Shut off the water first
Find the main shutoff and turn it clockwise until it stops. In Forsyth County homes it is usually in one of three places:
- Inside the garage or basement where the water line comes through the wall.
- In a meter box near the street, which may need a special meter wrench to open.
- On the wall behind the water heater or in a utility closet.
If the leak is at one fixture, such as a toilet or sink, the small valve under that fixture will stop it. Then open a faucet on the lowest floor to drain pressure out of the lines.
What the crew does
A plumber fixes the pipe. A water damage crew deals with everything the water touched. That usually means extracting water from floors, removing wet baseboards and cutting drywall a foot or two above the wet line, checking insulation inside the wall, and drying the framing and subfloor with dehumidifiers and air movers.
Some restoration companies have plumbers on staff or work with one regularly. Ask on the call if you still need the leak itself repaired.
Have this ready when you call
- What is leaking, if you know: a supply line, the water heater, a toilet, the roof, a crawl space or a drain.
- Whether the water is clean or looks and smells like sewage.
- Which rooms and floors are wet, including the crawl space or basement, and about how long it has been wet.
- Whether the main water valve is off and the power to wet rooms is off.
- Your road or subdivision in Cumming or Forsyth County, so a crew close to you picks up.
Most calls take a couple of minutes. Stay on the line and you will be matched with a local company that can send someone out.
Free to call. You are not signing up for anything.
Why supply lines fail in Cumming homes
The houses built across south and central Forsyth County in the last thirty years are full of the same parts: plastic or braided supply lines to every toilet and sink, rubber washer hoses, refrigerator ice maker lines and PEX or CPVC plumbing. Those parts age. A washer hose that has been under pressure for ten years can split without warning, and a supply line nut can crack after a plumber overtightened it on install day.
Where the water goes depends on where the leak starts. Many newer homes around Vickery, Polo Fields and the subdivisions off Bethelview Road have laundry rooms and full baths upstairs. A failure there soaks the subfloor and comes through the ceiling below. In homes with finished basements, a leak on the main floor can run down the inside of a wall and pool on the basement slab before anyone sees it.
Hard freezes are not common in Cumming, but they happen. The Christmas 2022 cold snap froze pipes all over metro Atlanta, and the breaks showed up when the lines thawed. The usual weak spots are pipes in exterior walls, in crawl spaces, in unheated garages and in attics over bonus rooms.
If you are away when a line breaks, water can run for hours. Smart leak sensors near the water heater, washer and fridge are inexpensive, and some insurers give a discount for them.