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I have emergency plumbing repair supplies available to give in Austin


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Posted

We managed to get a plumber to our house yesterday to do the emergency repairs we needed. But, out of an abundance of caution, we had a relative in AZ buy supplies and ship them overnight. They should arrive shortly. I will get them to anyone you know who needs them.

 

We have inbound 8 1/2 inch shark bite couplers, and two mini copper pipe cutters (for working in tight spaces), and three other 1/2 inch couplers with hose.

 

These are pretty easy to use, and if you can access the spot of broken pipe, you can cut it out and replace the busted section with the shark bite.

 

Reply, DM, whatever. Let’s get your plumbing secured so you can turn your water back on,

 

Also note....just because you find one leak doesn’t mean you found them all. You fix one, then see water gushing from someplace else. I found our leak....then, as we fixed it....we found 4 more.

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Posted
40 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

 

We managed to get a plumber to our house yesterday to do the emergency repairs we needed. But, out of an abundance of caution, we had a relative in AZ buy supplies and ship them overnight. They should arrive shortly. I will get them to anyone you know who needs them.

 

We have inbound 8 1/2 inch shark bite couplers, and two mini copper pipe cutters (for working in tight spaces), and three other 1/2 inch couplers with hose.

 

These are pretty easy to use, and if you can access the spot of broken pipe, you can cut it out and replace the busted section with the shark bite.

 

Reply, DM, whatever. Let’s get your plumbing secured so you can turn your water back on,

 

Also note....just because you find one leak doesn’t mean you found them all. You fix one, then see water gushing from someplace else. I found our leak....then, as we fixed it....we found 4 more.

 

I mean, I could turn it on, but nothing will come out.

  • Rage+1 1
Posted

Where were your leaks btw---in terms of cardinal direction/location in house?  Thanks.  Getting ready to fire up the water line in a few hours and am trying to think of everything.  

Posted
Where were your leaks btw---in terms of cardinal direction/location in house?  Thanks.  Getting ready to fire up the water line in a few hours and am trying to think of everything.  

Line over the garage and down that outside wall had 4 breaks in it. FOUR. Actually on the south side, but again, over an unheated garage.

Line between floors - but largely exposed to outside temps and uninsulated (yeah, wtf?), also on the south side.

It was more to do with exposure than direction.
Posted

shit-farts.  That's another of my main concerns.  The oldest's bathroom upstairs sits over an unheated garage (it's decently insulated at least).  Her sink and shower were the first to freeze up Wednesday night/Thursday morning.  That's when we decided to shut off all the water to the house and clear the lines.  There'd be no easy way to find a crack without ripping ceiling out.  Those pipes, like yours, run to the south.  They are decently insulated but that bathroom garage area, the laundry room lines to washer obviously, and then the tankless water heater are my three circles of terror right now.  I'm letting the sun and some spacer heaters do their best all day today and then around peak heat with some daylight left to burn---gonna open the lines again around 3 or 4pm and see if see/hear anything.  An obvious crack will reveal itself rather quickly...but a tiny compromise to one pipe can take weeks to reveal itself.  FUCK! 

Hope we all make it through the other side and laugh about this.  I hope.  Stay dry y'all.  

Posted
shit-farts.  That's another of my main concerns.  The oldest's bathroom upstairs sits over an unheated garage (it's decently insulated at least).  Her sink and shower were the first to freeze up Wednesday night/Thursday morning.  That's when we decided to shut off all the water to the house and clear the lines.  There'd be no easy way to find a crack without ripping ceiling out.  Those pipes, like yours, run to the south.  They are decently insulated but that bathroom garage area, the laundry room lines to washer obviously, and then the tankless water heater are my three circles of terror right now.  I'm letting the sun and some spacer heaters do their best all day today and then around peak heat with some daylight left to burn---gonna open the lines again around 3 or 4pm and see if see/hear anything.  An obvious crack will reveal itself rather quickly...but a tiny compromise to one pipe can take weeks to reveal itself.  FUCK! 
Hope we all make it through the other side and laugh about this.  I hope.  Stay dry y'all.  

When you open your water, do it incrementally (and make sure you have multiple sink taps open to release the incoming pressure). Quarter turn, half turn, etc. And have someone standing at the vulnerable places (or below them) looking for leakage. It will reveal itself. Quickly. Shut water off. Tear out Sheetrock, find leak. Lather, rinse, repeat.

We did it 5 times. Lucky that 4 of them were over the garage and laundry room. Cleaning up the mess now.
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Posted
5 hours ago, Brisketexan said:


When you open your water, do it incrementally (and make sure you have multiple sink taps open to release the incoming pressure). Quarter turn, half turn, etc. And have someone standing at the vulnerable places (or below them) looking for leakage. It will reveal itself. Quickly. Shut water off. Tear out Sheetrock, find leak. Lather, rinse, repeat.

We did it 5 times. Lucky that 4 of them were over the garage and laundry room. Cleaning up the mess now.

I think I'd drill a few 1/4" holes in suspect ceiling areas.  You'd get water a lot faster than waiting for it to soak thru the drywall, and repairs would be easy. 

Anyway, I feel for y'all.  It sucks. 

Posted

Update -- they actually showed up this morning.  I'm working a full day today, but am happy to figure out how to get this to any Austin folks in need of doing their own repairs while plumbers are hard to get ahold of.

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