I had new copper tubes installed in my old home but we have one are that keeps leaking, the plumber is a good guy and we trust him but can anyone tell me about leaky pipes, is something not installed right.this is really stressing me out!
To wicket's moderation I will add that even sweat joints in copper pipes may be repaired without completely taking all water from the pipes. This trick is done using a silver bearing soldering flux. I use it for repairs often (though fortunately not often my own.) Sometimes old turn off valves will not completely do their job so you will naturally install a new valve after the old one. You could use a compression fitting but when you solder the first joint may be a problem due to water. So you use the silver bearing soldering flux. New ball valves may also leak under the handle after soldering if it was slightly overheated. It only has to be partially disassembled and tightened. Sometimes where compression fittings are used instead of soldering the fitting only needs to be tightened slightly. I have only once seen a bad pipe with a hole in it that was not made by someone putting a screw into the pipe later. Rest assured that anything that is wrong can be repaired. If you were more specific I could tell you specifically how. EDIT-------------------- So you have a bad joint. They come in 3 flavors: SWEAT: very thin and in the USA soft soldered together, elsewhere it may be hard solder. As previously mentioned you can often use silver bearing solder to repair the problem or you will have to disassemble and redo the joint. COMPRESSION: the joint needs to be tightened or the alignment or debris problem corrected. THREADED: where there is an adapter into another piping system. This will probably have to be cut or disconnedted so it can be tightened. So which is it and where is the problem located (country) as practices change in different countries.
Hmmmm.actually, all answers are right.lol You probably don't care how the leak was possible, and I would agree with you if so. It is quite common to have a poor joint solder and there are a few reasons for it as well. The task of repair is more difficult than the original installation because of water in the line. However, it may even take a few tries for repair before it is fixed so don't give up hope. You may have a leaky water shutoff valve that is seeping water into the line he is trying to repair. The heat from his torch is creating steam which is entering the poor joint and prevents the solder from adhering. Have patience with the plumber because he is feeling much worse than you are, believe me.
If something is leaking then it was not installed right. Don't stress out too much though. Some joints are located in places where things are hard to see or reach. Your plumber is human afterall. If you are right about him being a good trustworthy guy he will stand behind his work and fix this for free. If he doesn't tell the Better Business Bureau but he probably will.
