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Post by ericvonha on Jan 27, 2023 23:27:50 GMT
I am now less concerned with my Crowns falling out Use the same glue 👍
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Post by joe on Feb 13, 2023 3:39:35 GMT
Ok, what about INTERNAL waterproofing? That's what I need. Specifically a product or process that one can use in older houses to keep the copper water pipes buried in the concrete slab from forming leaks? And needed even more one that would STOP recently formed leaks? And economical.
I ask because earlier this week we had our THIRD slab leak. First two times water came into the house. This one just leaked out on a semi-external patio. Leaky pipe was cut off at each end after a bunch of holes cut in the walls to find the actual beginning and end of the stupid thing, then re-routed with PEX in the attic. $$$ and leaves a REAL mess with drywall holes and slotted wood siding removed.
So I would LOVE to know of such a product/process. Mostly academic now since ALL of our inside slab piping is now PEX in the attic. But there's STILL pipe in the slab that goes to the outside faucets.
So if you get taken away to some far away galaxy and they have such a method, rip it off and please let me know.
(No, I don't think such a product/process exists for existing leaks. There is some process that coats the inside of the copper pipes with some epoxy-like stuff, but can only be used on pipes in good condition. $$$ and requires specialized equipment)
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Post by mary on Feb 14, 2023 1:47:09 GMT
Ok, what about INTERNAL waterproofing? That's what I need. Specifically a product or process that one can use in older houses to keep the copper water pipes buried in the concrete slab from forming leaks? And needed even more one that would STOP recently formed leaks? And economical. I ask because earlier this week we had our THIRD slab leak. First two times water came into the house. This one just leaked out on a semi-external patio. Leaky pipe was cut off at each end after a bunch of holes cut in the walls to find the actual beginning and end of the stupid thing, then re-routed with PEX in the attic. $$$ and leaves a REAL mess with drywall holes and slotted wood siding removed. So I would LOVE to know of such a product/process. Mostly academic now since ALL of our inside slab piping is now PEX in the attic. But there's STILL pipe in the slab that goes to the outside faucets. So if you get taken away to some far away galaxy and they have such a method, rip it off and please let me know. (No, I don't think such a product/process exists for existing leaks. There is some process that coats the inside of the copper pipes with some epoxy-like stuff, but can only be used on pipes in good condition. $$$ and requires specialized equipment)A compression repair coupling may work to repair the pipe without having to re-route it. Here's a link to a page on the This Old House website that explains the repair process. There are also videos on YouTube that explain it. Since your pipes run through slab, you would probably still need to dig into the slab to get to the faulty pipes to repair them. As far as preventing leaks in the first place, most of the leak prevention methods like the epoxy sleeves are applied before the pipes are installed. Pipe repair
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Post by joe on Feb 14, 2023 3:17:38 GMT
Ok, what about INTERNAL waterproofing? That's what I need. Specifically a product or process that one can use in older houses to keep the copper water pipes buried in the concrete slab from forming leaks? And needed even more one that would STOP recently formed leaks? And economical. I ask because earlier this week we had our THIRD slab leak. First two times water came into the house. This one just leaked out on a semi-external patio. Leaky pipe was cut off at each end after a bunch of holes cut in the walls to find the actual beginning and end of the stupid thing, then re-routed with PEX in the attic. $$$ and leaves a REAL mess with drywall holes and slotted wood siding removed. So I would LOVE to know of such a product/process. Mostly academic now since ALL of our inside slab piping is now PEX in the attic. But there's STILL pipe in the slab that goes to the outside faucets. So if you get taken away to some far away galaxy and they have such a method, rip it off and please let me know. (No, I don't think such a product/process exists for existing leaks. There is some process that coats the inside of the copper pipes with some epoxy-like stuff, but can only be used on pipes in good condition. $$$ and requires specialized equipment)A compression repair coupling may work to repair the pipe without having to re-route it. Here's a link to a page on the This Old House website that explains the repair process. There are also videos on YouTube that explain it. Since your pipes run through slab, you would probably still need to dig into the slab to get to the faulty pipes to repair them. As far as preventing leaks in the first place, most of the leak prevention methods like the epoxy sleeves are applied before the pipes are installed. Pipe repairThanks for the link! The problem is locating where the leak really is. Never know how big the hole is. The water doesn't come up and make the slab itself wet, if it did it could be found. I have a compressor and air tools that will go through concrete, but renting a small jackhammer would take less time. Our copper slab pipes are routed inside a somewhat larger outer sleeve made of some type of fairly hard plastic. When the leak starts, the water comes up through one of the ends of the sleeve, usually one that is down hill (house is split level), which. So that would take a leak detection expert to locate, and they're expensive. Then to rip through the wood flooring or through the carpet to start the slab dig. Just not cost effective, and if one starts to leak in one place another one will likely form somewhere else. I say "likely form" because of our water. I have my own well and the water is off the charts hard and has other gunk in it. Perfectly safe to drink, but tastes like rusty nails. We have a huge 6 ft tall water softener to clean it up, which it does, but the calcium to sodium exchange to soften it means a lot of sodium xxx in the water. The pre-softener water cannot utilize ANY ferrous metal, so only plastic, copper, and stainless steel. Galvanized fittings get eaten up. So I am where I am. All the inside slab plumbing is now re-routed in PEX so hopefully the outside line will hold. Fingers crossed. It will probably cost me as much to get the holes in the walls fixed as it did for the last re-route. Aaargh. There actually is a process to coat copper pipes after insulation. It's a very specialized process requiring special equipment and training. About 10 years ago there was only one company in the area that did it. A friend of mine had it done. He's moved now, so don't know the outcome. I'm not even sure the process is still being used or how well it worked. A well system can be expensive, but then I hear how much some of my neighbors are paying each month for city water and I'm coming out ahead. We didn't even have city water until <10 years ago.
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Post by Buck on Feb 14, 2023 17:10:10 GMT
Bum you have to excavate to find where the leak is. How old is the house and plumbing?
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Post by joe on Feb 16, 2023 3:03:12 GMT
Bum you have to excavate to find where the leak is. How old is the house and plumbing? The house was built in 1983 with the plumbing buried in the concrete at the time the foundation was poured. No, don't have to excavate. That would almost require dynamite - all our land sits on the rock and caliche. Then you run the risk of weakening the slab. Talk about problems! They just find the start and end (in the walls) of the slab pipe that's leaking, cut it out of the system on both ends, and just re-route a "bypass" up through the walls and through the attic using insulated PEX pipe. It's pretty simple to do, the problem is finding the ends of the bad section. There are multiple manifolds in the walls where water comes in and then branches out. So the re-route is done from the manifolds. Finding the ends is somewhat trial and error using metal "fish tape" and listening for the tapping on the other end. But tapping noises travel through copper pretty well, so that leads to false positives. The process involves cutting out small(ish) sections of drywall. So the real mess is getting the holes in the drywall repaired. That's our next step. Our walls are starting to look like swiss cheese (burger), fortunately most of the holes are in a closet, under sinks, and behind the dishwasher. So only a few in places where they're all that visible. Textured paint and not wallpaper except one small place in a bathroom - which needs new wallpaper anyway. The plumbers say all the in-the-house water lines are now bypassed! One end of the leak started at a manifold just behind the wood siding on the back porch. So sections of the wood and vapor barrier stuff had to be cut out. That part I'm going to do myself. Wood is re-usable and I ordered a "Oscillating Multi Tool Saw" today, the same model the plumber used, to cut out the new vapor barrier material, whatever that looks like in 2023. A wonderful little tool. $160 which is a lot cheaper than paying somebody to do the work. Cuts right through nails in case you mess up :) I repaired the previous one for the leak before and it looks almost a good as new. Wish I had the saw back then... Since it doesn't get too cold down here, the record at my house is 0 degrees once, the PEX with insulation is good to minus 10 or so. Drip the water lines on those rare nights and that extends the lower range. Unlike copper, PEX tends to just "expand" when the water freezes instead of bursting. "That's what the people say..." anyway. In your neck of the woods with YOUR low temps, no telling what they do. That's the TMI version of things...
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Post by Buck on Feb 17, 2023 2:11:57 GMT
Man, seems like bum construction if the plumbing didn't last 40 years without failing. Sorry for your problems, as you seem to be getting on top of them.
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Post by Espo on Feb 17, 2023 2:56:32 GMT
There are great leak detection Service companies that can pin point a leak under a slab within a square foot. I just went through this last year. In Florida we do not have basements and in most older homes the plumbing is under the slab. My biggest fear was that the leak would be found in the middle of the living room. After searching every square inch of floor space they determined the leak was not under but in fact outside of my home. Best $250 I ever spent... Wishing you all the best.
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Post by edog40 on Feb 17, 2023 17:58:29 GMT
Has this become a Glueing for You thread, or a Workshop of the Bondables?
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Post by Buck on Feb 17, 2023 22:12:53 GMT
Sometimes useful threads come from members with just one post.
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Post by joe on Feb 18, 2023 3:15:01 GMT
I wish glue would have worked for me. But glue is THE go-to for PVC pipe. Copper not so much but I have used epoxy sticks (essentially glue) a couple times for a temporary copper repair.
Soon as one last minor plumbing thing is finished up, then I'll be back to the original thread of "external waterproofing" related to the outside wall that we had to cut a little. So everything seems to circle back to being on topic.
Our well water isn't Perfect Water, so that causes us problems. It's been re-routed from the slab to the attic so now it's passing over me. So for now the wife and I are Dancin' in the Ruins around here hoping that tomorrow doesn't soon turn into yesterday.
BÖC lyrics are universal. They can be used to help describe almost any situation.
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Post by redhouserocker on Feb 18, 2023 13:58:22 GMT
Sometimes useful threads come from members with just one post. This is a freaking awesome thread! I could see it expanding to all sorts of useful areas where one might need a little good advice from others. Really happy this is such a nice group!
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