Frozen Pipe Burst Rebuild — Drywall, Trim, Cabinets and Flooring
The pipe behind the kitchen sink froze on a January night and let go when it thawed. The plumber fixed the pipe, the fans ran a week, and now there is an open wall, no base cabinets and a cut-up floor. We put it back.
A frozen pipe burst rebuild is the carpentry after the plumber has fixed the pipe and the mitigation company has dried the house: the exterior wall the pipe ran through, the kitchen or bath base cabinets that came out, the drywall, insulation, baseboard, casing and flooring. JMB Builders does that rebuild across the Twin Cities metro, insulates and air-seals the pipe chase so it does not freeze again, and writes it in the adjuster's line items. Priced per room.
- Priced per room, in the adjuster's line items
- Starts after the plumber and the dry-out
- Pipe chase insulated and air-sealed before it closes
- Send photos, reply within one business day
- Licensed MN contractor BC809005
Send photos and hear back within one business day — or book a free in-home estimate.
A frozen pipe breaks when it thaws, not when it freezes, and the water runs until someone shuts the main. The usual spot is a supply line in an exterior wall: the kitchen sink wall, a bathroom on an outside corner, a hose bib line, a line through an unheated garage ceiling. By the time the water is off, it has run inside the wall, under the base cabinets, across the subfloor and often down into the ceiling below. The plumber cuts the wall open and fixes the pipe. A mitigation company pulls the wet drywall, the cabinets if they are swollen, the flooring and the pad, and dries the framing until the readings are right. Then it is a carpentry job.
The rebuild is the reverse of the demolition, done to match what was there. Insulation back in the wall. Drywall hung, taped and textured to match. Base cabinets reset or replaced and the countertop reset or new. Baseboard, casing and shoe. Flooring tied back into what stayed. Where the plumber replaced a section of pipe with PEX, it is still in an exterior wall, so before the wall closes we insulate behind the pipe, not in front of it, and seal the air leaks at the rim joist and the plate that let the cold in the first time. That part is not usually on the adjuster's scope, and it is the part that keeps it from happening again.
Most homeowner policies cover sudden damage from a burst pipe, and many have conditions about keeping the heat on or shutting the water off when the house is unoccupied in winter. What yours says is between you and your agent. The scope we write is in the adjuster's terms: drywall SF, insulation SF, cabinet LF, base LF, flooring SF, paint, with photos of each room before the demolition if you have them and after the dry-out.
What you supply
- Photos of each room before the mitigation company pulled material, if you have them, and after the dry-out
- The mitigation company's dry-out report or moisture readings, and the plumber's invoice saying what was repaired
- The adjuster's scope and your claim number
- Cabinet make and door style if the base cabinets are being replaced, or the decision to reuse the ones that were saved
- Flooring product and paint colors if you know them, for the match
What JMB supplies
- A line-item scope in the adjuster's format, room by room, with anything the dry-out exposed that the scope missed
- Insulation in the opened wall, placed behind the pipe, and air sealing at the plate, rim and penetrations
- Drywall hung, taped, finished and the texture matched to the rest of the room
- Base cabinets reset, or replaced to match the uppers where they swelled, and the countertop reset or replaced
- Baseboard, shoe, casing and any interior doors that swelled, replaced in kind, primed and caulked
- Flooring: a section replaced to a seam or doorway, or the room refloored where the product cannot be matched
- Painting of the repaired walls and trim, quoted as its own line
- Before-and-after photos per room in your job folder, and the final invoice for the depreciation release
How it is priced: per room
Quoted in writing from your photos, with a reply within one business day. What moves the number:
- How many rooms the water reached, including the one below
- Base cabinets reset vs. replaced, and whether the uppers can be matched
- Countertop reset vs. new, which depends on how the old one came off
- Flooring tied into existing vs. the room refloored
- Drywall to the nearest seam vs. a whole wall, and the texture
- Insulation and air sealing of the pipe chase, which is often not on the scope and we quote as its own line
- Interior doors and casing that swelled
Send photos of each opened room and the dry-out report. We reply within one business day with what we need to see in person; the firm scope comes from the visit, since cabinets and floors cannot be judged from photos.
How long it takes
One kitchen wall with base cabinets, countertop reset, trim and a flooring section: about a week of work spread over two for drying and cabinet lead time. A bathroom wall and floor: three to four days.
How your project works
- 1
Send photos, get a written quote
Send three photos of the space and a sentence about what you want. You get a clear, itemized reply within one business day. Prefer a look in person? A free in-home estimate is always an option.
- 2
Pick materials, or bring your own
We help you choose profiles and materials that fit the house and the budget, or match your existing millwork exactly — or you buy the door or trim yourself and we install it. Everything is confirmed before the crew is scheduled.
- 3
Clean, precise installation
The crew shows up on time, protects floors and furniture, and installs with tight joints and consistent reveals. Photos of the finished work go in your job folder.
- 4
Walkthrough and invoice
We walk the finished work with you. If anything is not right, we fix it before we call the job done. Then one invoice, paid by check or direct deposit — no card fees, no payment links.
Situations and options
Kitchen sink wall and base cabinets
The most common frozen-pipe rebuild. The sink wall is insulated and closed, the sink base and the cabinets beside it reset or replaced, the countertop and sink reset, the plumbing reconnected by the plumber, and the toe kick and base trim finished.
Bathroom on an outside corner
Supply lines in two exterior walls. Both walls insulated and closed, the vanity reset or replaced, the floor replaced to the door, and the baseboard and casing redone. The plumber sets the fixtures back; we do the walls and floor.
Garage ceiling or unheated chase
A line through a garage ceiling or an unheated chase froze. The ceiling drywall is replaced with fire-rated board where the garage needs it, and the pipe is boxed into the heated side of the insulation so it is not out in the cold again.
Ceiling below the leak
The water came through to the room below. The ceiling is cut back to dry drywall, the joist bays dried and the insulation replaced if it was there, then new drywall and matched texture. Paint over the whole ceiling is its own line.
Frozen Pipe Burst Rebuild — Drywall, Trim, Cabinets and Flooring: questions, answered
Who rebuilds the wall after a plumber fixes a frozen pipe?
A carpenter, after the wall is dry. The plumber fixes the pipe and leaves the wall open; the mitigation company dries it and removes anything too wet to save; then the insulation, drywall, trim, cabinets and flooring go back. JMB Builders does that rebuild across the Twin Cities metro, written in the adjuster's line items so it matches your claim.
Does homeowners insurance cover a frozen pipe that burst?
Many policies cover sudden water damage from a burst pipe and the cost to open the wall to reach it. Many also have a condition that the heat was kept on, or the water shut off, if the house was unoccupied in cold weather. Whether your claim is covered is between you and your insurer; ask your agent and read the freezing clause in your policy. We document what we find and rebuild what is approved.
Should the base cabinets be replaced or put back after a water leak?
Particleboard cabinet boxes that sat in water swell at the bottom and do not go back square; those are replaced, and matching the uppers is the question. Plywood boxes that were pulled quickly and dried often go back. We look at the box bottoms and the toe kicks and tell you which you have. The countertop decision follows the cabinets.
How do I keep the same pipe from freezing again?
Insulate behind the pipe, between the pipe and the outside wall, with nothing between the pipe and the warm room, and seal the air leaks at the rim joist, the sill plate and any holes to the outside, because moving cold air freezes pipes faster than still cold. If the plumber can move the line to an interior wall, better. We do the insulation and air sealing before the wall closes; it is usually not on the adjuster's scope, so we quote it as its own line.
Does the mitigation company also do the rebuild?
Some do, some only dry. Either way the two are separate parts of the claim: mitigation is the emergency work to stop the damage, and the rebuild is the repair. You can use whoever you want for the rebuild. Ask the mitigation company for their dry-out report and moisture readings; we need them before we close anything.
What does the contractor send so I can collect the rest of my claim after the rebuild?
On a replacement-cost policy the insurer often holds back depreciation until the work is done and then releases it against a final invoice. We send you a final invoice that matches the scope line by line, with the before-and-after photos, and a completion letter if your insurer asks for one. You send it to them; the release is between you and your insurer.
Recent JMB work, from our job log
59 installs recorded across 30 Twin Cities communities since Dec 2025. Window and door installs for homeowners, builders and dealers. Counts come straight from our job log; no customer names.
Get a written quote for this job
Three photos and a sentence is enough: a reply within one business day, or ask for a free in-home estimate. Or text the photos to 763-204-2099.
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Read morePage reviewed October 1, 2026 · JMB Builders LLC, MN license BC809005 · All insurance repairs pages
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