Burst pipe at night: the three things to do before we arrive

A burst pipe does its worst damage in the first few minutes. The single most useful thing you can do is shut the water off fast -- which means knowing where your main stop valve is before you ever need it.

Find it now: usually under the kitchen sink, in the garage, or at the boundary. Turn it clockwise to close. Then open the lowest tap in the house to drain the remaining pressure, and switch off the hot water supply if the burst is on a hot line.

Once the water is off and draining, call us. With the flow stopped you have turned an emergency into a job that can be done properly rather than in a panic -- and you have saved your floors and ceilings in the process.