Burst Pipe Winter Water Damage — Clearfield, UT

Loss Type: Category 1 Water / Freeze-Burst Pipe Location: Clearfield, UT near Antelope Drive Response Time: 49 minutes Job Duration: 5 days Insurance: Yes – Farmers

The Situation

A homeowner near Antelope Drive in Clearfield returned from a four-day holiday trip to find their home had experienced a significant water damage restoration event. A copper pipe in an exterior wall of the garage had frozen and burst during a cold snap while the home was unoccupied and the thermostat had been set low. Water had run undetected for an estimated 3 days, flooding the garage, penetrating the shared wall into the adjacent mudroom, and migrating down through a subfloor gap into a finished basement room directly below. The homeowner called immediately upon returning. Upkeep was on-site in 49 minutes.

The Problem

Three days of undetected water running in a structure creates a layered damage profile that is significantly more complex than a same-day loss. By the time we arrived, the garage slab had standing water, the mudroom subfloor was fully saturated, the shared wall between the garage and mudroom had absorbed water through the full height of the affected section, and the finished basement room below showed a wet ceiling, saturated carpet, and water-stained drywall on two walls. Thermal imaging confirmed the moisture had tracked further into the basement than the visible staining suggested — extending across the ceiling assembly and into an adjoining storage room. Total affected area across all three levels was approximately 520 square feet. The Farmers claim was filed immediately and the adjuster was on-site the following morning.

What We Did

Given the multi-level nature of the loss we established separate drying zones on each level and addressed each assembly independently. A licensed plumber repaired the burst pipe before drying work began. Garage and mudroom level: We performed water extraction from the garage slab and removed the mudroom flooring and saturated subfloor section — approximately 60 square feet — to allow direct drying of the floor joist assembly below. The shared wall drywall on the mudroom side was removed from floor to ceiling to expose the wall cavity which had absorbed water across its full height. Basement level: We removed the saturated carpet and pad from the affected basement room and the ceiling drywall across the full moisture-affected area — approximately 180 square feet. This exposed the floor joists from below and allowed simultaneous drying of the joist assembly from both above and below. The combined structural drying system across all levels included:

• 5 LGR dehumidifiers distributed across garage, mudroom, and basement zones
• 8 air movers directed at exposed joist assemblies, wall cavities, and concrete slab
• Injectidry wall drying panels on the garage side of the shared wall
• Twice-daily moisture readings on all structural materials across all three levels

The joist assembly between the mudroom and basement required the full 5 days to reach target moisture content given the volume of water it had absorbed over three days.

The Outcome

All structural materials dried completely without secondary mold development — a significant concern given the 3-day exposure window. Jobs where exposure windows are longer can result in mold growth after prolonged water exposure in Clearfield that requires full remediation. The Farmers claim covered the full remediation and rebuild scope. The homeowner’s contractor rebuilt the mudroom floor, replaced the basement ceiling and carpet, and reinstalled the shared wall drywall. We included a recommendation in our job report for pipe insulation on the exterior garage wall to prevent a recurrence. For homeowners dealing with burst pipe damage, we provide water damage restoration in Clearfield and throughout Davis County.

“Coming home to three days of water damage was devastating. Upkeep assessed the whole situation quickly, explained what needed to happen on every level of the house, and executed it perfectly. The Farmers adjuster told us our documentation was some of the most thorough he had seen. That meant everything.”— J. Whitehead, Clearfield UT

We have also handled a sump pump failure in Clearfield and a dishwasher leak in Clearfield — along with a thematically similar frozen pipe burst in South Weber — illustrating how freeze-related losses affect homes across Davis County each winter. Browse our full case studies to see more examples of how we respond to water damage events across Davis County.