How to Stop a Water Leak in a Burst Copper Pipe

Stop the water at the inline stopcock if one exists. If not, turn off the water at the mains.

Snap a rotary pipe cutter onto the pipe to one side of the damaged area. Rotate it in the direction indicated on the cutter side (it only cuts one way) to cut through the pipe. If you don’t have a rotary pipe cutter, a hacksaw can be used. Repeat this step on the other side of the damaged area to remove and discard the damaged section of pipe.

Measure the length of damaged pipe and using a rotary pipe cutter or hacksaw, cut a new piece of copper pipe with the same dimensions. The pipe connectors used are called Instantor fittings. Use the Instantors to connect the ends of the existing and new pipe together.

Firmly tighten the joints using an adjustable wrench.