LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The warmer temperatures might feel like a relief, but with them comes some expensive problems for homeowners.
Plumbers are swamped with calls for busted pipes.
Friday was the first time temperatures went above freezing. Pipes that froze earlier this week are starting to thaw, and it's causing thousands of dollars in damage.
"We have a frozen pipe in the wall," said George McKinney, a plumber for Jarboe's. "Thousands of gallons of water could spew out onto the floor."
McKinney was busy with house calls Friday.
"The water works its way down the pipe and damages the floor and carpet, so it is an extensive job," he said.
"About 4 o'clock in the morning, we were rudely awakened by the sound of rushing water," said Craig Robinson, a Louisville homeowner. "We came running down (to the basement) and walked into squishy carpet, water everywhere and water coming down the inside of the wall."
After ripping out the sopping carpet, Robinson expects it to be an expensive fix.
"The plumbing has been very reasonable, but we've got drywall repair. We've got carpet replacement," Robinson said. "It'll be into the six figures, but how far? I don't know yet."
Inside another home, the water pressure pierced a copper pipe and exploded through a wall.
"We always recommend to people: If they find that their pipes are frozen ... shut off their main valve and open up as many valves in the home to prevent the water from coming out here and maybe inside of a sink somewhere after it thaws out," McKinney said.
But if the pipe does burst, plumbers will be working around the clock.
"We treat these calls as emergencies, and we try to come out as soon as we can," McKinney said.
With even warmer temperatures headed our way Saturday, plumbers expect to stay busy with busted pipes calls for the rest of the weekend.
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