Faucet pipe broke inside brick wall

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Rush2828

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This is probably a obvious simple fix but I wanted to ask for help from anyone with experience before I go an further. I broke my fawcet pipe last friday and it broke inside the brick wall of my pump house. It's loose when I try to move it from the outside but it's not moving on the inside. I've been chiseling on both sides to get the pipe loose so I can cut and fix it. Fixing the pipe is the easy part. I think if I clear out just the cement above and around the pipe it should ok and make it loose enough to cut the pipe loose. What should I do about the bricks and cement exactly?
Here are some pictures of the inside and outside.

20190325_105421.jpg

20190325_105407.jpg

20190325_105357.jpg

20190325_105333.jpg
 
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Reach4

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You might post photos.

Can you pull the outside pipe out of the hole?

I am thinking you want to keep the prettiest pump house around less damaged. One thing I would consider is to cut the pipe inside, leaving some showing, and get a core drill that just fits over the pipe stub. Then drill in.

Expect to pay maybe $50 to rent matching electric part and the core drill bit. Some are made to cut dry. If you get the kind that should be wet, keep it wet. The cheaper bits you buy rather than rent would typically be the wet type.

I am not a pro.
 
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Rush2828

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20190325_105357.jpg

20190325_105333.jpg

20190325_105407.jpg

20190325_105421.jpg


You might post photos.

Can you pull the outside pipe out of the hole?

I am thinking you want to keep the prettiest pump house around less damaged. One thing I would consider is to cut the pipe inside, leaving some showing, and get a core drill that just fits over the pipe stub. Then drill in.

Expect to pay maybe $50 to rent matching electric part and the core drill bit. Some are made to cut dry. If you get the kind that should be wet, keep it wet. The cheaper bits you buy rather than rent would typically be the wet type.

I am not a pro.
 

Reach4

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The pictures show things to be different than what I had expected. I don't think you are going to need a core drill.

  1. where is the pipe below the faucet going?
  2. what diameter or circumference are the pipes?
  3. On the inside, is the horizontal pipe jogging down a few inches, and then elbowing out the wall to the faucet, and that is where the leak appears?
 

Rush2828

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The pictures show things to be different than what I had expected. I don't think you are going to need a core drill.

  1. where is the pipe below the faucet going?
  2. what diameter or circumference are the pipes?
  3. On the inside, is the horizontal pipe jogging down a few inches, and then elbowing out the wall to the faucet, and that is where the leak appears?
The pipe is going out to another fawcet on the other side of the house. I turned the water off going that way because the pipe is broke. I don't know the diameter and circumference of the pipes, but I have spare pvc that is the same that I will cut new pieces from. I don't know what that piece is going down from the pipe on the inside is for but the leak is on the pipe right inside the wall.
 

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I don't know what that piece is going down from the pipe on the inside is for but the leak is on the pipe right inside the wall.
Are you saying that inside piece on the right side of the horizontal pipe is a tee with the middle leg down, and the inside horizontal pipe is at the same altitude as the faucet?
 

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Are you saying that inside piece on the right side of the horizontal pipe is a tee with the middle leg down, and the inside horizontal pipe is at the same altitude as the faucet?
I guess, it's caped off and the pipe is at the same level as the fawcet.
 

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Probably best to cut the pipes, add an inside valve, put new piping through the wall, and join the other pipe.

Once you cut, I think you will be able to cut PVC, and twist the pipes out. If not, use reciprocating saw or a power jigsaw. Put the blade into the open pipe, and cut outward.

A big twist drill with an ID as big as PVC OD would be ideal, but those things are expensive and not stocked many places.
black-decker-reciprocating-saws-bdcr20b-64_145.jpg


That capped inside tee... maybe that was put there to resist twisting or tugging forces from the outside.
 
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Rush2828

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Probably best to cut the pipes, add an inside valve, put new piping through the wall, and join the other pipe.

Once you cut, I think you will be able to cut PVC, and twist the pipes out. If not, use reciprocating saw or a power jigsaw. Put the blade into the open pipe, and cut outward.

A big twist drill with an ID as big as PVC OD would be ideal, but those things are expensive and not stocked many places.
black-decker-reciprocating-saws-bdcr20b-64_145.jpg


That capped inside tee... maybe that was put there to resist twisting or tugging forces from the outside.
Thanks but I think i'm going to do what was recommended to me on another site. Chisel out all the bricks around the pipe, which will give me a bigger opening to get to the pipes. Then I can fix them and close up the opening again. I don't have all the tools to do it right now, but it's a simple DIY project.
 

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Thanks but I think i'm going to do what was recommended to me on another site. Chisel out all the bricks around the pipe, which will give me a bigger opening to get to the pipes. Then I can fix them and close up the opening again. I don't have all the tools to do it right now, but it's a simple DIY project.
Cutting and replacing PVC is cheap, and sure sounds easier to me than chiseling bricks. PVC cuts easily. PVC glues easily.

My suppostion is that your hole in the bricks is big enough to pass a PVC pipe, but not big enough to pass a PVC coupling. Cut away the coupling on one side, and pull the leaky pipe out of the hole.

Even if you make the hole in the bricks bigger, how does that help you? You still have to cut and replace PVC.
 

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Cutting and replacing PVC is cheap, and sure sounds easier to me than chiseling bricks. PVC cuts easily. PVC glues easily.

My suppostion is that your hole in the bricks is big enough to pass a PVC pipe, but not big enough to pass a PVC coupling. Cut away the coupling on one side, and pull the leaky pipe out of the hole.

Even if you make the hole in the bricks bigger, how does that help you? You still have to cut and replace PVC.
That's just it, the coupling, that is stuck in the wall, won't move. I can't pull it either way. The broken piece might come out if I cut the pipe going into the ground but I will still have to deal with the coupling stuck in the wall. If I can get the bricks out of the way then I will be able to fix everything.
 

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That's just it, the coupling, that is stuck in the wall, won't move. I can't pull it either way. The broken piece might come out if I cut the pipe going into the ground but I will still have to deal with the coupling stuck in the wall. If I can get the bricks out of the way then I will be able to fix everything.
Why do you think there is a coupling stuck in the wall? Here is what I am picturing. Gray things are PVC tees.

img_3.png


A "star drill" a the hand tool, hit with a hammer while wearing safety glasses, that could be used to help remove the mortar around that pipe.
 
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Rush2828

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Why do you think there is a coupling stuck in the wall? Here is what I am picturing. Gray things are PVC tees.

View attachment 52465

A "star drill" a the hand tool, hit with a hammer while wearing safety glasses, that could be used to help remove the mortar around that pipe.
Your picture is pretty much spot on. The coupling that is on the inside, they bricked around it. So it is stuck and won't pull out unless I take out the bricks. If I do that, they both will be exposed and I can cut them and replace them.
 

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Your picture is pretty much spot on. The coupling that is on the inside, they bricked around it. So it is stuck and won't pull out unless I take out the bricks. If I do that, they both will be exposed and I can cut them and replace them.
In my drawing, if you cut pvc, and removed the coupling from one side, I expect you could tug out the pvc pipe from the other side. Removing the coupling I think could be done various ways, including cutting the PVC close to the brick face, and inserting a small cutoff wheel into the pipe. Then cut outward. Another way is to stick that saw blade in there, chew up some pvc, and then pry the PVC out.

Looking at your picture some more, I don't think the PVC actually is through any individual brick, but instead they left a rectangular gap in the bricklaying. Then after the PVC was put through the hole, they put mortar around the PVC.

Imagine that mortar around the pvc was somehow removed. I think you would still have to cut the PVC to fix it. Click Inbox, above.
 

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In my drawing, if you cut pvc, and removed the coupling from one side, I expect you could tug out the pvc pipe from the other side. Removing the coupling I think could be done various ways, including cutting the PVC close to the brick face, and inserting a small cutoff wheel into the pipe. Then cut outward. Another way is to stick that saw blade in there, chew up some pvc, and then pry the PVC out.

Looking at your picture some more, I don't think the PVC actually is through any individual brick, but instead they left a rectangular gap in the bricklaying. Then after the PVC was put through the hole, they put mortar around the PVC.

Imagine that mortar around the pvc was somehow removed. I think you would still have to cut the PVC to fix it. Click Inbox, above.
I'm ok with taking out the brick and cement around the pipes. I don't mind doing that. Just makes it easier. Done right it can be put back, and look great. And yes it does look like they didn't cut the brick to fit around the pipe and just filled in the gap with the cement. Which would make the pipe stuck in the wall.
 
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