So we had a flood in our bathroom it went down the hall and soaked most of the carpet, I undid this panel and found the problem one of the pipes has a major leak under my bath tub, I don‘t want to have to replace the whole pipe I don‘t have any money to fix this problem just enough to buy a few items but what? I had to shut off the water so it wouldn‘t spread and cause more water damage.
If it is a drain line, sometimes you can get away with epoxy putty such as PC7 or various epoxy sticks(sold in the glue section at hardware stores). You have to clean the pipe well enough that the epoxy can stick. The putty area must extend far enough that there is sufficient surface area of contact for the glue to adhere. If the leaky pipe is a supply line, you better have the pipe replaced. Supply lines are under such great pressure, that even if a repair seems to be holding, it could give way when you are out, and cause another flood.
If it is copper and you need a quick fix until you can pay a plumber to come in. I would use shark bite fittings especially if you have a panel to it. This is not a permanent fix, they will eventually leak. You can cut out the short length of pipe that is leaking. Go to your home store, and buy a length of copper a little bit longer and the same width. Also buy two shark bite fittings that match that width. Then everything pretty much just pushes together. It should work for a while.
I'm not sure what kind of water piping you have in your house. If it's copper pipe and the leak is on the actual pipe itself, you can repair the leak with push together fittings (shark bite, pro bite, there are many brands just ask your clerk at your local hardware store). Since this is on your tub I'm guessing this is a half inch pipe and will take 1/2 inch fittings. Most of these fittings have been approved for permanent use and will last years to come. If your piping is galvenized, I would suggest using what is called a pipe repair clamp. This is a stainless steel saddle that has a rubber inside that clamps around the hole in the pipe. This will temporarily fix a leak on a galvenized system and most hardware stores carry these in 4 lengths to 6 lengths. I would strongly suggest having a repipe done with new copper or pex piping as soon as you can. *note* To cut out the hole in a copper system, you will need a copper tubing cutter. These pipes are generally in hard to access places so I would by a very small cutter, often referred to as a thumb cutter. If the leak is on a fitting, you are best to just call your plumber out. Depending on your area, most plumbers can fix easily accessible leaks on copper systems in the ball park of $100. Good luck!
