When we do DIY projects for our home, we sometimes make mistakes and problems we don't expect. One of the most common mistakes is accidentally you have hit a pipe in the wall. Water spurting from the wall can be an unexpected experience, and homeowners can be overwhelmed on how to handle these types of situations! It can be extremely annoying, but repairing it isn't as difficult as you might think. With the correct procedures and right equipment, you can do a permanent repair just by yourself (yes, really!). Read on below and find out what to do and how to avoid this happening the next time you do a DIY job.
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The first thing you want to do is to turn off your home's water. You'd want to locate your home's stopcock, which controls the house's main water supply. It will stop the water flowing inside your house and also to the damaged pipe. You can also open your faucet to let all the water drained out.
Having access to the damaged pipe makes it easier for you to inspect and repair it. If the damage is behind a wall, you can remove the drywall around it by using a drywall saw or drill. Extra care must be done when attempting to reach the damaged pipework. What we don't want is to create another hole we're trying to repair.
Knowing how large the damage is will determine how much work you're going to have to put in repairing your pipe. If you see water spurting out of a pinhole, then it's a much easier fix. A longitudinal cut that is several inches in length is harder to fix.
What material the pipe is made of is important because it can be subjected to different repair methods. For example, the epoxy putty has different formulations that are material specific. If you use epoxy putty on the wrong material, it won't adhere properly. What ends up happening is that water will steal leak out of the hole in the pipe when the wrong epoxy is used.
Galvanized pipes can be hard to repair because they are hard to patch and seal. It may need special equipment for it to be fixed, and contacting professional plumbers is required. It is essential that skilled persons repair your galvanized pipes to avoid further complications if it is DIY. Furthermore, it's also advisable to make a price offer by calling emergency services and compare several companies. The savings and differences can be huge.
You can repair copper pipes if you know how to solder. Small holes in the copper pipes can be effectively sealed by soldering. If you're trained with soldering, you can go ahead and fix your pipe because a solder usually does a permanent fix when handling damaged copper pipes. Small holes can be closed with solder, but a large one can't. If you have major damage, the damaged pipe section must be replaced by an equal dimension pipe.
The easiest to fix are plastic pipes. You can easily insert a new section to replace the damaged part and fix it at either end with external sleeves that are well glued and sealed, covering the cut ends. If the plastic pipe has a small leak, you can also do an epoxy putty or pipe repair tape to seal the hole.
After inspecting and assessing the pipe damage caused by accidental drilling, you can make a decision if you can do it yourself or call a professional for help. Doing the repair yourself will save you money, but make sure that you do it properly. Assess if you need a fully qualified plumber for your pipe damage for convenience and if you don't have the capability of doing the repair yourself.
DIY pipe repairs have become easy over the past decade, and there are many available pipe repair kits you can buy. The all-in-one pipe repair kits include all the things you need to permanently fix a leaking pipe in minutes. You can just buy and find the repair kit that is compatible with your pipe material. The repair kits have epoxy putty or pipe repair tape you can use to seal the damage.
Whichever path you take, it is important to call professional help if you think fixing the damage by yourself is insufficient. You can try repairing it yourself first, but consider it first as first aid until the plumber comes to fix it.
Prevention is better than cure, and it's better to be prepared when you need to drill something into your wall. You can never be sure how the water pipes are arranged inside your house's walls.
Digital detectors for locating pipes in your wall are available in the market to avoid accidentally hitting pipes. You can move the detector over an area where you want to drill the hole, and the detector will usually show LED lights when a pipe is present behind the wall.
If you have the architectural drawing of your house or building, you can find out if the area you're drilling in is safe and has no cables or pipes beneath it. If you don't have the blueprints, you can scope out where the pipes are by arbitrarily tracing and assuming the pipes run above and across fixtures. The more you scope out an area, the fewer chances of you making a mistake.
If you're decided to do your drilling without contacting professional help, you can carefully drill a hole first in your specified spot. Make a hole with your drill and poke a wire through it to check if there are obstructions. If there's an obstruction or a blockage, don't drill through it, as you may hit something.
Now that you have solved the issue of putting a nail or screw into a pipe in your wall, take some time, relax and read some lovely articles we have written. Get your up home decor up to date with our look into decorating trends to look for in 2021 or see our guides on how to upcycle your home's kitchen cabinets!