Oklahoma City plumbers fully booked for weeks working on busted pipes across the metro

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – People across the metro were dealing with busted pipes over the holiday weekend, and now as the temperatures are warming up, it’s keeping plumbers across the city busy today.  

Property owners and landlords have been dealing with busted pipe issues over the holiday weekend into Monday.

One of the property managers KFOR spoke with at an apartment complex in Uptown said they’ve seen the issue across five of their properties over the weekend. 

“It’s been a hectic holiday across all of the properties that we manage. We’ve had some busted pipes and no heat, which has resulted in some water damage. And today’s basically a day of cleanup. We’re just all hands on deck trying to get water extracted, get drywall, flood cut, get people back to the heat and running water,” said Natalie Johnson, owner and broker of Dynamic Property Solutions. 

Due to a busted pipe, the waters been shut off at the entire apartment complex in Uptown. 

“At this particular property, what happened is the really severe temperatures basically caused a break in our water spigot. And although that floods to the outside, when that burst happens, it backs up into units. So, we have two units essentially that were flooded,” said Johnson.  

Now plumbers across the city are struggling to keep up with the demand.  

“We’re a small company and I’m answering the phones and running the calls at the same time out in the field, too. So, we’re just doing what we can… There’s going to be a lot of people that have to wait on plumbers to come out because they’re just in such high demand right now,” said Bill Elliott, owner of Cutting Edge Plumbing. 

Elliott said the biggest challenge has been getting supplies. 

“It’s hard because today’s considered the holiday and the parts stores are closed, other than your major suppliers like Home Depot and Lowe’s or whatever. So, um, but most of our of the specialty parts that we need and stuff are, you know, not accessible today,” said Elliott.  

Daniel Greene with Hull Plumbing Inc. said they’ve received over 250 calls.  

“The phones are non-stop ringing. My dispatchers are actually probably starting to lose their voices… The vast majority of our urgent emergencies right now have been water leaks coming from ceilings with people who’ve had slab leaks and improperly installed overhead loops. We’ve seen a lot of flooding underneath homes, inside of homes. Water heaters are going out and rupturing. Just in general, anything that could freeze and burst and potentially go wrong is actually going wrong,” said Greene. 

Greene said they expect to stay busy for the next two to three months because of this issue and wants to remind people, this is only the beginning.  

To avoid busted pipes, plumbers suggest to keep faucets dripping, leave cabinet doors open and keep the heat on.