Screws through pipes

[Rybo_1]

Hi all,

Had an absolute mare last night while refurbing a costa coffee toilet.

I had to adjust basin pipework to allow for only chrome tails to be on show coming out the wall, did the job neatly and efficiently only to find out that upon turning the water to the bathroom back on that water was coming everywhere from within the wall.

Turns out the original pipework, 5 years old, that was running through a stud wall had a screw through it on every stud! 3 in total. Made me look bad and hard to explain that it wasn't your fault when all that everyone sees it water in the area you have been working in.

Obviously explained what had happened and all I got back was why didn't it leak before?

Whats the longest you've ever believed a run of pipework to be leak free whilst having a screw in to it? I wouldn't have thought it would have held for this long when under mains pressure

 

[josh]

Haven't had that yet but bet a lot have had when taking out old pipe work the pipe effortlessly pulls out of the soldered fitting and think how did that ever hold water, specially when it was under pressure for years.

 

[cr0ft]

Not had that happen before, but I've seen fluxed up solder fittings hold back a bar of pressure before, without being soldered. In one case the customer and I reckoned it had held for at least 10 years before we got called out to fix the leak in question.

Water is a pain in the ***.

 

[PlumbersMate]

Arse is 4 letters croft you American!

 

[REDSAW]

Not had that happen before, but I've seen fluxed up solder fittings hold back a bar of pressure before, without being soldered. In one case the customer and I reckoned it had held for at least 10 years before we got called out to fix the leak in question.

Water is a pain in the ***.

did an emergency as the dude put a screw through the return pipe to the boiler upstairs.
3 weeks later i went back to replace the pipe and found about 2 foot under the other floorboards a loose joint 4 foot from combi.
it had not been soldered and the boiler had been installed 4 year prior!!.

good job i found it lol.

 

[Dannypipe]

Water is a pain in the arse but better a unsoldered water joint over a gas one, even if the pressure on the gas is that much lower.

 

[kirkgas]

Not quite as long as this screw but I fixed a burst years ago on a new heating install, the joiner screwed the pipe putting the board back down, had to drive 1hr back to fix it, too bad these things happen, finished and away, about 2hrs later got a call from the office to say water still coming through ceiling and getting worse, joiner etc all away home, drove back and the donkey had put the board back down but had with drawn all the screws (including the one which burst the pipe) then he fired them all back in again so the same screw burst the pipe twice, oh how I laughed

 

[GasmanxxxR1]

I forgot to solder a thumb vent on in the airing cupboard once, it survived a powerflush and hours of full heat. Went to bleed it at the end of the job and it came off in my hand, damned laco flux, now only use everflux as this hows leaks on cold fill up normally

 

[Rybo_1]

I've had the same with a soldered drain off, held for a couple of weeks until I went back to second fix. Definitely not the best way to drain a system!

 

[kirkgas]

I forgot to solder a thumb vent on in the airing cupboard once, it survived a powerflush and hours of full heat. Went to bleed it at the end of the job and it came off in my hand, damned laco flux, now only use everflux as this hows leaks on cold fill up normally

I love how you have changed flux so it tells you when you haven't soldered a fitting haha
Bs6891 (gas) anD 6700 (water) tell us to visually inspect to confirm the fitting and pipework is properly installed before we fill it, but I suppose your way works too

 

[WHPES]

Was called to fix a leak once and found a plumber had run piping behind a door frame of an internal door and the joiner hadn't realised and screwed the fame into a plastic pipe. It had been like that 3 years before it sprung a leak.

 

[Rybo_1]

I would have thought plastic would show immediately as you would expect it
to expand and contract