Burst and frozen pipes in Manchester

Right now

1. Shut off the main. In most Manchester houses the main valve is in the basement where the water line comes through the foundation wall, next to the meter. Close it fully.
2. Open a faucet on the lowest floor to drain the lines and take pressure off the break.
3. Keep away from wet electrical. If water reached outlets or the panel area, stay out of standing water and call an electrician.
4. Photograph it before you move anything: the split pipe, the wet rooms, the ceiling below.
5. Thaw other frozen lines safely. The Red Cross says to use an electric heating pad, a hair dryer, a space heater kept away from anything flammable, or towels soaked in hot water, and never a blowtorch, kerosene or propane heater, charcoal stove or other open flame.

How cold it gets

Over 2016-2025 Manchester Airport averaged 12.7 nights a year at or below 10°F and 2.6 at or below zero, with 26.4 days that never got above freezing. Concord, 18 miles up the river, has the longer record: 12.8 nights a year at or below zero over 1991-2020, and 27.8 in the 1970s. Fewer deep-freeze nights doesn't mean fewer burst pipes in a given winter; it takes only one.

Average days the high stayed at or below 32°F, by month

Which pipes freeze

The Red Cross lists the usual places: supply pipes in unheated basements and attics, and pipes along outside walls. In Manchester add the ones older houses have: a line to an outside spigot that was never drained, plumbing in an enclosed porch, and a basement where the furnace quit or the oil tank ran dry overnight. About 26% of homes in the city's five ZIP codes heat with fuel oil (Census ACS).

The cleanup

A pipe that split behind a wall can run for hours before anyone sees it, and water runs down: through the ceiling below, into the wall cavity and onto the basement floor. A restoration company extracts the water, opens what has to be opened and dries the rest with readings each day. How water damage restoration works.

Insurance

A sudden burst pipe is usually a covered homeowners loss. Policies often exclude freezing damage in a house left unheated or vacant unless you kept the heat on or drained the system, so read that section. Insurance claims in New Hampshire.