Sealant advice (NB)

FlyingDutchman

FlyingDutchman

Well-Known Member
Joined
15 Dec 2004
Messages
842
Location
Amstelveen, the Netherlands
Visit site
In my house I have a PVC sewage pipe (125 mm) that has a very slight leak / weep / sweat at a joint. The access is very difficult. Replacement of the pipe is not an option. I consider applying a liberal amount of Sikaflix around the joint, but due to the difficult accessibility, I can not be sure that the surface of the pipe is 100% dry and clean.

Would this be a good idea or would a different sealant be better?

Thanks for your thoughts!
 
Sikaflex is probably as good a bodge as any. I would suggest cleaning down with meths liberally if damp before applying the Sika.
 
FlyingDutchman said:
In my house I have a PVC sewage pipe (125 mm) that has a very slight leak / weep / sweat at a joint. The access is very difficult. Replacement of the pipe is not an option. I consider applying a liberal amount of Sikaflix around the joint, but due to the difficult accessibility, I can not be sure that the surface of the pipe is 100% dry and clean.

Would this be a good idea or would a different sealant be better?

Thanks for your thoughts!
Click to expand...

Denso tape may be the answer.
It's messy to apply and may be difficult to apply if close to a wall etc. It looks neat when first done but goes black and not so attractive when dirt etc sticks to it but it is effective.
 
As it is on a joint I would try a low viscous sealant first. Epoxy glue thinned out with acetone may allow it to be drawn in to the weeping area. There is a hatch / window glass sealant Captain Trolly or Captain Tolly or whatever, I don't know the name, that is designed for this very purpose. If that doesn't work then dob some sealant over it.
 
Thanks for your help!

Tape is not a possible solution since the (vertical pipe) runs in the corner of 2 walls, I can just get my fingers between the walls and the pipe.
Optics is not an issue since the pipe is not visible.

Cleaning with meths: What is that? Sorry for the dummy question, but I am from the Netherlands...
 
FlyingDutchman said:
Thanks for your help!

Tape is not a possible solution since the (vertical pipe) runs in the corner of 2 walls, I can just get my fingers between the walls and the pipe.
Optics is not an issue since the pipe is not visible.

Cleaning with meths: What is that? Sorry for the dummy question, but I am from the Netherlands...
Click to expand...

Alcohol

As you are Dutch, a bodge is a repair which may not be a repair (had to think about that)
 
I can just get my fingers between the walls and the pipe
Click to expand...

If you have that much room, you can certainly get SA tape around it - just cut a metre of tape off the reel, remove the backing tape, stretch it to double its length a bit at a time, (if it breaks, you stretched it too much!), thread it round the back of the pipe so that a short end sticks out, pull it tight and tuck the short end under the long end so that it sticks to itself. keep adding turns around the pipe until all the tape is used up, trying to keep some tension on it as you wrap it round the pipe; a short piece of bent wire, maybe from a coat hanger, will help to pull/push the tape around the back of the pipe while keeping up a bit of tension. Over a couple of hours, the tape will flow into itself and form into a single mass. If necessary, add more lengths of tape to expand the seal. The more tension you can keep on the tape as you wind it around the pipe, the better it will seal. It helps if this is done in a warm room.
 
Last edited:
Since this is just a "weep" I would try Captain Tolley's Creeping Crack Cure because this would be drawn inside through capillary action.

Incidentally, does anybody know the temperature limit that this product can take, once it has set? Sorry for the slight drift.
 
If it is PVC pipe, then just use the solvent that pipe fitters use to join such pipes. Something like this.

Abrade the pipe and whatever fitting it is connected to at the leak point and paint it with the solvent which will wick its way into any crack. You can also cut a small piece of PVC pipe and dissolve it in the solvent to apply as a patch.

EDIT: The type sold in tins is designed to be applied by brush. This type of tin may even have a brush in the lid.
 
Last edited:
Again,
thanks for your input!

Captain Tolly is not available over here. The pipe is bodge-fixed with sealant already in the past so there is no clean surface to start with.

From all suggested alternatives, I think a sealant is the way to go. I will clean the pipe as good as it gets and smear some sealant liberally around it and keeep my fingers crossed...
 
Last edited:
Sikaflex 291 goes off (sets) with the help of moisture so while surfaces should not be wet it does not benefit from excessive drying with solvents etc.
 
FlyingDutchman said:
In my house I have a PVC sewage pipe (125 mm) that has a very slight leak / weep / sweat at a joint. The access is very difficult. Replacement of the pipe is not an option. I consider applying a liberal amount of Sikaflix around the joint, but due to the difficult accessibility, I can not be sure that the surface of the pipe is 100% dry and clean.

Would this be a good idea or would a different sealant be better?

Thanks for your thoughts!
Click to expand...
OK been there done this....... aquire a double socket coupling to suit the pipe, carefully grind the central lip/ridge from inside the coupling, with a wire hacksaw cut the old pipe as far up from the old coupling as you can leaving approx 4" (100mm) to fit the new coupling, cut the old pipe about 12" to 1" above the old coupling and remove this section of pipe. now remove the remains of the old pipe from the old couplping and replace the seal if needed. Now slide the section of pipe into the new coupling pushing it through the first seal until it just touches the second seal - refit the section of pipe into the old coupling, line up with the upper stub and slide the new coupling up to make the seal. Liberal dose of washing uuo liquid will help the seals "slide" easily.
 
Hi Cliff,

This is what I would have done and what should have been done instead of the bodging that took place in the past (not by me I hasten to add). There is no room for such an excercise and I don't want to damage too much of my 2 year old toilet. This bodge was don when it was installed :(
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top