I re-piped my house myself. Everything with permits. Inspector checked it and he was happy (second time - not first time, but then I saved ton of money doing it myself).
Re-piping was part of another project - I am doing major remodel (new electrical, new low voltage, new piping, new kitchen, insulation, new bathroom, new drywall, new siding, new furnace / water heater etc).
Because repring is part of another project, I had walls open for some time. About a month after I run piping and passed inspection, I noticed that one of the t-shape connectors is dropping water - one drop every 30 sec or so.
I am going to fix it this weekend, but I have a more generic question:
What can I do to make sure all the connections are correct?
What can I do to alert myself if in future there is problem with one of the pipes? Is there some sort of hi-tech device that I can hide in the wall?
2007-08-28 07:27:25 · 5 answers · asked by zoobrenok 2 in Home & Garden ➔ Do It Yourself (DIY)
There are no leaks right now, but since I did it myself, and there was one small leak already, I am having second thoughts about quality of my work.
Piping does have pressure and there are no other leaks, but I am a little bit afraid of future leaks...
If I can't find them now, can I at least be alerted when such thing takes place?
2007-08-28 07:40:51 · update #1
there is a moisture alarm that you could put in the wall it would detect any leaks,
check at a hardware,
2007-09-02 06:16:00 · answer #1 · answered by William B 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The best plumber out there is still human and susceptible to making a mistake. If you cannot detect a leak now, there is no reason to expect one to develop in the future, even if one does.
I am handy and can solder copper pipe as good as any plumber, but if the solder does not flow evenly around the entire fitting, usually from bad prep, there is nothing there to seal the fitting at that spot. The leak is usually evident immediately, but it might never leak, so little solder is necessary to permanently seal a fitting, even a weak seal can be sufficient.
I have made repairs in homes built in the early fifties, when plumbers were more proud of the quality of their work, and found joints that did not get enough solder and leaked, after 50 years.
You can try to move the pipes near the joints to make them leak. If you can wiggle them and they do not leak, you can do nothing more.
Therefore, the best thing to do is forget about it for now. Expensive electronic leak detectors can be installed below every joint and connection to detect and give you "early warning" of moisture, but that's a ridiculous expense for something that may not be a problem. Besides, whatever damage might come from a small leak in the future, you can fix.
You may be familiar with the expression, "Don't cry over spilled milk." You are trying to cry over milk that has not yet spilled. Have confidence in your work and move on.
2007-09-02 09:13:46 · answer #2 · answered by JC 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
put a pressure guage next to your main shutoff so you can monitor your pressure. no drop in pressure means no leaks. just because you had a leak doesnt make you the culprit. defects in material can happen to the best of anybody. bad flux will keep good solder from working well, same goes for cement in pvc.
2007-09-03 17:16:56 · answer #3 · answered by fred bean 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have a leak and a mold inspector used thermal imaging. It gave him an idea where the leak was so I could have the plumber take care of it.
If that is possible to do it yourself, try it.
2007-08-28 07:36:15 · answer #4 · answered by Sam G 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You can put a pressure gauge on the system. Pump up the pressure with air or water, and with the supply line closed, you should not have any pressure drop.
2007-08-28 07:54:54 · answer #5 · answered by Mark T 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋