More than once, working as a plumber, I had to resolve issues with the elimination of emergencies after interventions in the water supply, sewerage and heating systems, careless home craftsmen. And also hired "professionals". Usually, damage to systems occurs with the help of hammer drills, as well as long self-tapping screws. When attaching the same shelves in bathrooms.
Why were the pipes not accidentally punched in the USSR?
During the Soviet times, there were no situations of accidental drilling of pipes. This is due to three factors:
- Among the people, the presence of punchers was practically absent, with rare exceptions, manual punches were used.
- Pipes in the USSR were completely made of metal, and it is rather difficult to drill them.
- According to the rules, a steel pipeline could not be bricked up in walls, but laid by an open method or in mines. They always knew about their position.
What is the reason for the frequent damage to pipes at the present time?
The number of calls to replace emergency sections is constantly growing, this is due to several factors:
- Lately, the hammer drill is not a luxury. Every householder has or at least dreams of a hammer drill. Accordingly, a person who does not have an understanding of the passage of communications can spoil them. What is more and more often observed.
- The location of water supply pipes and especially heating (warm floor) can be hidden. They are often laid in such a way that they do not irritate the eyes of the owner and do not collect dust. A pipe buried in the wall is a potential source of accidents when working with a rock drill. Moreover, if the installer did not leave the scheme, handing it over to the owner, or did the laying of pipes chaotically.
- Eternal pipes are embedded in the walls. That is, made of plastic, no matter what it is HDPE, LDPE, PPR, they are all easily damaged by a punch drill or self-tapping screw.
I pierced the pipe in the wall with a puncher, what should I do?
It is important to understand what to do if "hands, hooks" made holes in a hidden pipeline in the wall. There are different scenarios.
When drilling the wall with a perforator, water began to pour out of the hole strongly, your actions:
- If the hammer drill is left hanging in the hole, disconnect the power from the device, never pull it out. Turn off the water in the apartment. If this does not help, call the Emergency Service.
- If the drill is pulled out of the hole, unplug the drill from the power supply. Try plugging the drill back in. This reduces the stream of water pouring into the apartment. You also turn off the water supply to the apartment and invite the emergency workers.
- If very hot water is pouring out of the hole. Try to turn off the DHW, didn't it work? Take documents from the apartment. Turn off the power supply and go out into the entrance along the way, calling the emergency brigade. The heating pipe may be damaged.
Having drilled a hole, you realized that you damaged the sewer, what should you do?
- If there is access to the "leaky" area, then you can use a clamp to tighten the damaged area with it, having previously lubricated the sealant with silicone sealant.
- If access is difficult, then the opening expands and the site is replaced or repairs are made using expansion joints.
How to repair a polypropylene pipe?
The most common water supply pipe is polypropylene, respectively, it is spoiled most of all. For its repair, a nozzle was invented, which allows you to repair the water supply section, without opening the walls. I wrote about herhere.
I screwed the self-tapping screw into a plastic pipe, what should I do?
A very common problem when renovating bathrooms is breaking through polymer pipes under pressure with self-tapping screws. If this situation has occurred, then the self-tapping screw should not be turned out. Having done this, the water will rush and block it, it will be difficult. Call Plumbers from the housing office if the common building riser is damaged, they know what to do next. And if the apartment wiring is damaged, then we turn off the water and take measures to eliminate it ourselves, or we entrust this work to specialists.
You will be interested, an article about self-tapping screws in a pipe here.
The report was made by a plumber: "Timofey Mikhailov" Subscribe to the channel, I will be glad to every reader. True true.