Rotten Pipe.

[SimonG]

Been doing an en-suite, last week and into this week. Also had to swap out a wc and a basin mixer from the main bathroom they had done a few years ago.

Anyway, part of the job was to remove the old cwcs tank in the loft. Went up last week and it was full, apparently when the combi had been fitted umpteen years ago the bathroom and ensuite cold water was left tank fed.

So cut the feed for the ensuite and tapped the existing pipework into the mains, all ok and laid the ply and new travertine floor last Thursday.

Turned up yesterday and they had left me a note, can you have a look at the leak in the kitchen. Water dripping through the ceiling right where the new floor has been laid. Feck.

Couldn't understand why it had taken a week to leak. Cut out a section of the ceiling and found that it was nothing I had done. The cold feed to the wc had a spot of green on it and it was spraying through. Water off, cut out and repaired. The old bit of pipe was absolutely shagged, lumps of what looked like flux in the pipe that had eaten it's way through the pipe.

Did tell them that it may be prudent to swap out the remaining pipes under the floor just in case, but not interested.

Only seen this with flux on the outside, never on the inside.

 

[Phil]

That's a heart stopping moment right there....

 

[SimonG]

Its been one of those jobs.

The tank being still in use.
The leak.
No electrics needed until they decided on a new extractor. Then found that the 10mm shower cable only went from the shower to the pull. Electrician spent two days there putting electrics and earthing right.
Wanting walls skimmed above the half tiling.
Replacing basin taps.

The only thing keeping a smile on my face is the amount I'm charging

 

[Phil]

I wonder what was in the pipe to cause it to rot.....I know cement touching copper eventually pinholes after 20-30 years.

 

[SimonG]

Inside the pipe were blobs of green, so I just assumed it was flux.

 

[plumben]

Sounds like flux, the old none water soluble type

 

[Phil]

May we never know, at least it went while you were still on the job.

I once did bathroom job and while I was breaking up the cast iron bath up (water off and kitchen tap open) I had the old "water coming through ceiling down here Phil"....oh god

Removed floorboards from around the old primatic cylinder to find a 1" primary wrapped in a wet tea towel. Turns out in the early 80's it had been nailed and then bodged with some kind of silicone and a tea towel and had remained watertight until I came along 30 years later and smashed up the bath. Vibrations had opened it up.

 

[SimonG]

That's why I have

No guarantee can be given on the water tightness/soundness of any existing pipework.

on my estimates.

 

[brum]

Sounds like flux, the old none water soluble type

never heard flux speak lol..brum

 

[plumben]

That's why I have

No guarantee can be given on the water tightness/soundness of any existing pipework.

on my estimates.

That's on all my invoices as well it'll be in bold on the bathroom I'm on at the moment,

Cold main comes un to the house about 3 foor above ground level under the house dips down and goes back up straight into copper then up to the stop tap, not supported anywhere theres a lovely bang every time the taps are turned off

 

[Best]

Inside the pipe were blobs of green, so I just assumed it was flux.

You also get that with water in some areas corroding the copper pipes. You see little green blobs all inside the pipes and it seems to be worse on the lower side of a pipe.