Commercial properties have the same basic problem as a house, with more at stake: inventory, equipment, other tenants, lost business, and often a landlord or management company who needs to be told. If it’s a house, the page on emergency burst pipe repair is the better fit.
First steps at a commercial property
- Find and close the right valve. Many commercial buildings have several: a main, a floor or zone valve, and valves at individual units. Closing the smallest valve that stops the leak keeps the rest of the building running. If you don’t know where they are, ask building management or maintenance.
- Protect people and electrical equipment. Keep customers and staff away from wet floors and from water near panels, outlets and equipment. Call 911 for sparks or smoke.
- Tell the building manager or landlord. In multi-tenant buildings, the lease usually decides who is responsible for what, and others in the building may be affected.
- Don’t touch fire sprinkler piping. If the burst is on a sprinkler line or a fire riser, don’t shut valves yourself unless you know how. Fire protection systems are a specialty, and the building may require notifying the fire alarm company or the fire department.
- Document it. Photos and video of the damage, inventory affected, and a note of the time you discovered it.
- Call. We’ll connect you with an independent plumber, and it helps to tell them it’s a commercial property when you call.
Things that make commercial jobs different
- Access and timing. Work may need to happen outside business hours, in tenant spaces, or with building management’s approval.
- Shared systems. A break in one unit may involve pipes serving neighbors above or below. The responsibility for each segment depends on the building and the lease.
- Pipe size and material. Commercial supply lines can be larger, and may be copper, steel or other materials a residential plumber doesn’t work with day to day. Ask if the plumber does commercial work.
- Insurance and documentation. Commercial property and business interruption policies have specific notice requirements and deadlines. The sooner you tell the carrier, the better.
- Health and safety. Restaurants, medical offices and food retailers may need to stay closed until the area is cleaned and cleared. Check with the relevant authority if you’re in any of those situations.
Cost factors. Prices for commercial repairs depend on the size of the line, how accessible it is, whether the work happens outside normal hours, and how much material is replaced. The plumber sets the price. Ask for a written estimate and clarify whether ceiling tiles, drywall and finish work are included.
Who’s responsible: tenant, landlord or utility?
For water supply problems on the utility side, such as a main in the street, WSSC Water handles the repair; its emergency line is 301-206-4002. Inside the property, responsibility depends on the lease. In a multi-tenant building, the landlord is typically responsible for shared lines and the tenant for what serves only their space, but leases vary, so read yours or ask your property manager before authorizing work. A lot of confusion in these situations comes from not knowing that in advance.
Mixed-use and multi-unit properties in Potomac
Potomac has shopping centers, offices and residential communities that mix homes with retail. In planned developments such as Park Potomac, a leak can involve shared walls and building systems. Retail areas near Cabin John Village have their own tenant and landlord arrangements, and the same questions apply. These aren’t claims that a particular provider works in a particular building; availability depends on who answers when you call.
Preventing a repeat
After the emergency, ask the plumber to note how the pipe failed. If it was age, freeze damage or pressure, it’s worth fixing the cause. For help with a house instead of a business, our main page on our Potomac burst pipe referral service explains how calls are handled, and the page on pipe replacement covers longer-term fixes.
Questions people ask
Do the plumbers you connect me with handle commercial work?
Who pays: me or my landlord?
What if a sprinkler pipe burst?
Should I close my business after a burst pipe?
Related services
Emergency Burst Pipe Repair
A split pipe or blown joint with water actively escaping.
Main Water Line Repair
The line that carries water from the street into your house.
Ceiling Pipe Leak Repair
Water coming through a ceiling from a pipe above.
Pipe Replacement / Repiping
Replacing worn-out or failing pipe, in part or the whole house.
A note on this guide. This page is general information, last reviewed October 2026. It can’t replace a plumber looking at your actual pipes, and Burst Pipe Fix Pros does not perform plumbing work.