Cracked Sewer Pipe Repair
Methods to repair cast iron sewer drains without digging through floors Excavation for pipe replacement If you found our website, you’re probably freaked out because your plumber discovered that your cast iron sewer drains have long cracks or holes in them, and they recommend digging up your entire house for a few weeks to replace your cast iron sewer drains the old-fashioned way. 10 Symptoms of a Damaged Sewer Pipe. Home / Sewer Repair / 10 Symptoms of a Damaged Sewer Pipe. An obvious sign that you may have a broken sewer pipe would be septic wastewater pooling in your yard. The issue may be a broken septic tank, clogged drain fields, or a cracked main line. Often times the problem area is located directly under the. Protect your home’s sewer system from a complete failure by having pipe repair for cracked or broken pipes.Our extensive sewer pipe repair services provide a complete overhaul of your sewer system, fixing any areas of potential concern.
The same repair methods will also work for ABS pipes, which are also unpressurized drain pipes. While PVC pipes are generally white or cream-colored, ABS is a black plastic. However plastic water supply pipes are made CPVC plastic are pressurized, and thus are not suitable for the same methods of making temporary repairs. Here's the steps we took to determine the leaks under the slab of this house due to a broken sewer pipe under the house, and how we replaced the sewer pipes. Call anytime for an estimate: 1-818. Broken Pipes: Pipes are cracked, punctured or collapsed by shifting soil, frozen ground, settling, etc. Sewer Blockages: Grease buildup or foreign objects restrict or prohibit proper water flow and/or cleaning of the sewer line.
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Written by Tom Dennis; Updated December 10, 2018Related Articles
- 1 Replace Drainpipes in Slab Homes
- 2 Repair Plumbing Under a Foundation
- 3 Slab and Copper Pipe Repair
- 4 Fix Leaking Pipes Under a Slab Foundation
A building with a slab foundation does not have a basement or crawlspace underneath it. A slab is made of concrete that's poured over leveled ground and then smoothed flat and cured. It serves as the foundation for the structure built on it. The concrete slab covers the sewer drain pipes located under the slab. When a drain pipe breaks under a slab, the pipe must be located and repaired; otherwise the ensuing leak could cause damage that makes the building unsound.
Locating the Break
A cement slab is porous. Water leaking from a pipe break beneath it will wick upward through the cement floor. Look for wet flooring with no apparent cause; initially, the moisture will be contained to a certain location in the house over the pipe break. A leak detection company can save a homeowner a great deal of time and effort by pinpointing the location of the pipe break with sensitive listening devices.
Making a Spot Repair
Fixing A Cracked Sewer Pipe
Once the pipe break has been located, a small area of concrete slab directly over the broken pipe must be removed with the use of a jackhammer or a concrete-cutting saw. Under the cement is usually gravel or sand in which the pipe is buried. Dig to find the pipe. Locate the breakage, cut out the broken portion and replace the section with PVC, polyvinyl chloride pipe. Use rubber repair couplings with stainless steel compression bands to join replacement pipe to the existing pipe. Replace the soil, and pour a concrete patch to fill the removed portion of slab.
Replacing Pipe Sections
In older homes, sewer pipe can degenerate and rust over time. Cast iron and galvanized steel pipe are especially susceptible to decay. Once you've exposed a section of pipe, study it. If the overall integrity of the pipe is decayed and thin, it may be necessary to replace complete sections of the pipe, in which case you'll have to remove more slab. Proper planning and hanging of plastic sheeting around the work space can help contain the large amount of dust and mess produced by the extensive concrete removal process.
Relining
If the sewer pipe has extensive decay, an option of repair is to reline the pipes with Cured In Place Pipe, or CIPP. This process is less invasive than breaking up and repairing large amounts of concrete. The relining process begins with inserting a camera into the sewer pipe to inspect for pipe breakage and integrity. Second, the interior of the sewer pipe is cleaned by high-pressure water or mechanical means using a sewer-cleaning cable device. Lastly, a thin epoxy-impregnated felt liner is pulled through the pipe by cable, inflated like a balloon and allowed to cure, sealing the pipe.The epoxy seals small holes and strengthens the worn pipe walls.
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About the Author
Cracked Sewer Pipe Repair Cost
Tom Dennis has been writing technical as well as faith-related articles and curriculum since 2008. He has been a licensed plumber for more than 30 years with much experience in home projects. Dennis holds a Master of Religious Education degree from Grand Rapids Theological Seminary.
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PVC pipes and joint fittings are typically glued together with PVC solvent glue. These connections are quick and permanent, as the plastic parts are chemically fused together with solvent cement. The bad news is that if you get a leak in a PVC joint or pipe, you can't separate the joints to replace the leaky parts. A permanent repair usually requires cutting back the pipe and installing new couplings and replacement parts, or re-plumbing an entire section of piping. But if you have a leak in a PVC drain pipe, often you can repair it temporarily until there's time for a permanent fix. Drain pipes are not pressurized, which makes temporary repairs relatively effective.
The same repair methods will also work for ABS pipes, which are also unpressurized drain pipes. While PVC pipes are generally white or cream-colored, ABS is a black plastic. However plastic water supply pipes are made CPVC plastic are pressurized, and thus are not suitable for the same methods of making temporary repairs. CPVC pipes are also white or cream-colored, but they are generally small diameter-pipes, 1/2- or 3/4-inch in diameter. And it will be quite obvious if these are pressurized water-supply pipes, as leaks in the pipes or fittings will cause water to spray out.
Rubber or Silicone Repair Tape
Rubber and silicone repair tape is a thick, heavy-duty tape that sticks to itself rather than the part you are fixing. It is stretchy and a little gummy so it can be stretched and stuck to itself to increase the compression of the tape wraps.
Wrap the tape very tightly around the leaky PVC joint or pipe, extending the wraps well beyond the repair area. One advantage of repair tape is that it can be wrapped in a spiral fashion for a considerable distance if a lengthwise split appears in a pipe. However, it can be difficult to apply in tight spaces.
Repair Epoxy
Repair epoxies designed to bond to PVC and other plastics commonly come in putty and liquid (syringe) forms. Both can be used to repair PVC joint and pipe leaks.
Dry the area and apply the epoxy as directed by the manufacturer. Most types set in about 25 minutes but may take an hour or more to reach full strength. Liquid epoxy is thinner than putty and may be better for leaks in tight spaces, such as where drain pipes run through holes in studs or other framing members.
Fiberglass Wrap
Fiberglass wrap is a fiberglass cloth coated with water-activated resin. To use it, wet the cloth in water and wrap it around the leaky PVC pipe or joint, and allow the resin to hardens for 10 or 15 minutes. Follow the manufacturer's application tips for the best results, and try to extend the wrap at least 2 inches on each side of the leaking area.
Rubber and Hose Clamps
A thick piece of rubber and a couple of hose clamps makes for a down-and-dirty temporary repair that you can apply without having to go to the store for supplies. If the leak is isolated to one area and not split down the length of a joint or a piece of pipe, then you can usually get a piece of rubber around it.
Open the hose clamps all the way so you can separate them and get them around the pipe. Wrap the rubber around the leaking part, then tighten a hose clamp at both ends of the rubber, compressing the rubber piece around the leak. This will usually stop or at least greatly slow down the leak and buy you some time for a permanent repair.
This repair works best on smooth sections of pipe, where the rubber can make full contact with the pipe surface. It does not work well on contours or on edges where fittings meet pipe.