Repairing a water plumbing line properly is a crucial job best left for a professional. Water pressure in residential supply lines can measure up to 60 psi. A broken supply line, or one improperly repaired, can inundate the interior of your home with hundreds of gallons of water in a matter of a few hours, causing major water damage to your possessions and the structure of your home.
Even apparently minor “pinhole” leaks in a supply line can be a cause of concern. Pinholes may be a red flag that there’s more extensive corrosion inside the pipe. Only a qualified professional plumber can evaluate the condition of your plumbing and take the proper steps to repair your water plumbing line.
- Depending on the evaluation, your plumber may opt to repair small pinhole leaks by placing a sweat coupling over the leaky section. A sweat coupling is simply a short segment of pipe with a diameter large enough to slip tightly over the 1/2-inch or 3/4-inch existing pipe.
- After turning off the water to your house at the main shutoff, your plumber will cut out the leaking segment of existing pipe.
- Using emery paper, he’ll then roughen the surfaces of both pipe ends for better solder adhesion. Then, he’ll use a wire brush or another tool to clean the inside surfaces of both ends of the sweat coupling.
- Your plumber will then deflect one pipe slightly to the side before sliding the sweat coupling onto the open end of the other pipe. Repositioning the first pipe, he’ll then move the coupling backwards to slide over the end of the pipe.
- Utilizing a propane torch, your plumber will solder the joints at both ends of the sweat coupling to seal it to the existing pipe and make a permanent repair.
- After water is restored at the shutoff valve, your plumber will inspect the repair and verify that it’s leakproof.
To schedule professional plumbing services in Indianapolis, contact Mowery Heating, Cooling and Plumbing.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Brownsburg, Indiana and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).
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