
The NOAA normals for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton airport in Avoca show about 122 nights a year at or below freezing, and about 45 nights at 20 degrees or colder. January averages a low of about 20. That is a lot of hours for cold air to find its way through a stone foundation or a gap at the sill.
The real trouble comes in a long stretch when the high doesn't get above freezing for days. The heat runs all the time, but the far corner of the cellar and the inside of an outside wall never catch up.
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Try the cost calculatorWhere lines freeze in older Scranton houses
About half the homes in the city were built before 1940, according to the Census Bureau's 2024 survey. Those houses went up long before anyone insulated a rim joist, and many have been replumbed in pieces over the years. The usual weak spots:
- Supply lines running along the top of the cellar wall, right where the house sits on the foundation.
- The water meter and the pipe near it, when they sit close to the front wall.
- A kitchen or bathroom added on the back, over a crawlspace or a porch.
- The line to an outside spigot that was never shut off from inside for the winter.
- Heating pipes on a boiler system, if the heat goes out for long enough.
Who owns which pipe
Pennsylvania American Water owns the main in the street, the curb stop valve, and the meter. The service line from the curb stop into the house belongs to the owner. So does everything inside. PAW also expects customers to keep the meter somewhere it is protected from freezing. If the break is at the street or the curb stop, call PAW's 24-hour line at 1-800-565-7292.
Thawing a frozen line
Use a hair dryer, a heat lamp, or a space heater set a safe distance away. Start at the faucet end and work back toward the frozen spot, with the faucet open. Never use a torch or any open flame. Old houses have dry framing and dust right next to these pipes, and a torch can start a fire inside the wall that nobody sees until it is too late.
If you can't reach the frozen section, or you thaw it and water starts spraying, close the main and call a plumber.
Drying plaster, stone, and old wood
Burst pipe water in a house this age behaves differently from water in a newer house. Plaster on wood lath holds water longer than drywall, and it can look dry on the face while the lath behind it is still soaked. Stone and old brick in the cellar soak up water and give it back slowly. Old hardwood floors cup when they get wet, and they can crack if they are dried too hard and fast.
The crew meters the plaster, the framing, and the floor, then sets dehumidifiers and air movers to match. Plaster that is still sound can often be dried in place. Plaster that has let go of the lath, or is bulging, usually has to come down. Hardwood gets dried slowly and checked as it goes.
If the leak came through a ceiling from the floor above, expect the plaster to sag before it falls. Keep everyone out from under it.
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Questions
Who fixes the pipe between the street and my house?
Under Pennsylvania American Water's rules, the service line from the curb stop to the house belongs to the owner. PAW handles the main, the curb stop, and the meter.
Should I leave a faucet dripping in a cold snap?
On a line you know freezes, a thin drip helps because moving water is slower to freeze. Opening the cabinet doors under sinks on outside walls helps too.
Can wet plaster be saved?
Often, if it was clean water and the plaster is still tight to the lath. The crew meters it and dries it in place. Plaster that sags or has come loose usually has to come down.