Burst pipes around Hartfordolder lines and outbuildings

Hartford's story begins with the railway in 1892, and the area has since grown into a mix that includes the city's Hartford Industrial Area and homes of different ages. We have not found street-level data on plumbing in this area, so what follows is general. Older houses may contain a patchwork of pipe materials, with repairs from different decades joined together. Galvanized steel corrodes from the inside and tends to clog before it leaks. Older copper can develop pinholes. The joints where one material meets another are often where trouble starts.

Larger lots add their own risk. A water line to a shop, barn or detached garage may be long, shallow or run through an unheated building. If a frost-proof hydrant or a line in a shed fails, nobody sees it from the kitchen window. The first clue may be a soggy patch in the yard, low pressure in the house or an unexpectedly high reading on the water meter. Learn to read your meter, as the burst pipe water damage page explains.

Opening up walls is routine in a pipe repair, but older buildings need a little more thought. Paint and flooring from earlier decades may contain lead or asbestos, and cutting or sanding them can release dust. Ask whether testing is needed before demolition. This usually adds a short step, and it protects you, your family and the crew.

Older walls may also surprise you. There may be knob-and-tube wiring, plaster on wood lath or earlier water damage that no one recorded. If wiring is found to be wet or old, have an electrician look at it. Electrical permits go through Washington Labor & Industries, whereas the city handles plumbing and building permits. Photographs taken when the wall is open are also valuable later, since they show what was already there and what the leak caused.

The worst freezes come when dry arctic air settles in with wind, and low or open ground can be especially exposed. Shops and outbuildings without heat freeze first. Before a cold snap, drain those lines if you can, disconnect hoses and cover exposed hydrants as the manufacturer directs. Keep a little heat in a pump house, if you have one, and check it each day.

Pipes under older homes may not be insulated at all, and vents that stand open in winter let cold air blow across them. Take a look at them from the hatch before winter, and wrap the exposed sections. If you have a pipe that has frozen before, assume it will freeze again and deal with it. A pipe that thaws slowly can start to spray hours after the coldest point has passed, so stay alert the morning after.

Being near the outlet channel means you could confuse a leak with a rise in surface water. A home's main valve and meter provide the quickest test: if closing the valve stops the water and the meter was moving before, your plumbing is the likely source. If water is muddy or coming across the ground, then it is probably from outside, and it should be treated as contaminated. The source affects how you handle cleanup and how your insurer views the loss. Washington's Insurance Commissioner says a typical home policy does not cover flooding, so you should record what you see in photographs. ^[7]

Your supplier may be Snohomish County PUD or another system, depending on your address. If a leak is on the street side of your meter, the utility should know right away. Check any contractor on the Washington L&I Verify tool before you hire them. ^[6]