Q. My house is 7 years old with copper plumbing under slab. I had a water/plumbing leak under my house slab, for which the plumber had to rip open several tiles to get to teh leak, but once he repaired it the pipe started leaking just a foot away from it and that continued 3 times. After that the pipe next to it started leaking.... The plumber is stating that this will continue as my copper pipes have gone really bad and is suggesting that I should re-pipe my entire house through the walls. I am concerned on 2 factors (beside the huge cost and ripping off my walls), is this plumber just trying to make more money ? Is the plumbing through the wall considered better than through the slab ? With the cost I could potentially open the slab and re-do under slab plambing and re-tile the house. Which is better, doing it through the wall or re-do under slab ?

A. It sounds like electrolisys. that causes small pin hole leaks in copper pipes. check your electrical grounding in the house and make sure it all good. there are other reasons for it as well but being underslab thats where I would look first. Your plumber is right to want to replace it and from your words I would agree with him I would recommend him using Whirsbo tubing as electrolisys wont effect it.

Q. Bathroom sink pipe sprung a major leak, 15 minutes worth of tap water soaked hardwood flooring, plaster walls and ceilings and ran into some duct work...also we are concerned about the electrical wiring behind ceiling and walls, what are some good characteristics to look for in hiring a contractor who specializes in this type of work? Also, is it typical for the homeowner's insurance to cover the plumbing work? So far, the adjuster says only work to repair damage is covered but not the plumbing that caused the problem...sound right?

A. Your adjuster is correct. Your insurance policy owes for access to get to the plumbing leak and to repair it but NOT for the part itself. Start by making sure your house is dried out properly by a certified water damage restoration company (i.e. ServiceMaster). They will find out where the water damage starts and ends, take moisture reading of your flooring and walls & may place fans/dehumidifiers to dry out your home. After the place is dried out, then address rebuild. If you need paint, drywall, flooring or baseboards...ask your adjuster if they have a "preferred" general contractor that is on the company's preferred program. Go with one of them if they do. Good luck.

Q. Suppose there was an electrical problem in someone's house, and they called a plumber. What would he say? Or if a water pipe sprung a leak and they called an electrician? What would he say? Do you know of anyone who's ever done either of those before?

A. If you hid the fact that you wanted them to work outside their license, and If they showed up, you would be charged for their service call to tell you they can't help you. They'll get paid for doing nothing. A plumber isn't licensed to do electrical work, and an electrician isn't licensed to do plumbing work. I'm not a doctor. My expertise is electronics and computer systems. But if you need brain surgery, give me a call and I'll see what I can do.

Q. I had a leak in a pipe in my front yard. My plumber said it was a leak in the pipe that runs from the main valve at the perimeter of my house to my house. He said because of the concrete and landscaping, rather than fix the actual leak it would be easier to install a new pipe from my house to the main valve - essentially bypassing the original leak. That sounded reasonable so I said ok. He did the work. Now, there is no water going to the sprinkler system in my back yard. The new pipe in the front yard made it so no water flows to the back yard. My plumber says "you never told me you had sprinklers in the back yard." I feel like he is the professional and should know that there may be other pipes involved. I have no idea how the piping system under my house works or is laid out. Who is right?

A. A homeowner is not responsible for knowing how his plumbing is connected, especially underground. The plumber is a professional and should have considered the possibility and investigated before proceeding with a recommendation. underground connections are common. The plumber, as any profession should make his work good even if he has to eat his own mistakes. You could be a gentleman by understand that it was an honest mistake and help him defray the cost. http://brassmein.com/ http://g23.proboards106.com/

Q. Around a month ago we changed our washing machine as my wife was expecting our son (within that a wk). After changing the machine I noticed that there was water between the tiles around the kitchen floor and quite a few had cracked (not sure when that had happened). I put it down as dodgy plumbing and checked all the sink and washing machine plumbing - all fine, so mopped up and put towels down to dry out. After a few days (son was born), I noticed the water was back. Again I inspected the plumbing and all fine. Around the whole of the kitchen we have wooden cladding, about four feet high. The kitchen is roughly 2.5ft under the level of the path that runs outside. The washing machine sits against this paralell to the wall, behind it is an old gas pipe that has been tapped off and sits out of the cladding. On the second inspection I noticed that this pipe was wet and the cladding was damp around it. I pulled the cladding up and touched the wall - sloaking wet! I checked the drain that the kitchen sink runs to outside and it looked quite full - the drain runs against the wall roughly where the pipe is. I called natwest (insurance provider) straight away, they advised me to call thames water to sort the problem and natwest took notes on the damage. Thames water came out, clarified it was blocked and cleared it. I called natwest and they said they would send out a company called 'rainbow int. restoration' to assess the damage and dry out the water. They also suggested I should get a private builder to quote moving all the cladding and kitchen units and replace them, but there assesor would do the same. Natwest confirmed they would cover the tiled floor. Rainbow came out really quickly, assessed the damage and said all the units running against the wall should be replaced along with the cladding and floor. They gave us a big dehumidifier and fan - told us to leave it on 24/7 (which we did), they said when they came back to collect the equiptment they would push natwest to get the work started asap (as natwest would prob use their builders). We paid them £100 excess as advised by natwest. They would come back in two wks) A couple days went by and floor dry, but noticed the drain half full again. Thames water came out and said it was fine and sitting at the right level and they would charge the next time to come out. A wk later and there was a little water again under the tiles, but not as much - then disappeared. The guy from Rainbow came out last week to assess again. They have left the equipment as when they came out again - water was back, I agreed with the guy that the cladding was stopping the wall from drying out, it was still very wet. He has asked their builders to come out asap and give us a quote asap - then me to chase natwest for permission to remove cladding and dry the walls out. Their are a number of things that concern me. Firstly, could the outside waste pipe be cracked and leaking water through the wall or is the water just saturated water from where it was blocked and just working its way out - is it my responsibility if there is problem? Secondly, should I get someone private to give me a quote, will this quicken things up? Thirdly, if natwest only agree to replace half the kitchen that was damaged - what about the other half that doesn't match? We were planning to sell up this summer and move to a bigger house - because of new family, the guy from rainbow suggested that the quickest these things happen is normally 3 months, is there anything I can do to quicken it up? Plus I don't want to say anything to jeapodize this claim, what should and shouln't I be saying? The house is an old build, if that helps - very thick wall. Thanks Thanks for your comments.....unfortunately we can't dig a hole as the pathway is between us and a churchyard (on the back of a high st). My biggest nightmare is that they will have to dig up any of the pathway.

A. Its all most certainly a drainage problem ..you need to get a sample of the water and get it analysed ..but having outside ground level higher than floor is bad news ..dig a hole deeper than floor level .see if it fills up with water ..then come back and tell us

Q. Can any one tell me what I need to do, the pvc pipe from outside that leads to my water heater is leaking. It is actually the two fittings that come together where the cold water to fill the water meets the copper tubing that goes into water heater, aside from turning off the water, what should I do? I want try to clean fittings and put plumbing sealer on the fittings, but not sure what else. Is there pressure inside? Will hot water pour out, etc. Thanks for your replies.

A. If you shut of the water that leads to the pipe (like you did) then there will not be any pressure, and then you can go ahead and change what ever you need to, you might not even need new fittings you could just try cleaning them and resealing them. - Good Luck

Q. I had a plumber replace my water heater 6 months ago. Ever since that, I keep getting a water leak in my garage. It seems to be coming from a copper pipe extending from the top of the heater. It an open ended pipe, has no cover or end cap. Why is this happening?

A. Yeah, it most likely has to do with your relief valve that needs to be replaced. Who's your plumber? You should probably consider getting a new one. Call around for free estimates in getting another plumber to fix this for you. Better yet, here's a good handyman site I use often, which has a section devoted to plumbing, where you'll find a handy text-link ad towards the middle of the following linked page that offers up to four (4) Free estimates from local plumbing contractors who can provide you more information about the replacement of your water heater relief valve (when you click on the link below, you'll be taken to a handyman page where you'll just scroll down a bit to arrive at the text-link, "Find Local Plumbing Services.Get Up to 4 Quotes Now...Free"): http://yourhandymanzone.com/Your_Handyman_Zone_How_To_Pages_Home_Improvement_Zone_Heating_Systems_Water_Heaters.htm Get your free estimates. That way you'll get information that is relevant to your local area, including the relevant cost of repairing your water heater. Good luck, Elaine!

Q. There is a small amount of rust around the hot water supply line, where the cut off under the sink is. There is a very small leak. I can't afford to call a plumber. Do I have to remove the coupling from the pipe coming from the wall, or can I just wrap it or seal it with some type of plumber's caulk or tape?

A. You probably wont be able to seal it since it appears its where the coupling is. You can do plumbing yourself with patience and a how to book from library or on line instructions. I certainly did when I was a single mom with no money. Make sure you have all the tools and materials that you need (hardware store people are very helpful in guiding you) and dont forget to turn off the water before you start.