Plumbers in high demand across North Texas as travelers return to broken pipes
FORT WORTH, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) — Plumbers were in high demand Monday in North Texas as homeowners turned their attention from the holiday, to damage from last week's deep freeze.
The terrible timing of the pre-Christmas cold front meant many people elected for a quick fix for burst pipes when things began to thaw out Christmas Eve, often capping lines to get through the weekend and limit emergency service pricing.
Now in need of permanent repairs, plumbers had schedules filling up quickly for the week, while still working with limited staff.
While the damage was mild compared to the major Texas freeze of 2021, the full scope may not be clear until after Jan. 1, one company owner pointed out, with many people still out of town for the holiday.
"There could be a whole lot more we're not aware of yet," said Aaron Kane, with C&K Plumbing in Fort Worth. "People haven't called because they're out of town, or they don't know."
Some of the damaged pipes plumbers were finding were the same ones impacted by that 2021 storm, said Isaac Gann of Panther City Plumbing. Overwhelmed by the demand at the time, some lines never received a correct repair.
"We ran out of parts last time," he said. "So people were just patching things in with stuff, and a lot of the shark bite fittings that got thrown on last time are the ones that are failing right now."
Gann said it appeared people prepared better for this freeze, with several days of advance notice allowing them to minimize damage.