Plumbers Facing Unexpected Pipe Problems
22 posts in the last 60 days, all from r/Plumbing.
“Basically I live in a basement and had a new boiler installed recently. The pipe is in my room along the floor and pipe couldn't handle it so it burst. The problem is my dad refuses to shut off the boiler or anything else and said I gotta wait til the morning (it's 2 AM right…”
“Hey guys, I need some advice, I installed a reverse osmosis system under the kitchen sink last weekend, was super proud of myself .... Well not anymore. Twice now the line connected to the cold water pipe has popped off when turning on the regular faucet. I truly don't know what…”
“My wife thought the neighbors were blasting a subwoofer, but I go into the garage, and it’s our water heater. It happens anytime we use hot water, and stops after a minute or two. Out of my element here, so we googled it and thought maybe it was sediment. Tried flushing it, and…”
Plumbers are encountering unexpected issues with pipes, including cracking lines, difficult removals, squeaking noises, and potential sewer line problems. These complications lead to delays, frustration, and potentially costly repairs for homeowners.
SOURCES (60)
“Just curious. At what depth is the freeze line in your area? Or is there even one? Is it running to a sanitary city sewer system? Septic system? PVC and a few couplers should repair that. We had break in our clay (1932) sewer line…”
“Basically I live in a basement and had a new boiler installed recently. The pipe is in my room along the floor and pipe couldn't handle it so it burst. The problem is my dad refuses to shut off the boiler or anything else and said I gotta wait til the morning (it's 2 AM right now). Can't touch anything myself or he'll get in a fit. What do I do? Room was instantly flooded with yellow water. Put a towel at the leak. Been trying to vacuum out the water. I have a fan on too. But it&”
“We have a boiler in our house that's been there for 8 years with no issue and I recently noticed that the PVC was two different colors. Is that a problem? Seems like it might be.. Thank you! submitted by /u/uva2011 [link] [comments]”
“Hello everyone, when I woke up this morning I heard a loud clicking noise coming from our pipes. It has been going on for at least half an hour. Our neighbours in the second and third floor can hear it aswell, all insisting their small utility rooms. Landlord doesn't pick up. Does anyone know what it could be? submitted by /u/SchokoBaroni [link] [comments]”
“Sadly a pipe near my water tank burst while I was at work. The plumber said it’s weird the way it burst and the pipe was basically crumbling from the inside. The pipe seems sketchy and I’m worried about future damage. You can see it in the picture compared to normal white pipe. Anyone seen something like this before? submitted by /u/glittrrcat [link] [comments]”
“I have a property that recently started having backup issues. I’ve had 4 different companies out to look and they’ve all told me 4 different things. One said the entire line needs replaced due to sagging, another said just the exterior needs replaced from sagging, the 3rd said just the interior needs replaced from sagging and the 4th said the line isn’t sagging but the pipe is deteriorating and can be fixed with lining rather than excavating the interior and replacing. Obviously, that is my pref”
“Hey guys, I need some advice, I installed a reverse osmosis system under the kitchen sink last weekend, was super proud of myself .... Well not anymore. Twice now the line connected to the cold water pipe has popped off when turning on the regular faucet. I truly don't know what I did incorrectly. I used the pieces sent with the R/O and screwed the line into the fitting using the nut... (I know I'm probably using the wrong terms, sorry...) How do I fix this?! I should mention that I even”
“It happens without water running? If its happening when water is running from a toilet refilling or any water running i would suspect the pressure regulator..”
“I noticed the sound of water running through the pipes. I thought maybe it was the water heater, or someone else using water inside the house. It was still going even when no water was in use. I checked all over the house and outside for any leaks or signs of water. Ran the dye test on toilets, etc. nothing . Ground outside looks dry. I shut off the water main - the sound persists, but the water is actually shut off - nothing comes out from the faucets upstairs and the little dial doesn’t move (”
“like the title says, it sounds like we have water constantly running through the pipes for a few weeks now with no apparent leaks showing up. had a plumber come out and they checked the WH and said it was in good condition but that they had no clue and recommended a leak detection company. sound stops once we turn the pressure valve off on water heater and the meter doesn’t continue to run. sound is under kitchen sink and in both bathrooms that run in a line at back of house. we’ve also been hav”
“This has been ongoing for a while now, we get persistent water sloshing noises throughout the house after hot water or the boiler has been running. We also get them far more frequent and louder during windy evenings, each gust is followed by these noises. I’ve had a system flush, clipped and lagged pipes, bled rads etc , I have 0 clue on where to go from here to reduce these noises and if anyone has any help I would be very grateful. The noise seems worst in the loft where all the hot water pipe”
“The supply line at my MILs failed last night. Luckily she was home and heard it spraying water so it didn’t run for long. I’ve never seen one of these break apart like this before. MIL thinks it’s due to water pressure spikes in her building (20ish year old new construction condo). Is this a common failure point? Could a water pressure spike do this? Or is this old and brittle and I should have replaced it when I replaced the tank to bowl seal earlier this year? submitted by /u/achin”
“I woke up this morning to water pumping out of the middle of my driveway. I finally got down to the water line and it's this black Poly line. The bottom is cracked where some big roots were pushing on it. Is the correct repair to get brass barb couplings and hose clamps and splice in a new section of pipe? If not, what's the correct repair? Thanks! submitted by /u/tenaciousE56 [link] [comments]”
“I’ve never seen anything like that before, I have however replaced the entire mains made out of that material once that pipe starts to fail its never ending leaks so we usually just replace the whole thing from the meter to the house.”
“Partial blockage out in your main line, possible roots. If not that bad ventilation, but if it just started happening, you have a blockage”
“So the bubbling is from the trapped gas being displaced by more sewage getting trapped by the blockage? Thanks for clarifying some I hadn't thought of this as being a symptom of a clog but makes sense”
“That constant humming and vibration is likely caused by water pressure fluctuations and you have a loose component inside rattling.”
“The last couple days I’ve noticed an intermittent high pitched hum noise in the walls, it was hard to spot since it wasn’t loudest in any particular spot. I opened the utility closet and noticed the sound seemed louder in the closet. I touched the cold water pipe that goes into the inlet at the water heater and noticed it was vibrating. What’s weird is no matter if I’m using a faucet or toilet the sound doesn’t seem to change at all, but the pipe is definitely vibrating. Any ideas what I should”
“I did a sewer line inspection and they found a sag at about 102 feet from the home and 8 feet away from the main sewer line at 110 feet. The sag isn't that bad. Looks like water fills about 20% of the pipe. No blockages in the video Being 8 feet away from the main sewer line, that would put it underneath the road or sidewalk. Would the city fix this or is this on me? I haven't experienced any blockages and I am considering just doing hydro jetting yearly with cautious flushing. Is that a”
“I hit the gas line to my pool heater with an auger. The plumber that came out said he doesn’t know what material this pipe is. Any ideas? It’s not bright yellow like the PE now. My house was built in the mid eighties. submitted by /u/StinsonMD [link] [comments]”
“Yes! As a plumbing professional, absolutely. They are well known for cracking and leaking with no warning. The fittings also fail as well.”
“My wife thought the neighbors were blasting a subwoofer, but I go into the garage, and it’s our water heater. It happens anytime we use hot water, and stops after a minute or two. Out of my element here, so we googled it and thought maybe it was sediment. Tried flushing it, and not much came out. Refilled it with cold water, and as soon as I turned the burner back on it started doing it again. So I don’t think sediment is the issue, because it would take time for water to boil and stir things up”
“The pipes going into the wall don’t seem to be copper. I’m wondering what kind of pipes they are and if the rust or corrosion is something I should maybe replace them for. Back pipe is cold water, close one is Hot water coming from water heater. House was built in 1983. Not sure if original piping or not. submitted by /u/TameMcalester [link] [comments]”
“Ive been trying to call the company who did this inspection, but have not gotten through yet. Im surprised their report did not go into more detail as to the possible concern or correction of this "shift" in the pipe where plastic connects to tile. Maybe its normal and thats why they didn't make a bigger deal out of it? Also I noticed water appeared to be standing at several spots from 50ft to 80ft out. Im not sure on the diameter of this pipe, so its hard to guess at the depth of”
“Hi all, not a plumber but have this in my bathroom. Does in need to improved? My plumber wasn’t happy with the level the pipe comes out of the wall and the board just below it as can’t form a proper p-trap there. It drains well and there are no odours But wondering if it can cause issues? There’s a laundry machine going to the left. What would you improve on that ? submitted by /u/Active-Dog-6546 [link] [comments]”
“A lot of flex lines have rubber or plastic in them, I tend to replace the flex line with the water heater to reduce the chances of them aging and failing....”
“The sound has been happening all summer. It's coming from the PVC pipe cut out of the floor in the room with our water heater and our HVAC. It sounds like something far down the tube is rattling and causing the tube to basically turn into an echo chamber and project that sound up into our apartment. It's extremely loud and infuriating at times especially if I'm trying to record a video or watch a movie. I put in a service request for the apartment I live at but they came out and left”
“Our pipes are making a loud squeaking noise this morning. Water was shut off unintentionally by the city the other day due to construction so wondering if it may be related to trapped air in pipes or something else related in some way. Tried running the shower to see if it helped but didn’t make any difference. Wondering how concerned I should be and if I need to call a plumber. submitted by /u/hgordon3 [link] [comments]”
“Me I would have more concerns on the gas venting…… and how in the pic the pipe from ceiling looks separated and a larger diameter squeezed down to fit a smaller pipe and the foil tape below it that looks like foil duct tape that’s wadded up”
“Looking for ideas before I go to my building people. When my neighbors shower an awful noise happens. We are in the middle of a whole building epoxy piping. We are the second to last tier in our tower. My neighbors shower every night between 10:30-11:30pm. Since our bathrooms have been e-piped there is a loud, awfully jarring noise that comes through our home. Our neighbors piping has always been loud and vibrates the unit but this is waking us all. Tonight it was vibrating my bedroom which is a”
“If it’s only when fixtures are used and your not getting any water damage it’s likely okay, it could even be as simple as a water hammer. Which is caused by improper or loose attachments that hold the pipe to the walls”
“I’m just not sure of where to start cutting to then be able to rebuild the line submitted by /u/tracydidthat [link] [comments]”
“The metal piece on the tan pipe was not there yesterday. But that guy just came and messed with the work different contractors did two weeks ago. My supply line had to be replaced, and then a couple days after it was replaced, water was continuously running out of the tan pipe, which lets out near the front door”
“This just started yesterday. The humming sound is made when we flush toilets or run the water. It’s coming right near the main water supply. Any ideas guys? submitted by /u/Icy-Masterpiece6965 [link] [comments]”
“Hi, I'm remodeling my bathroom, and my flange and toilet line is all messed up. Looks like the line is lead and mangled. Would it be better to cut out the lead pipe entirely and chip the lead away and throw on a donut, or should I just cut the lead pipe flush and put on a 5" clay to 4" fernco and just convert to pvc that way? 3rd thing I was thinking was to cut the lead pipe flush with the new subfloor and put one of those mechanical flange adapters in... submitted by /”
“air in the pipes usually sounds like banging or chattering when u turn the faucet, its definately not a priest issue”
“Plumber here. My guess is every time that whine happens one of those water meters are spinning. Water through valves and meters does make noise and it's definitely going to echo in that little plant room”
“Most likely gas pipe from a gas dryer. It can be capped in the wall. Unless you’ve worked with gas before I would get a plumber to do it. It’s an easy job but gas can be dangerous Edit: there’s 2 pipes in the picture, the one that’s capped is the gas line. The other is a drain for the washer. The drain for the washer is a much more headache to get inside the wall but not impossible, look into a washer box”
“I did a scratch test to see if we had copper or lead lines on our pipes and I wanted to see if we can verify. submitted by /u/rhjp101 [link] [comments]”
“This is quite a tall pipe setup so naturally it keeps breaking. My guy who did this needs some instruction on how to do it better so it doesn’t break. Main coming up, a hose spigot and the house supply line all pass through this spot. Thanks! submitted by /u/crisscrosscoyote [link] [comments]”
“I recently had a sewer line blockage cleared and learned that I have a major sag in my sewer line resulting in pooling sewage far from the house. The only real solution is to dig it all up and fix the grading and that’s not in the budget right now. In seven years it hasn’t caused any noticeable issues with the size of the current household but sometimes the yard does have a stank, not consistently just once in a while. I was curious if things like enzyme cleaners or hydro jetting would be good a”
“Can someone tell me what this noise is? It just started abruptly today and it super annoying because my bedroom is connected to the bathroom submitted by /u/Key_Seaworthiness886 [link] [comments]”
“Not an expert. But sounds to me like your water pressure is way too high. You can get a gauge at Home Depot and connect it to a spout to check. Do you hear the sound when the water is coming from the shower head?”
“Hi all, My home is a small slab-constructed rambler, and we recently identified a leak in the main line within/under the slab in the center of the house. As the main pipe is the original copper (~75yo), my inclination is to skip pinpointing the leak and tearing up the flooring/slab in the living space, and instead to re-route the main line at the exterior wall of the house where it goes beneath the slab, within our water heater's utility closet. The water heater is newer than the rest of the”
“What kind of pipe even is that though? It looks more like soft copper with the plastic outer layer but there's no bare copper showing at the compression fittings as if it's filled with silicone or whatever. I don't know of any sort of hose you can connect straight into a compression fitting. If it's soft copper then it's definitely a problem.”
“Title says it all. Curious for take from licensed plumbers. When I called one local guy today, he told me they “cant see shit unless it’s a massive hole”. I figured they would only be able to see shit but what do I know! Jokes aside, that answer surprised me so figured I’d see what you all say. Are the cameras good enough to spot a leak in main sewage, or still going with the old tests (smoke, pressure, hydrostatic?) submitted by /u/croatian_sensation_2 [link] [comments]”
“You'd be able to hear it and your downstairs neighbour would be getting flooded if you hit a water line”
“Turn off the water, cut and shark bite cap it.waters only off for 10 minutes! After you get the area demo'ed , pre fab what you need to run the new pipe where you want it and turn off the water and cut pipe where needed and run the pipe where you want. Cap it! Water off only 30 minutes! Then after drywall and paint, cut off cap and install angle stop! Waters only off for 15 minutes. That's how I'd do it”
“There's constant dripping of water from this pipe. What us this pipe for? What should I do about the water dripping? submitted by /u/AtmosphereOk2813 [link] [comments]”
“I tried that. But then ChatGPT told me that boiling water is bad for plastic pipes. So now I’m worried.”
“Busted up a slab to find and repair this waterline. Are the curves in the water lines because of geological pressure causing pipes to bend over time or does this look like soft copper in the slab? Seems like soft copper would be even less straight than these water lines but I don't know for sure. submitted by /u/Exotic_Following_960 [link] [comments]”