Burst Pipe in Christchurch? What to Do in the First 10 Minutes

1. Shut the water off at the toby

Your toby is the main shut-off valve for the property. In most Christchurch homes it sits in a small round or rectangular box in the front lawn or berm, near the boundary, often close to the water meter.

Lift the lid, clear the dirt, and turn the valve clockwise until it stops. If the box is full of soil or the valve is seized, use the internal isolating valve instead, usually under the kitchen sink or in the laundry.

2. Drain the pressure out of the system

Open the lowest cold tap in the house, often an outside tap or laundry tub, and let the remaining water in the pipes run out. This stops the leak much faster than waiting for it to stop on its own.

3. Kill power to any wet area

If water is anywhere near a switchboard, ceiling light or power point, switch that circuit off at the board. Don't stand in water to reach it. If you can't get to the board safely, leave it and tell us when we arrive.

4. Protect what you can

• Get towels and a bucket under the leak
• Lift rugs, move furniture and pull items off wet carpet
• Photograph everything before you clean up, your insurer will ask
• Poke a small hole in a bulging ceiling to let trapped water drain into a bucket, it saves the whole ceiling

5. Call a licensed plumber

Tell us where the leak is, whether the water is off, and whether the ceiling is involved. We carry repair couplings, copper, PEX and pressure-testing gear, so most burst pipes are repaired on the first visit.

Why Christchurch pipes burst

Three causes come up again and again here: ground movement from the earthquakes leaving joints under stress, frost damage over winter in Halswell, Rolleston and the Port Hills, and old galvanised steel pipe in pre-1980s homes corroding from the inside out.

If your home still has galvanised pipework and you've had two or more leaks, replacement is usually cheaper than repeat repairs.

Frequently asked questions