Burst Pipe Repair in North Bay
Poly-B Plumbing repairs burst and split water pipes in North Bay, Callander, Sturgeon Falls, Powassan and the surrounding communities during business hours. A burst pipe is a supply line that has cracked or split under pressure, usually from ice, corrosion or a failed joint, and it keeps pouring water until the main valve is closed. Owner Paul Bosse is a Red Seal journeyman plumber in the trade since 2003. Poly-B does not patch: the damaged section is cut out and replaced with copper or PEX, soldered, crimped or ProPress, with a written flat-rate quote first and photos for your insurer after. Call 705-345-6616.
Service hours
- Monday to Thursday7:00 am to 7:00 pm
- Friday7:00 am to 5:00 pm
- Saturday and SundayClosed
Emergency service is available during business hours only. Members of the $49-per-month plan get priority scheduling.
What to do in the first five minutes
Close the main shut-off
In most North Bay homes it is on the wall where the water service enters the basement, often near the meter. Turn it clockwise until it stops. If the valve is seized, call and say so; Poly-B will talk you through the next option.
Open the lowest tap
A basement laundry tap or outdoor hose bib drains the pressure out of the system so the split stops spraying.
Kill power to anything wet
If water reached outlets, the furnace, or the electrical panel area, switch those breakers off before you step in.
Photograph the damage
Your insurer wants the pipe, the water and the affected room before anything is moved. Poly-B adds its own photos and a written report to the file.
Call 705-345-6616
Say it is a burst. Emergency calls are taken Monday to Thursday 7 am to 7 pm and Friday 7 am to 5 pm.
How fast can Poly-B Plumbing reach a burst pipe in North Bay?
Poly-B Plumbing dispatches burst pipe repairs from 1107 Yellek Trail in North Bay during business hours. There is no overnight or weekend crew, and this page says that plainly instead of promising a response it cannot keep. Members of the $49-per-month maintenance plan are dispatched first when several calls land at once, which in North Bay is usually the week after a deep freeze.
“The fastest plumbing service EVER, and 2 h after first contact, job done!”Iain Grant, Google review, May 2025
Why pipes burst in North Bay homes
Ice is still the first cause. Water expands about nine percent when it freezes, and a plug of ice in a line traps pressure between itself and the closed tap downstream. The split usually happens near the ice, not at it, which is why a burst shows up in a finished wall a metre away from the cold spot. North Bay winters regularly reach minus 20 and colder, and the City of North Bay Engineering Design Guidelines (March 2021) call for 1.8 m of cover on buried water services for frost protection. Lines that run through an uninsulated crawlspace, an exterior wall, a garage ceiling or a cottage on Lake Nipissing have nothing like that protection.
Corrosion is the second. North Bay’s municipal water comes from Trout Lake through a membrane filtration plant that adds caustic for pH adjustment and corrosion control before the water reaches the pipes. Well water outside the city has no such treatment, and soft, slightly acidic Canadian Shield water eats copper from the inside. Pinhole leaks turn into splits in pipe that is thirty years old or older.
Two more show up every year: joints that were never soldered or crimped properly, and unregulated water pressure that stresses every fitting in the house, day after day, until the weakest one lets go.
What Poly-B repairs, and what it replaces it with
| Pipe that failed | How Poly-B repairs it | Why not a patch |
|---|---|---|
| Copper supply line | Cut out the split section, replace with Type L copper, soldered or ProPress | A clamp over a split leaves the corroded pipe in the wall to fail again beside it |
| PEX line | Cut back to sound tubing, new PEX with crimp or expansion fittings | Push-fit fittings are a service-call-later product; Poly-B does not install them |
| Polybutylene (grey “Poly-B” pipe from the 1980s and 90s) | Replace the run, usually the whole line, in PEX | Polybutylene fails at the fittings and keeps failing; one repair buys months, not years |
| Frozen line that split behind a finished wall | Thermal imaging to find the split, one clean opening, replace, pressure test | Guessing costs drywall; the camera does not |
| Outdoor hose bib or line to a detached building | Replace, add a frost-free bib or an interior shut-off and drain | The same line freezes again next January without a change in design |
The name on the truck and the name of the pipe are the same word, so to be clear: Poly-B Plumbing is the company. Polybutylene pipe is the grey plastic supply line installed across Ontario from about 1978 to 1995, and Poly-B Plumbing replaces it rather than repairing it.
What a burst pipe repair costs in North Bay
Poly-B Plumbing quotes burst pipe repairs flat-rate and in writing before the cut is made. Most repairs take one to three hours on site depending on access and pipe type. The price moves on:
- Access. An exposed basement line is the quickest repair on this page. A split inside a finished ceiling adds locating time and one opening.
- Length replaced. A corroded or polybutylene run is replaced back to sound pipe, not just at the split.
- Material. Copper costs more than PEX; the right choice depends on what is already in the wall and where the line runs.
- Prevention added. Insulation, rerouting or a frost-free bib done in the same visit costs less than a second freeze.
Ask for the diagnostic price when you call. Poly-B documents the repair with photos and a report for your insurance claim at no extra charge.
Repair the section, or repipe the run?
Poly-B Plumbing repairs the section when the pipe is copper or PEX in otherwise good condition and the burst has one clear cause, such as a freeze or a bad joint. Poly-B recommends replacing the run when the pipe is polybutylene, when copper shows green pitting along its length, or when the same line has burst before. You get both prices in the same written quote, with the reasoning, and you choose.
The rules that apply to burst pipe repairs in North Bay
Plumber (306A) is a compulsory trade in Ontario under Skilled Trades Ontario, so the person cutting and re-joining your supply line must hold a Certificate of Qualification or be a registered apprentice. Poly-B’s owner is a Red Seal journeyman plumber, licensed for plumbing, wells, septic and backflow prevention, with up to $5 million in liability insurance.
If the burst is on the buried service line between the street and the house, digging requires a locate from Ontario One Call first. That is the law under the Ontario Underground Infrastructure Notification System Act, the locate is free, and it takes up to five business days. Poly-B requests it and shuts the service at the curb stop in the meantime.
Sources: Skilled Trades Ontario, Plumber (306A); City of North Bay Engineering Design Guidelines, March 2021; Ontario One Call; City of North Bay water quality reports.
Poly-B’s burst pipe repair process
Shut off and contain
Main valve closed, system drained, water flow stopped before anything else.
Find the actual split
Thermal imaging and a pressure test locate the failure, not just the wet spot below it.
Written flat-rate quote
Repair and, where it applies, repipe priced side by side.
Cut out and replace
New copper or PEX, soldered, crimped or ProPress. No clamps, no tape, no push-fit.
Pressure test and document
System refilled and tested, photos and a report sent for your insurer.
What North Bay customers say
“Always done great work and had them out to our houses more than one time.”Dave Melanson, Google review, June 2025
“Excellent professional job!”Debbie Moss, Google review, May 2025
Where Poly-B repairs burst pipes
Burst pipe questions from North Bay homeowners
What should I do if a pipe bursts in my home?
Close the main shut-off valve, open a low tap to drain the pressure, switch off breakers for anything that got wet, take photos, then call Poly-B Plumbing at 705-345-6616. Towels and buckets slow the damage while you wait.
Is a burst pipe covered by home insurance?
Often, yes, for sudden and accidental water damage, though the pipe itself may not be. Poly-B Plumbing documents the repair with photos and a written report so your insurer has what it needs.
Does Poly-B repair copper and PEX pipes?
Yes. Poly-B Plumbing cuts out the failed section and replaces it in Type L copper (soldered or ProPress) or PEX (crimp or expansion). Poly-B does not use push-fit fittings or repair clamps.
How long does a burst pipe repair take?
Most burst pipe repairs take one to three hours on site. An exposed basement line is at the short end; a split inside a finished ceiling that has to be located first is at the long end.
Why did my pipe burst a metre away from the frozen spot?
Ice plugs a line and traps pressure between the plug and the closed tap. The pipe splits wherever it is weakest along that trapped section, which is often a joint or a corroded stretch some distance from the ice.
Burst pipe in North Bay? Call now, during business hours
Monday to Thursday 7 am to 7 pm, Friday 7 am to 5 pm. Say it is a burst and Poly-B prioritizes the dispatch.
Call 705-345-6616 Request a free online quote
Poly-B Plumbing, 1107 Yellek Trail, North Bay, ON P1B 8G5.