Each of us can find ourselves in a very unpleasant situation when a sewer pipe suddenly cracks and starts to leak. Perhaps your pipes are still in order, and all connections are absolutely tight, but time moves inexorably forward, communications begin to age and may crack.
You need to be prepared for this incident and know well how and with what to close a crack in a cast-iron sewer pipe. Naturally, you can simply replace the cracked section by installing a new pipe. However, this will take a lot of time and money.
A more complex way to terminate
When the crack reaches a large size, a simple seal is indispensable. Needs a serious overhaul.
Such work will stop the leak, but the patch will only be able to keep the leak for a short period of time. When the crack reaches a large size, and the pipe is completely out of order, no restoration work will help. It just needs to be replaced.
Longitudinal cracks
Cast iron pipes sometimes burst, longitudinal cracks appear, and small chips appear. The exhaust riser bursts, a crack appears due to severe icing of the inner diameter of the pipe. According to the laws of physics, a frozen pipe begins to expand. As a result, cracks appear on almost any material.
Even strong steel and thick cast iron cannot resist such expansion. When it is not felt in the room, it means that the crack still has a minimum size.
Condensation always accumulates in the thinnest section. There is a deceptive impression that it flows out of the resulting crack.
Here you can do without sealing the crack. It just needs to be sealed.
Before embedding, the crack is slightly "expanded". Make a small indentation into which the sealant will be applied. The crack is degreased and dried well.
To minimize the amount of condensate that appears, it is necessary to insulate the riser both in the attic and in the apartment itself. When an unpleasant smell appears in the apartment, sealing with a simple sealant will not help. We'll have to use more radical methods. The crack is closed by the so-called cold welding. It is an adhesive similar to epoxy resin. But it's much easier to work with.
It is very easy to cover up the resulting crack with such “cold welding”. After it hardens, it can be sanded and create a very beautiful look.
In another method, the pipe is wrapped with two or three layers of gauze impregnated with epoxy resin. You can also wrap the crack with a special rubber bandage tightly tightened with copper wire. The more turns of wire, the better.
You can combine and install a rubber bandage with epoxy gauze. It remains only to tighten everything well with a steel clamp.
The best way to repair a sewer pipe
It is good if the house has epoxy resin or cement mortar. However, in most cases, when the pipe has leaked, these materials simply cannot be found in the apartment.
Special clamps will come to the rescue, which will quickly block the leak. This work will take several minutes.
The pipe must be cleaned and dried. The clamp is wrapped around the crack so that the leak is in the center of the clamp. It remains to tighten it well. This place needs to be observed for several days, if necessary, it will be possible to tighten the clamp.
Sealing tapes
This modern material appeared quite recently. The tape is intended to create a tight connection of the docking nodes of sewer pipes.
The main advantage of this material is considered high efficiency and ease of use. The main component of the sealing tape is polyethylene.
It gives the material high strength and good elasticity. Tape can be used to seal almost any pipe. It can be used when installing plugs and installing taps.
Joint sealing technology using tape is performed in the following sequence:
- First, the surface is thoroughly cleaned and dried.
- The joint is closed with tape, wrapping it with constant tension.
A little advice! When the tape is applied, wrinkling or wrinkling should be avoided. - The winding of the tape should be in a spiral. Each subsequent layer should go half the width of the previous layer. If the overlay is done correctly, you will get two layers of sealing tape.
- When the tape is wrapped around an open area, it must be covered from above with a protective coating. The polyethylene film begins to break down under ultraviolet radiation. The tape will quickly become unusable. Therefore, a protective coating must be made without fail.
Silicone sealant
Silicone sealant is often used to seal small cracks. The work is performed in the following sequence:
To repair the through hole, a two-component epoxy is used. The technology of such work occurs in a different order:
- The repair surface is cleaned and degreased;
- The damaged area is washed with a special bandage made of dense flexible material. Closes the entire length with a small margin. 5–10 revolutions are performed, capturing the previous layer;
- The surface of the tape is covered with epoxy glue.
Why do cracks appear in a cast iron pipeline
When a cast-iron pipe begins to leak, it is necessary to establish the cause of the leak. On this basis, a certain repair technology is selected.
First you need to find the place where the crack appeared. Often a leak appears at the junction of the nozzles or from mechanical influences that caused the appearance of external defects.
External damage can be caused by a variety of reasons:
- Installation of sewage pipes was done with errors.
- During the assembly of the pipeline, the manufacturers did not check its tightness.
- Neighbors connected a ground wire to the riser. Such actions are prohibited by law.
- Natural pipe wear. Old pipes are useless to repair, they need to be changed immediately.
A crack that appeared at the junction of the fittings indicates a poorly done work by plumbers during the installation of a sewage system.
