Fixing Burst Pipes at Home

It’s always a nightmare when something goes wrong with the plumbing at home. Not only can emergency call-out be pretty expensive – water damage within your home is an incredibly costly inconvenience.

Having a little bit of DIY knowledge can help you avoid a disaster or a costly call-out. Of course, some situations do require a professional, but a leaky pipe and even a burst one can be dealt with at home.

If you need to replace piping or other plumbing fixtures, plumbers merchants in Conwy, RN Williams, supply a range of plumbing supplies for both domestic and commercial use.

If you are comfortable with sorting out plumbing issues yourself, here are a few tips to help you deal with burst pipes and repairs.

Burst Pipe – Temporary Solution

A burst pipe can cause a lot of trouble within a home. The first thing to do if one occurs within your house is to switch off your electricity at the fuse box. Examine your switches to ensure no water has leaked onto them before turning it back on once the water has been thoroughly cleared up.

A pipe repair clamp offers a temporary solution to a burst pipe, and can be fitted into place quickly. It’s worth having a few spare in the house, in preparation for any unfortunate leaks.

To use a pipe repair clamp, simply put together the two parts of the clamp over the affected area of your pipe. Once in the correct position, fit and tighten the screws so the device is completely clamped down onto the pipe.

Burst Pipe – Permanent Solution

For a permanent pipe fix, you’ll need a few more tools. A coupling is used to fix a burst pipe, and is a short length of tube with sockets at either end, to allow for two sides of broken pipe to be joined.

Typically, if a damaged area of a pipe is longer than 50mm, you’ll need to use a new section of pipe instead of a coupling.

To begin the fix, you’ll need to turn your water supply off and allow the pipe to drain. Use a hacksaw to cut away the damaged section of the pipe. You may have to cut the coupling to size before adding on the metal rings (also known as olives and cap nuts) to the ends of it.

You’ll then need to wrap a thread seal tape around the threads of each joint on the coupling. Thread seal tape is also known as PTFE tape, and is an essential product for plumbers.

Position and hold the coupling in place with pliers or a wrench before tightening the nuts with a spanner to connect it to the existing pipes and complete the job.

Leaking Pipe Joints

 

A leaking pipe isn’t going to cause immediate damage, but over time it can become an issue. You may think that soldering is the only solution to this problem, but repair putty can be an efficient and easy fix for a leaking joint.

To begin, turn off your water supply and dry off the affected area of pipe. After it has dried, push the repair putty in between the pipe and the fitting, as well as around the whole joint. Repair putty dries fast, so this task must be completed fairly quickly.

One the putty has dried you can smooth it with sandpaper, so don’t worry too much about making it look too neat whilst applying it.