Busted Pipe -- Steel / Galvanized

[ssmith1627]

I have an older home, just a little ranch house that's about 45 years old now. Actually the house my wife grew up in -- which is still owned by my in-laws.

We've got a separate building that used to be a little apartment for her grandparents. Some pipe was run underground up to that building and now I've got a leak up there underground, outside. It's not a small leak either !

To make it more fun -- the water pipe runs from under my house to my garage to provide cold water to my washer. From there it goes on to the other building. I assume it's just a T joint there near the garage but that part is also buried and I don't know quite where it is.

I do know about where the pipe is broken that is leaking. But how to cap it off ? I don't care to have water up there any more, I just want to stop the leak. If I just cut off the end of that pipe, I won't have any threads. If it was copper pipe, I could just solder on a cap. If it was PVC, I could use PVC cement. But with galvanized pipe, what are my options ? Any ideas ?

Appreciate any insight you can offer.

Thanks,
Steve

[Uncle Cracker]

If you can get to the pipe to use a wire brush on the outside surface, then there are compression type fittings that you can use on it. Make sure you get the ones sized for "IPS" as opposed to copper sized fittings of the same type. I have also made a similar repair using a one-foot piece of reinforced flexible vinyl hose and two stainless hose clamps. Put the hose (must be a fairly snug fit) over the pipe about 7 inches worth, and a clamp about 5 inches back from the end of the pipe. Then fold the hose over itself and clamp about 2 inches back from the end of the pipe. Still holding after ten years.

[Santa Clarita Len]

If you can borrow or rent a manual pipe threader then you can cut the pipe and thread the end and cap it. I have been successful several times using this method (I have a cheap Chinese pipe threader) as long as the pipe is sound enough to accept new threads.

[oakchas]

You can go to most Big box building supply stores (HD Lowes Menards) and get one of these:


They are a compression fitting that goes on the end of a pipe (rather than one that clamps over the center of the pipe called a morris coupling).

Purchase one in the same size as the pipe you are fixing.

Purchase a 6" threaded nipple the same size as the underground pipe, and a threaded cap. Check that the nipple will fit in the rubber compression ring on the repair coupling you are buying.

Cut the pipe off before ("upstream" of) the leak. install the compression coupling, install the nipple and cap (which have already been tightened with pipe dope or thread tape). Tighten the two nuts on the compression repair coupling tightly.

This will, if you have cut back to the solid part of the pipe that was leaking, last up to about 10 years.

Potential problems:

Finding the leak... water pipes should be buried below frost line.. that could be up to 5' down. Then after you have dug down 5 feet... how to cut it off, how to install the repair coupling? you'll need a big hole.

Make sure, before you re bury the repaired pipe, that there are no leaks. Stongly suggest slamming on and off water in the house at several locations nearest the repair to CAUSE water hammer if possible. Then wrap coupling in paper towels. leave over night and check for damp towel.

You may have to re-tighten the compression nuts. If you do, repeat the testing with water hammer and overnight towel wrap.

The above is the least expensive solution... it will last quite a while. But it is not the correct way to do it. That would be to replace all the underground lines with copper or pex.

You could cheat a bit (MAYBE) and push 1/2" pex through the 3/4" underground line (if the underground is 3/4) and not too corroded internally.)

Good luck

[billwmeyer]

leak

It sounds like you have gotten some good advice. The only other solution that I can see, is to replumb from your house to your garage, thus eliminating the old pipe and the leak. I am sure the patches would be easier.

Bill

[ssmith1627]

Thanks for the feedback guys. It does help. The challenge in fixing this leak, as said above, is digging it out enough to get to it. I've dug down about a foot and so far I don't see the leak itself so I'll have to keep going and follow the pipe to find the part I need to cut.

The good thing is I don't need it just patched -- I really want to cut the pipe there and just cap it off. I don't need water up there.

I agree -- the best would be to run a new pipe to bring water from the basement to the garage for the washer. I just don't know where to start with that. The house has a crawlspace, the garage is on a slab. Go through the attic spaces maybe ?

Another option is to find the T where it splits and goes from the garage on to the other building, underground. If I found that, I could cap it off there and eliminate all the future leaks I might find in the other 50-75 feet of pipe that runs underground out there. Just a matter of time before there's another leak somewhere else in this old pipe. But how to find that when you don't know exactly where it runs ? That's gonna be a job in itself.

Steve

[doubleoonothing]

Leaking Underground water supply

From the farm, I will share with you what I do to find and fix leakers.
Eyeball a general location, dig holes with the post hole digger, (the two handle type) 3 minutes per hole to 3 feet, look for the hole that fills up the fastest, that will get you closer.
Depending on soil type, you could use a water probe to find the pipe, now days I use my metal detector. If you have an idea where the supply comes from, look for clues like under buildings where the pipe dives underground making it easier to locate outside. Use the post hole digger to explore, it's quicker than a shovel by far. Unless you can just cap it before it goes underground. If you have to cut the pipe use a pipe cutter or a cordless saws all and use a threader on it. Those couplings that tighten around the pipe don't work on corroded pipe, and if you try it you have to put a redwood stake at the end of the patch to keep it from blowing off, cuz it will, and it will hurt. When you do your 5th or 6th leaker you'll find it to be no big deal, happy hunting.

[oakchas]

I'm assuming your garage is heated. or the lines are heat traced so as not to freeze.

Where does the line run to the washer... on or in the wall ? From below, through the slab?

If the house is on a crawl space, and you can find the line(s) that run to the garage and the out building, cap it there and run another line to the garage through the sill beam.

[ssmith1627]

Hey guys. Thanks for all the feedback. It really did help.

I finally decided to tackle it closer to the source and eliminate that entire line up to the separate building. That way I don't have another leak spring up a month later.

I dug around where I knew the pipes went into the garage. Took a bit to figure things out -- there are old lines that used to go to that other building that had been cut and replaced already. This is a 45 year old house so a lot has been patched together by my father-in-law over the years. But I found the correct line.

After some more digging, I found the T where it split off, one going to washer, one going to the other building. At the other building the pipe is galvanized but here near the garage it's PVC. So I just cut out the T and replaced it with an elbow. Didn't take a lot of work really -- much easier thanI had expected considering I've never done work with PVC or PVC cement before.

I kept it uncovered for about 30 hours before I buried it back. No sign of any leaks. Hopefully, that's the end of that.

Steve

[oakchas]

Good for you, Steve!
Alot of times fixing things requuires a bit of digging around... most folks give up about halfway and call a pro. Most things can be done by the average guy... but most are too timid to takcle stuff.