how to repair pvc pipe?

16 years ago

we just found a small leak in kitchen drain where it goes out the wall. it's hard to access but is there some kind of adhesive or whatever to smear on it to seal it? It is right at a connection. It's PVC pipe. Thanks!!!!

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Comments (7)

Ron Natalie
16 years ago
Smearing things on the outside of a pipe rarely work.

What sort of connection is this? If it's a glued fitting, I'd pull on it and see if they forgot to glue it (for some reason this seems to happen far too often). If it's some sort of mechanical fitting (as indicated by a nut with flat sides or bumps on it), it may just need to be tightened.
suzieca
Original Author
16 years ago
that's the problem...we can barely get to it. It's in the exterior wall and goes down into the ground. The space to work with it is only about 5 or 6 inches. It appears it has been leaking very slowly for a long time. It's not a pressurized pipe, just a drain. This is in a 30 yr old house so not new construction.
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Yes. My reading comprehension skills are above average. Over several years of reading here and on other forums I have come across several posts claiming that the "All Purpose Cement" was a poor choice. The reasoning seems to be that while it can be used to join PVC to PVC or CPVC to CPVC or ABS to ABS that it is a compromise product that doesn't do a particularly good job in any of those applications, since the chemistry and/or the density of the three materials are different. The joint will be less strong in each of the three applications than if you had used the solvent cement expressly designed for that application. So while it is rated for each of those three applications, if you know what material your pipes are, you'd be better served getting the solvent cement designed for that material. If the OP were using it on drain pipes, and had already purchased the cement, I'd say go ahead and used it. But since the OP seems to be working on supply lines, the greater strength of the correct one purpose cement may be beneficial. Especially given that he/she has already experienced a leak. In reading further, the biggest complaints against the "All Purpose Cement" is that people see it labelled with those three materials and decide to use it to join ABS to PVC, which is not allowed and will garner an immediate red flag from an inspector.
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ctbosox
16 years ago
hopefully, its not glued in place, if it has the big nut on there, try to work channel locks onto it and tighten it some, or carefully use a flat head screw driver and hammer to tap on it clockwise,,30yr old house, not even broke in yet.
heimert
16 years ago
Where's the leak? At the bottom or at the top? Because at the top you could cut out the leak and repair it easily (well, other than access).
suzieca
Original Author
16 years ago
the leak is at the top of the connection. it's not a mechanical fitting as mentioned above, it's just a connector part where they join two pieces of pipe. so I guess it was suppposed to be glued and the glue has deteriorated? Problem still is access and there's no way to move around in there.
What would a plumber do? Tear out the wall to get to it?
davidandkasie
16 years ago
a plumber would move around in very cramped quarters, cut out the wall or rip out the cabinet. same options you have. if it is tight because it is behind the sink, AND the sink is a drop in, maybe you can remove the sink to get room if absolutely necessary.
hendricus
16 years ago
Quick and dirty. Clean the leaking area very well and coat with PVC primer and then PVC cement. If there is no pressure this could work very well because the cement actually melts the pvc together as explained in another thread.

If it still leaks you're out three bucks and 30 minutes depending on how close to a hardware store you are.

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how to repair pvc pipe?

Comments (7)

Ron Natalie

suzieca
Original Author

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ctbosox

heimert

suzieca
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hendricus

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how to repair pvc pipe?

Comments (7)

Ron Natalie

suziecaOriginal Author

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ctbosox

heimert

suziecaOriginal Author

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hendricus

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suzieca
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