Q. My house is 7 years old with copper plumbing under slab. I had a water/plumbing leak under my house slab, for which the plumber had to rip open several tiles to get to teh leak, but once he repaired it the pipe started leaking just a foot away from it and that continued 3 times. After that the pipe next to it started leaking.... The plumber is stating that this will continue as my copper pipes have gone really bad and is suggesting that I should re-pipe my entire house through the walls. I am concerned on 2 factors (beside the huge cost and ripping off my walls), is this plumber just trying to make more money ? Is the plumbing through the wall considered better than through the slab ? With the cost I could potentially open the slab and re-do under slab plambing and re-tile the house. Which is better, doing it through the wall or re-do under slab ?

A. It sounds like electrolisys. that causes small pin hole leaks in copper pipes. check your electrical grounding in the house and make sure it all good. there are other reasons for it as well but being underslab thats where I would look first. Your plumber is right to want to replace it and from your words I would agree with him I would recommend him using Whirsbo tubing as electrolisys wont effect it.

Q. I hired a handyman plumber to fix a ceiling leak. He fixed it, and patched the hole made to detect the leak. However, about 10 days later, another leak was detected near the repair spot. The handyman came by and made another hole and told me he could not find where another leak is so he left the hole unpatched asking me to keep an eye, and call him when I detect the leak. Since, he made a "verbal" warranty over his labor, he knows that he's not getting paid for this, so he's very reluctant in returning my call and most times he doesn't answer. I paid him $1000 for the initial repair. He has agreed to come by one more time, and he says if he doesn't see the leak, then there's nothing he can do and he's out of the situation. I intend to take a picture when I find the leak. Now, I can think of two possible explanation for this 2nd leak that happened after the repair of 1st leak. 1) He damaged something near the repair spot 2) He did not detect the another source of leak when he made the initial repair. He's not a State license plumber even though he says he is. My question: if he does not fix the 2nd repair to my satisfaction, what recourse do I have? What would be a best thing to do to get it fixed to my satisfaction or to get $1000 back? I have detected where the 2nd leak is, but he will believe only if he can see it with his eyes. (This 2nd leak had cracked the ceiling in the 1st place which is why he made 2nd hole in the ceiling) 2nd leak is on a "different" nearby pipe.

A. A grand is very expensive!!! Especially considering he is not licensed contractor. I own a Handyman business in the SF Bay Area (very pricey) And I can get a journeyman licensed plumber to cut you pipe and solder in a new pipe along with drywall and paint for half of that. That said if the second leak is in the sidewall of the pipe and not at a close soldered joint, it is probably not his fault. It would seem that the original builder used a bad piece of copper. At least he came out and made a new hole and if he can't see the problem how can he possibly fix it? If the second leak is on the side of the same pipe, rip the whole section before leak #3 comes along. Good Luck!! Mark

Q. Hi there, i'm not a plumber and have no plumbing skills - but i'd looked into fitting a repair clamp over a pinhole leak in a copper pipe on one of the copper pipes on a radiator in my house, but the leak is on a length of pipe barely an inch long so a repair clamp won't fit (i think) is there any other option for me besides calling a plumber in to replace the whole pipe?

A. Some hardware stores sell somekind of waterproof putty or filler, may be that would work. Or you could have a go at fixing it yourself. Its not that hard, but depends how handy you are at DIY. To fix it yourself, you need to turn the water off and drain out the water from radiator system, then when there is no water in the system you can cut out with a hacksaw the section of the pipe with the hole in, then replace it using a new bit of pipe fixed with a joint at each end. Then re-fill the system. You can get those bits from a DIY store and ask someone there to explain it to you agian what I just said, but they can show you how the bits fit as I can't on the internet! What I have told you is how a plumber would fix it if they were being reasonable or they would replace the wole section of pipe if they wanted to charge you more!

Q. I had a leak in a pipe in my front yard. My plumber said it was a leak in the pipe that runs from the main valve at the perimeter of my house to my house. He said because of the concrete and landscaping, rather than fix the actual leak it would be easier to install a new pipe from my house to the main valve - essentially bypassing the original leak. That sounded reasonable so I said ok. He did the work. Now, there is no water going to the sprinkler system in my back yard. The new pipe in the front yard made it so no water flows to the back yard. My plumber says "you never told me you had sprinklers in the back yard." I feel like he is the professional and should know that there may be other pipes involved. I have no idea how the piping system under my house works or is laid out. Who is right?

A. A homeowner is not responsible for knowing how his plumbing is connected, especially underground. The plumber is a professional and should have considered the possibility and investigated before proceeding with a recommendation. underground connections are common. The plumber, as any profession should make his work good even if he has to eat his own mistakes. You could be a gentleman by understand that it was an honest mistake and help him defray the cost. http://brassmein.com/ http://g23.proboards106.com/

Q. Can any one tell me what I need to do, the pvc pipe from outside that leads to my water heater is leaking. It is actually the two fittings that come together where the cold water to fill the water meets the copper tubing that goes into water heater, aside from turning off the water, what should I do? I want try to clean fittings and put plumbing sealer on the fittings, but not sure what else. Is there pressure inside? Will hot water pour out, etc. Thanks for your replies.

A. If you shut of the water that leads to the pipe (like you did) then there will not be any pressure, and then you can go ahead and change what ever you need to, you might not even need new fittings you could just try cleaning them and resealing them. - Good Luck

Q. How would I replace/join a piece of PVC pipe to my copper plumbing ? Would I use copper or PVC joints with some sort of bonding substance ? Or is there a way to repair a leak in copper plumbing/pipes by applying a leak sealer of some kind, if so what kind of sealer is best ? Thanks, much appreciated. ;)

A. Why do you want to use PVC to replace a section of copper? In a LOT of older houses, the copper pipe is an integral part of the electrical grounding in the house and putting a piece of PVC in line would insulate part of the electrical system from ground, which is VERY dangerous. Assuming your copper pipe is NOT part of your electrical system, putting in PVC is still not a good idea. Better to simply cut out the section, get a couple of copper sleeves, cut a piece to fit the piece you remove and use the sleeves at each end to slide over and solder them in place, which is the correct way to replace a damaged section of copper. If you INSIST on using PVC, there are copper joint sections similar to solder sleeves which solder on one side and are threaded with standard pipe threads on the other which makes it so you can use a threaded section. Generally these things are used when you join a piece of flex tubing to allow for some misalignment or the possibility of some form of movement in the future. Then, all you need is matching threaded sections of PVC. Be sure to use teflon joint tape on the threads to make a tight seal which will easily turn very tight and make a leak free seal between the PVC and copper.

Q. This was my question 5 months ago. What I have found out since is below: We had a gas leak at our outside riser. A plumber said he'd fix it. After he fixed it - he said there was another leak - I didn't see or smell it - at the other riser - but let him replace it (my mistake for not testing it myself) - he then called for the city inspector and left. the city came along and asked the interior be checked on a tag they left. Upon returning, checking the interior, the plumber said that he thought there was a itty bitty leak in the house - but he didn't shut the house off from his exterior work - he tested the entire line. He couldn't find a leak in the interior after 2 hours (I should have checked the risers myself) so he came back the next day with a huge air compressor - used a 100 psi and guess what? Not only did he now find 18 leaks in the attic (every joint was blown) he blew the two risers he'd just replaced outside too. If all the cities recommend 10 - 15 psi - 100 psi is way to high for jointed house lines and yeah - you'll find the leak and a bunch of new ones you just caused from blowing every joint on the line. The city inspector also said this was way too much pressure. According to the state plumbing board of examiners and countless municipalities, 3 psi holding for 15 minutes is the standard testing pressure. Natural gas comes into a residence at ounces 5 oz. in our area - not pounds. For a bubble test the less pressure the better. Imagine the little bubbles you get your kids - if you blow as hard as you can you won't get a bubble - if you blow softly you do. Soap testing is outdated anyway. The dope used in the joints of natural gas lines can blow out even at 50 psi - which ours held at 50. This plumber’s own work was ruined by his 50 psi and 85 to 100 psi testing. Welded gas pipe is tested at 60 psi. Using anything over 10 psi for testing residential doped joints - especially a bubble test in just flat out crazy. If the gas comes in at 5 ounces it is beyond irresponsible to use 50 psi or more and plumbers find leaks alright - because they cause them. These are not water pipe joints - they are gas pipe joints and the pipe itself did not leak. The plumbing examiner’s board cited them for causing all of our damage - so I guess 50 and 100 psi is too much according to them. Just an FYI for anyone with natural gas pipes!!

A. First off gas pressure at the main will be 60 psi, after the regulator it will drop down to about 1 psi inside your house. if you tested at 10 psi that would be enough pressure to check for leaks. if you have black pipe, which is what is commonly used for interior pipes, it should have been able to hold up to the 100psi with no problem

Q. I have a hot water leak from hot water cylinder water runs cold after 20 minutes(serious leak) as it is a pressurised system how can I locate the sight of the leak without "kangoing" up whole kitchen floor? All local plumbers appear not to want to tackle the job!! Can anyone advise me I would not think this is not a unique problem only to me.

A. Walk around bare footed and feel where the floor is warm. I am not kidding as it will warm the floor and you r feet are sensitive to the heat. I am not sure how how know there is a leak, so I am going to come from point of view I use with all customers. A leaking water pipe will lower the water pressure to the faucets and will also be indicated by the pump constantly starting and stopping or if on city water, a constant flow on the meter with every thinhg shut off. If the temp is dropping after 20 minutes, it sounds more like the heater is not recovering fast enough. This is common with an electric heater with one bad heating element. If it is a leak, look first for a reason to break, a bad solder or glue joint or pipe froze during the winter. A frozen pipe will usually leak where you can find it as it will not freeze under the house. You can also use a long screwdriver as a stethoscope. Put the handle up to your ear and the tip on the pipe where it goes though the concrete. the closer you are to the leak, the louder it should be. Check at the heater, the pipes to the sinks. It may be cheaper to look for an alternate path to run the hot water above the concrete. If not, last option, find some one to locate it. There are also infrared sensors that are relatively cheap to help locate a warm spot.