The Other Side of Cool: Pipes Freeze at LA Reid's Sagaponack House

Even the most lavish of houses in the Hamptons have to deal with the most aggravating of wintertime problems — freezing pipes.

The Grammy Award winning record executive Antonio "L.A." Reid's Sagapoack mansion, which is on the market for nearly $19 million, suffered some damage in the finished basement when a furnace pipe burst on Saturday.

The fire department responded to an automatic fire alarm just before 11 a.m.
A Bridgehampton Fire Department chief was just arriving at the Sagg Main Street property, when 911 dispatchers said they received a call from a housekeeper who reported a fire in the basement.

What she saw turned out to be steam coming from the furnace room so engines were called off just minutes later when the fire chief arrived on scene.

The chief reported considerable flooding from the pipe, and he shut off the water.

Reid, the chairman and CEO of Epic Records and a former "X Facotr" judge, listed the house for sale this past summer, according to The Real Deal. The asking price, as of last month, was $18,995,000. The 7,000-square-foot house has 8-bedrooms, 9.5 baths.

According to the listing, the finished basement boasts a gym, a temperature controlled wine cellar lined floor-to-ceiling with built-in bottle racks, and, a Hamptons magazine article reported there was a drum studio down there.

Reid founded LaFace Records in 1989 with Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, and they worked with such artists as Mariah Carey, Toni Braxton, Whitney Houston, Boys II Men, TLC, Pink, and Usher.

In fact, the Sagaponack property was supposed to be the location of the singer Usher's wedding in 2007 before it was abruptly called off just hours before.