Should I turn the electricity off before the water?

If water is near sockets, a light fitting or the consumer unit, yes — but only if you can reach the fusebox without standing in water and without touching anything wet. If you cannot reach it safely, leave it, keep everyone away from the area and have the supply cut at the meter by your electricity network operator.

Why should I open the taps after turning off the stop tap?

Because the pipework is still full. Opening every cold tap and flushing the toilets sends that water down the drain instead of out through the split. It also relieves pressure on the damaged section, which stops a small split opening further.

Can I turn off the stop tap in the pavement outside?

It belongs to your water supplier. WaterSafe advises that you may need permission to operate it even in an emergency, and that you can be liable if you damage it. In some streets it also serves more than one property. Use your internal stop tap first, and call your supplier if it will not shut off.

Is a burst pipe covered by home insurance?

Escape of water is a standard peril on most buildings and contents policies, and many policies also cover trace and access — the cost of finding the leak and making good the damage caused by getting to it. Gradual damage from wear and tear is the usual exclusion. Photograph everything before you clean up and tell your insurer before you commission repairs.

The water has stopped on its own. Is it safe to leave it until morning?

Only if the stop tap is off and staying off. A burst that appears to stop usually means the pipe has drained, not that it has healed — turn the water back on and it runs again. Leave the supply isolated, use the water in the kettle, and get it looked at rather than opening the tap to test.

What to Do if a Pipe Bursts: The First Ten Minutes

If water is anywhere near electrics, deal with that first and only if you can reach the fusebox dry-handed and dry-footed. Then turn the internal stop tap clockwise until it stops, open every cold tap and flush the toilets to empty the pipework, and switch the boiler off.

Leak Fix LondonLast updated 19 September 2026

Flooring and plaster being made good after a leak repair

Do this first, in this order

Look for electrics before you look at the water. Water running down a wall with sockets on it, dripping through a light fitting, or pooling near a consumer unit is the dangerous part of a burst pipe. Do not switch anything on or off in the wet area. Electrical Safety First is direct about it: switch the supply off at the fusebox only if it is safe to do so, and do not touch exposed wiring.
Turn off the internal stop tap. Clockwise. It is usually under the kitchen sink, and otherwise in a downstairs cloakroom, a utility room, a cellar, a garage or under the stairs. It can take a minute or two for the flow to die away. Do not force it.
Open every cold tap in the property and flush the toilets. This drains the pipework down so the water in it ends up in the drain instead of in your ceiling. It is the single most useful thing most people skip.
Switch the boiler off at the programmer, and at the fused spur beside it if the spur is dry. A combi that keeps firing with no water going anywhere is not helping.
Catch what is still coming. Buckets and towels, and move whatever you can out of the way. Lift rugs and electricals off the floor rather than mopping around them.
Photograph everything before you clean up. Wide shots of the room, close shots of the split pipe, a short video of water actually coming in. Insurers pay on evidence, and the evidence disappears the moment you tidy.

Then, and only then, phone somebody.

If the stop tap will not turn, or you cannot find it

Old stop taps seize shut open. If yours will not move, do not put a bar on it — snapping the spindle turns a leak into an unstoppable one. Go outside instead.

Most properties have an external stop valve near the boundary, under a small cover about the size of a CD case, sometimes in the footpath. WaterSafe makes two points about it worth knowing before you lift the lid: the valve belongs to your water supplier, you may need their permission to operate it even in an emergency, and if you damage it you can be liable for the repair. Some properties, particularly older terraces and conversions, share one valve between several homes, so turning it off cuts your neighbours off too.

In a purpose-built block there is usually an isolation valve on the riser serving your flat, often in a service cupboard on the landing. That is the managing agent's territory, and they should know where it is.

Which bursts are not yours to deal with

Where the water is coming from	Who deals with it
Water bubbling up in the road, pavement or a communal grass verge	Your water company. Report it to them, not to a plumber.
The supply pipe between the boundary stopcock and your house	You. That length is the property owner's private supply pipe.
A communal riser, tank or pump in a block of flats	The freeholder or managing agent.
Pipework inside your own walls, floors, loft or boiler	You, or your insurer under escape of water.

If the leak has come from the flat above, the immediate job is getting their water off, not finding the pipe. Knock. If nobody answers, call the managing agent and ask them to gain access. Meanwhile, see what to do while water is coming through a ceiling.

The electrics, properly

This is the part that kills people and the part most burst-pipe advice skims. Three rules.

Do not stand in water to reach the fusebox. If the consumer unit is in a flooded understairs cupboard or a wet cellar, leave it and get everyone out of the area. Contact your electricity network operator to have the supply cut at the meter instead.
Do not switch anything on to test it. No lights, no appliances, nothing in the affected area until a registered electrician has checked it. Use a torch.
If there is any water inside the consumer unit, or any sign of arcing, burning or a smell of hot plastic, treat it as a fire risk. Get out and call 999.

Afterwards, anything that got wet — fixed wiring, a boiler, a shower unit, appliances — needs checking by a registered electrician before it is used again, and the supply stays off until they say otherwise.

When it is 999, not a plumber

Call the fire brigade if someone is trapped, if a ceiling is about to come down on a room you cannot clear, if there is arcing or smoke near electrics, or if the water is rising and you are in immediate danger. The London Fire Brigade also asks people not to wade or drive through flowing water: six inches of fast-moving water is enough to knock an adult over.

If you smell gas at the same time, that is a separate emergency. Do not switch anything electrical, open the windows, turn the gas off at the emergency control valve next to the meter if you can reach it safely, and call the national gas emergency line — the number is on your gas bill and on the Gas Safe Register website. After any flooding around a boiler or gas meter, Gas Safe Register is clear that a registered engineer must check the installation before the gas goes back on, because water in the pipework and corroded valves are not visible from outside.

What you can do yourself, and what you cannot

Almost everything above is a competent adult's job, and doing it well genuinely changes the size of the repair. Turning off the stop tap, draining the pipework, catching water, moving belongings, taking photographs, isolating a radiator on its valves: all yours.

What is not: anything behind a boiler casing, any work on gas pipework or gas appliances, which under the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 must be done by a Gas Safe registered engineer, and anything involving live electrics. A temporary clamp on an accessible copper pipe is reasonable; see how to hold a leaking pipe until it is repaired for what actually works and for how long.

What happens after the water is off

A burst you can see is a repair. A burst you cannot see — a pipe that let go under a floor, in a wall, or under screed — is a trace first, then a repair. We isolate and pressure-test to confirm where the loss is, then trace the run with thermal imaging and, where the circuit can be drained, tracer gas, so the floor is opened in one place rather than searched. That is the burst pipe repair job, and where the opening leaves a hole in a floor or ceiling, our own handymen close it back up.

Our rate is £150 per hour, agreed before we attend. If we are looking for a hidden leak and do not find it, you do not pay for the time we spent looking. The total depends on how long the work takes, so nobody can quote you a final figure down the phone. If you are claiming, the trace and access side of the policy is usually what pays for finding it.

Frequently asked

Should I turn the electricity off before the water?: If water is near sockets, a light fitting or the consumer unit, yes — but only if you can reach the fusebox without standing in water and without touching anything wet. If you cannot reach it safely, leave it, keep everyone away from the area and have the supply cut at the meter by your electricity network operator.
Why should I open the taps after turning off the stop tap?: Because the pipework is still full. Opening every cold tap and flushing the toilets sends that water down the drain instead of out through the split. It also relieves pressure on the damaged section, which stops a small split opening further.
Can I turn off the stop tap in the pavement outside?: It belongs to your water supplier. WaterSafe advises that you may need permission to operate it even in an emergency, and that you can be liable if you damage it. In some streets it also serves more than one property. Use your internal stop tap first, and call your supplier if it will not shut off.
Is a burst pipe covered by home insurance?: Escape of water is a standard peril on most buildings and contents policies, and many policies also cover trace and access — the cost of finding the leak and making good the damage caused by getting to it. Gradual damage from wear and tear is the usual exclusion. Photograph everything before you clean up and tell your insurer before you commission repairs.
The water has stopped on its own. Is it safe to leave it until morning?: Only if the stop tap is off and staying off. A burst that appears to stop usually means the pipe has drained, not that it has healed — turn the water back on and it runs again. Leave the supply isolated, use the water in the kettle, and get it looked at rather than opening the tap to test.

Sources

No find, no fee · £150 per hour. The rate is fixed before we attend and does not rise for a difficult property, an awkward access or an evening visit. The total depends on how long the job takes; the rate cannot change.