Kamloops and the Thompson Valley
Thawing frozen pipes and conduits in Kamloops
A frozen line is a clock. Water expands as it freezes, and the pipe it is inside does not. Getting it thawed before it splits is a different job from cleaning up after it has.
- Homeowners
- Property managers
- Farms and acreages
- Contractors with frozen conduit
Kamloops winters find the shallow lines
Frost drives down through the ground over a cold snap and reaches whatever was laid too shallow, ran under a driveway that gets plowed clear of insulating snow, or sits in an unheated crawlspace. It is not usually the whole line. It is one exposed stretch.
The A Groess truck is lettered Thawing Frozen Pipes / Conduits, first in the list, ahead of the drain work. It is a real part of what this business does through a Thompson Valley winter, and it is the one service that appears nowhere on the current website or Google listing.
Water lines, sewer lines and conduits
Three different problems that all present as "it is frozen".
Water service
No water at the tap. The urgent one, because a split service line floods when it thaws.
Sewer and drain
A line that runs slow and then stops in cold weather, often a shallow section or a slow line that had standing water in it.
Electrical conduit
Ice in a buried conduit, which has to be cleared before anything can be pulled through it.
What to do before anyone arrives
Shut the water off at the main if you suspect a split, because the damage from a frozen pipe usually happens at the moment it thaws, not while it is frozen.
Do not put an open flame anywhere near a pipe. Every winter somebody sets a wall on fire trying to save a call-out fee.
If it is a sewer line, stop putting water into it. Every load of laundry adds to what is going to come back up.
Common questions
Is this an emergency call?
A frozen water service in a cold snap generally is, and emergency call-outs are available 24/7 on 250-377-5364. A slow drain in January that is not backing up can usually wait for business hours.
Can a frozen line be thawed without digging?
That is the whole point of thawing as a service. Digging a frozen line out in January is the expensive alternative that thawing is meant to avoid.
How do I stop it happening again?
Once the line is running, the useful question is why that stretch froze: depth, a snow-cleared surface above it, an unheated space, or a slow line holding water. A camera run answers the last one directly.
Where this work happens
Kamloops, Chase, Barriere, Cache Creek, Shuswap, Merritt and all points in between.
Related work
Sewer camera inspection
A camera on a push rod runs the length of the line and shows you what is actually in there. Guessing about a buried pipe is how people end up paying for the wrong repair.
Preventive sewer maintenance
Every emergency call-out is a maintenance job that was left too long. This is the calm version of the same work, booked at a time that suits the building.
High pressure steam flushing
A cable punches a hole through the blockage. Water at pressure takes the blockage off the wall of the pipe and carries it away. That difference is the whole reason this truck exists.
Get in touch
Talk to the person doing the work
Call 250-377-5364 and describe what the line is doing. Most of the time that conversation settles whether this is the right service before anyone books a truck.
Emergency service call-outs available 24/7. If it is backing up right now, call rather than emailing.
Ask for a quote
Call and tell us what the line is doing and where the property is. Prefer email? Send the details and a photo if you have one.
Email office@agroessunderground.ca
Sewage in the building right now? Call, any hour.