Leaking Pipe Repair

01Leaking pipe repair

What's the Situation?

These are common ways a supply-pipe leak turns up once it's been found. What the repair involves depends on where exactly it sits.

A Leak That's Been Found and Is ReachableWater Weeping From a Joint or FittingA Cracked or Split Section of Pipe

A Leak That's Been Found and Is Reachable

The source is already confirmed and sits somewhere a plumber can get to without breaking up a slab or digging. What's left is the repair itself.

Water Weeping From a Joint or Fitting

The leak sits exactly at a coupling, elbow or threaded connection rather than the pipe itself, which is usually a smaller, more contained repair than a split in the pipe wall.

A Cracked or Split Section of Pipe

The pipe wall itself has failed along its length, from a hard freeze, physical damage, or a material that has reached the end of its working life. The damaged section is cut out rather than patched.

02The repair itself

A Joint Repair or a Section Replaced?

Where exactly the pipe failed decides how much of it gets opened up and how much gets replaced.

A Leak at a Fitting or Joint

When the failure sits at a coupling, elbow or threaded connection, the fitting itself is usually what gets replaced, along with a short length of pipe on either side if it needs to be reworked. It's typically the more contained of the two repairs, with less of the surrounding wall or ceiling affected.

A Split Along the Pipe Itself

A crack or split in the middle of a run means the pipe wall has failed rather than a connection, so the damaged length is cut out and a new section is joined in on both ends. It generally needs more of the wall, ceiling or floor opened than a single fitting does.

03The materials

What Changes With the Pipe Material

Copper is typically cut back to sound pipe and rejoined with a soldered or mechanical fitting, which is quick where the pipe is reachable and slower where it isn't. PEX is cut and rejoined with a crimped, clamped or push-fit connector, and because it flexes it often needs less of the surrounding wall opened to maneuver a new length into place.

Galvanized steel is threaded rather than soldered or glued, and because corrosion often runs along the inside of the whole pipe rather than one spot, a plumber replacing one bad section is more likely to find the pipe just past it thin as well. That's part of why an older galvanized line sometimes turns one repair into a longer section than first planned.

04Before the repair

Limiting Damage Before the Repair

None of this repairs the pipe. It limits what the leak does until that happens.

Close the Valve Nearest the Leak
If the affected run has its own shutoff, closing it keeps water off to just that section while the rest of the property keeps running. Where there's no local valve, the main shutoff is the next option until the repair happens.
Keep Water Away From Anything Electrical
Standing water anywhere near an outlet, a switch plate or the electrical panel is its own hazard, separate from the leak. Keep the area clear and leave that part of the electrical system alone until it has dried out and been looked at.
Move What the Leak Could Reach
Anything sitting near the pipe, or below it if the leak is dripping from above, is worth moving out of the way before the repair starts — boxes, stored items, anything that would be damaged by more water or by cutting into a nearby wall or ceiling.

05Questions

Questions About Leaking Pipe Repair

Is fixing a leaking joint different from fixing a split in the pipe?

Yes. A joint leak is often a matter of replacing the fitting or the connection itself, which is a smaller, more contained repair. A split or crack in the pipe wall means cutting out the damaged length and replacing it with a new section, which opens more of the run.

Does the whole pipe get replaced, or just the damaged part?

Usually just the damaged part. When the rest of the line is sound, replacing the failed section and reconnecting it is enough. A line that has already failed more than once, or is old enough that more failures are expected, is a different conversation about the run as a whole rather than one more repair.

How much of the wall or ceiling has to come out to make the repair?

Only the section needed to reach the pipe, wherever possible. The opening is sized to the located leak rather than the whole wall or ceiling, and it's closed back up once the repair is finished.

Should the water be turned off before the plumber arrives?

If water is actively leaking, yes: the fixture’s own valve, or the main if it doesn’t have one. A slow drip can wait, but a bucket under it will not hurt.

What information helps when calling a plumber?

Where the problem is, when it started, what changed, whether the water is off, and the age of the fixture or heater involved. A photo of the problem and of any visible model label helps too.