Repairing Leaky Pipes Temporarily

It may not always be possible to carry out an immediate and permanent repair on a leaking pipe, and a solution to this can be to temporarily repair the pipe to reduce further damage. First things first, if you have inadvertently damaged a pipe with a nail, don’t be tempted to immediately pull it out. When the nail is still in the pipe, the pipe will only leak slowly. Whereas if you removed the nail the full pressure of the pipe is released.‹¯¨

Before You Begin

Firstly you need to isolate the water supply to the affected pipe and drain it down. There are two techniques that can be implemented to temporarily repair a pipe; hose and clips repair and epoxy putty repair.

• Hose and Clips Repair
To repair a pipe with this method you will require a piece of garden hose and some jubilee clips. Cut a piece of garden hose to a sufficient diameter to go round the pipe. You then need to cut the hose lengthways to fit over the affected pipe. Place the jubilee clips over the hose, with one in the middle and one at each end. By tightening the clips sufficiently, you should be able to seal the hose so that no further water escapes.

• Epoxy Putty Repair
As an alternative you can use epoxy putty to repair damaged or leaking pipes. Epoxy putty can be found at most D.I.Y stores and bonds with all different types of pipes. Some types of Epoxy putty can dry in around 10 minutes and most dry at room temperature. Before applying the putty to the pipe, you need to ensure the pipe is dry and clean as the putty will not bond otherwise. Epoxy putty is a two part mix which dries hard. Follow the manufactures instructions, then press into place over the damaged pipe and smooth over. You will need to check the required thickness the putty needs to be to work correctly. In addition, you will need to check how long it should be left before allowing water to flow through the pipe again.

Permanent Repair

A temporary repair will rectify the immediate problem; however the issue will need to be properly resolved in the long run. To carry out a full repair, you will need to drain the affected pipework, cut out the damaged section and fit a new length of pipe with compression or solder fittings at each end.‹¯¨