I have a slab leak - the side of my garage is seeping water through the outside of the garage - per the last plumber - it is a drainage line break at the 90 that supports the upstairs bathroom.  They are talking about excavating under the foundation and repairing - can we sleeve instead.  We can see the pipe through the sheet-rock in the garage…
Please tell me what to do - estimate came in at $3,000.

-Angelica

Angelica, a pipe sleeve is used to protect a pipe from the material it’s passing through (e.g. a wall or concrete), what you’re referring to is called sock lining, and it may be a solution to your problem. I would suggest that you contact a plumbing company in your area that has sock lining technologies to get an estimate.

-Brian

I have a 4″ clay pipe which is a downspout drain and is leaking.  The pipe runs under an addition to the house.  There isn’t sufficient space under the addition to access the pipe at all.  Any ideas of how I can pull a liner or flexible pipe through the 4″ clay pipe (which also bends slightly?)  Currently, run off from the downspout runs under the house and there is no other place to go with the drainage.

-Bill

Bill, there are firms that specialize in lining failing pipes, but I’m not aware of any liners that you can use yourself. I would suggest that you contact a plumbing company in your area that has sock lining technologies. You may require access from one or both ends depending upon which sock lining technology is used.

-Brian

We replaced our hot water tank 5 months ago and since then, in the room behind the closet where the tank is located, we can hear a “ping”. It is almost rhythmic. We have turned the power off on the tank thinking it was electrical but the noise continued for one hour. We have replaced the thermostat, which interestingly enough made a slight difference in that it generally stops during the night but as soon as water is turned on it starts again and will go for hours afterwards. I think it sounds like water dripping from one pipe onto another, my husband thinks I’m a worry wart! No water appears under the wall (we are on a slab). The noise is extremely faint in the closet where the tank is but can also be heard faintly in the other bathroom quite a distance away. Any suggestions? The manufacturer of the tank said it may be a “singing” element and to replace those with a better quality but if that was the case, it would be quiet when the power was off would it not? Please, any suggestions?

-Rae

Rae, it is possible for home water heaters to become noisy less than a year after they’ve been installed. And many times you can only hear the noises at night, when the inside of your home is quiet and there isn’t much going on outside.

In gas heaters, the noise can be caused by the buildup of lime, other minerals, or sand on the bottom of the water heater’s tank. When the heater’s gas burner comes on, the heated water bubbling through the mineral formations and sediment creates the noise. Electric heaters can generate singing or hissing noises, they have heating elements that are immersed in the tank’s water, and lime or scale accumulating on the elements causes the noises. The elements can be removed and cleaned with vinegar, but in really bad cases the element may need to be replaced.

You might be able to cut down the noise by disconnecting the heater and flushing the tank. But, it may not be possible to remove all the mineral deposits from the bottom of the tank, so that when you hook the tank back up, it may just become noisy again. If you have hard water, a solution might be for you to install a water softener, to prevent mineral build up.

-Brian

My plumbing is clogging/ slowly draining tub and toilet combo. We snaked from back of house to city sewer line- 80 feet- seemed clear enough. Then we flushed the toilet a few times- fine. Then we filled the bath tub halfway and it would not drain actually came back into toilet a bit. we mini-snaked the bath tub and toilet- they continued to trade their water back and forth… Could this be a vent problem? Or does it totally sound like a main sewer clog or break. We are going to snake from the soilstack to the city next- Just trying everything before having to shell out the big bucks for a whole new sewer line.

-Val

Val, If you’re flushing only twice and its already backing up into you bathtub, it suggests that whatever is wrong is located very close to the toilet (if the rest of the line is clear). I suggest hiring a local plumbing contractor to insert a camera down into the line and provide you with a report. With today’s cameras they’ll be able to see for themselves and show you what’s wrong and pinpoint the location of the problem -in color. Make sure you examine the report carefully and ask any questions you have right away.

-Brian

I’ve heard that more and more people are sealing copper pipes from homes? Is this really a serious problem? Someone I know painted their copper pipes white to look like plastic. Is that a good solution?

–Chris

Chris, theft of copper in general, not just copper pipe, is a huge problem not only here in the U.S., but around the world. Thieves are tearing out copper pipes and copper wiring from just about any source they can get their hands on, including homes or buildings under construction (any construction site in general is a target), abandoned/condemned homes and buildings (foreclosure lists are commonly used), phone lines, and street lights.

Both the Chinese and Indian economies are growing rapidly and have created a huge demand for copper (and other non-ferrous metals) over the past several years. If you add that to the dropping value of the dollar, it’s easy to see why the price of copper has shot up from about 80 cents per pound to more than $3.50 per pound (within the last 10 years).

Just listen to this May 20, 2008 story by Marketplace®’s Jeff Tyler about how copper theft is hitting U.S. cities’ infrastructure hard:

And have a look at some incidents of copper theft from around the world, just from last month!

7/29/08: Police bust alleged copper wire theft gang (Dandan, Saipan)

7/28/08: Store under construction targeted in copper pipe theft (Portsmouth, NH)

7/27/08: ‘Syndicates behind copper pipe theft’ (Cape Town, South Africa)

7/24/08: Copper theft a rapidly growing crime (Las Vegas, NV)

7/17/08: Man’s day in the cells for copper-theft attempt (Halifax, United Kingdom)

7/16/08: Man killed in Ohio during copper theft (New Miami, OH)

7/10/08: Copper Theft: “Inside Job” (Pensacola, FL)

7/09/08: Youth granted bail on copper wire theft charge (Georgetown, Guyana)

7/08/08: July brings no freedom from wire theft (Spanaway, WA)

7/01/08: Police following leads in copper pipe, cash theft (Warren, VT)

Photo: Air conditioning unit destroyed by copper thieves. Click here to read the full story. Used with permission. ©2008, Thompson Realty.

Painting your copper pipes won’t necessarily prevent them from being stolen, but to a thief in a hurry, they just might appear to be undesirable plastic. Another thing you can do is replace basement windows with glass block windows –these let the light in while obscuring thieves view and are much more difficult to break (when properly installed) than ordinary windows. Air conditioners (more so central units than window ones) are a common target too, it’s best to secure them or hide from view –your local installer may have some useful ideas.

–Brian

What happened if the underground hot water pipe is leaking?  What is the estimate cost to find the leaking pipe underground if I must demolished the concrete?  Any good advice?

–Ashley

Ashley, what you have is called a “slab leak” and digging/tearing up the concrete is a pretty expensive and time consuming way to solve your pipe leak problem, possibly costing in the neighborhood of $2,000 to $5,000.  Epoxy lining the affected pipe might be a faster and more cost-effective option –if the leaking pipe isn’t too badly damaged (an epoxy lining company should be able to determine that). In the lining process, hoses are connected to fixtures or valves at both ends of the pipe, so there’s no need to tear up your concrete. The pipe gets cleaned out and then lined with an epoxy that restores the pipe to like-new condition.

-Brian

The plastic pipe that carries our electrical wires from the outside meter on the side of our house to the inside electrical panel has developed a leak under the garage concrete floor and now after a rain storm water leaks into the electrical panel and out into the basement.  Is there any non intrusive way to find the leak or fix the leak without breaking the concrete floor?

–Bob

Bob, other than digging and replacing, your options would be to either run the conduit through an alternate route, or possibly seal the ends of the conduit. I suggest contacting a electrical contractor for his opinion and expertise.

-Brian

I hear in the wall what appears to be a pinhole leak in a pipe, but, I have no water leaking anywhere. ( I cut out drywall next to one of the pipes where I hear) It’s DRY! With no water being used in the house, there is minute amt. registering on meter, (next to nothing). With the hot water pressure valve on top of water heater turned off, usage on the meter show NO usage, but, I can still hear hissing in wall.(Hissing stops when I turn off main water valve outside the house.) What’s up??

–Ellen

Ellen, it sounds (no pun intended) like you may have a leak. If you did have a pinhole in your piping system, chances are the water loss is too low to be noticed on a water meter’s readout (dial), and you would also have water showing up somewhere (unless you have lines buried below ground). The best thing to do is call a plumber who can come in and perform a hydrostatic pressure test -which is safer then a compressed air test.

-Brian

I bought a house in May, in the state of Texas inspectors don’t have to insect sewer lines and I took a chance and lost. The sewer line was old clay pipe. had a contractor to come out and fix 68 ft but the he found out that he would have to go to the main he wanted more money which was 10 grand, also the main was 14 ft down. When he found out I could not come up with it he left me with a hole in the ground and no sewage. I have been using a pick and shovel for the last 3 weeks or so to try to do it myself but I am out of energy to even look at it. So what is my next move?

–Dennis

Dennis, you should contact the municipality that you live in, in most cases you (the homeowner) are only responsible up to the property line and not all the way out to the main. At 14 feet down, this is not a do-it-yourself project. Digging a trench, especially one that deep, requires proper excavating equipment and shoring. Without shoring, the trench could collapse/cave-in, filling with soil –leaving you and anyone else in it buried alive. Click here to read TrenchSafety.org’s great piece (illustrated) on why trenches cave-in.

An alternative to digging a trench would be one of the several types of trenchless technologies available, these replace or restore failing sewer pipes with only limited excavating. The North American Society for Trenchless Technology’s website, www.nastt.org, is a good place to start looking for companies that offer different trenchless solutions.

-Brian

The water draining from my central air conditioning is causing the PVC pipe to reverberate with a thump, thump, thump as it drips into the sink.  I have been told it is cold water sludge build up in the pipes.  I have tried cleaning the pipes with hot water and bleach with no success.  Any suggestions?

-Don

Don, the PVC pipe thumping/reverberation is probably starting at the unit and being transmitted down the pipe. It’s only a drain with nothing in or on it that could actually create a noise or vibration. I recommend you call a company that services central air units; they should be able to diagnose.

-Brian