Repair a leak or broken pipe is not as difficult as you think, as long as you follow these easy steps, you are able to get rid of the overcharge piping plumber. Here are the 8 simple steps for pipe repair:

1. First, isolate the place where the drain pipe is leaking. Usually where the water is leaking out from the drain pipe is not the source of the leak, it may take a little more time to do the pipe digging if it is necessary. Once the pipe leak is isolated, turn off the main water pipe supply to that line. Make sure the correct diameter repair pipe and couplers is in place, PVC pipe often has always information shown about size and test-strength on the pipe.

2. Leave a reasonable work space around the break drain pipe to allow movement in the PVC pipe in order to achieve a tight fit with the drain pipe repair. Clean out the water, mud and dirt left in the drain pipe and screw the pipe tight. With a PVC pipe cutter, cut an approximately 4 to 6 inches from break on each side of the drain pipe, and make sure to clean the pipe in both ends clear of any mud. During the cutting of the drain pipe, in case the pipe found start to crack, place a small amount of PVC primer to the spot where the blade touches the drain pipe and let it sit for a moment before applying pressure to the PVC pipe cutter. This will allow the pipe softer and make the drain pipe easier to cut without cracking.

3. By using the purple primer and the brush that comes with it, prime both of the clean pipes ends approximately 1 inch down from the pipe lip end, and the insides of two straight pipe couplers. Apply a thin layer of glue to one end of the drain pipe and half of a straight pipe coupler. If the blue glue is being used, you have only about 20 seconds to fit the pipe couplers onto the drain pipe ends, if clear glue is being used, the drying time is much more faster. Twist coupler down hard onto the drain pipe, there is a “stop” in the centre of the pipe coupler, you want the pipe end to butt up against that.

4. Cut a piece of the repair pipe to fit the length of the cut you made in the sprinkler line, including the half inch or more of each straight pipe coupler. Measure from the middle of each straight drain pipe coupler to achieve the desired length.

5. Fit the cut piece of the repair pipe into the couplers dry, make sure that the fitting is correct also the resulting pipe is not bowed, from the replacement piece being too long.

6. Disassemble the repair pipe and make any necessary adjustments on the pipe, until the resulting fitting on the drain pipe is perfect.

7. Prime both ends of your pipe cut piece, wait for few seconds, and apply a light layer of glue to one end of the replacement piece and inside one of the straight pipe couplers. Twist the pipe hard into the coupler until the end. Wait at least a minute for that to dry then apply glue to the remaining pipe-end and coupler. With the final fitting, pull hard on the sprinkler-line pipe, upside down, in order to get the replacement pipe to slip into the pipe coupler. Allow all pipe fittings and pipe joints to dry completely before turning water back on to the pipe line, the drying time would take up to 5 minutes.

8. Observe the area of the repaired drain pipe for a few minutes before the pipe hole is covered.

External Protection Systems On Steel Pipes

The steel shell is normally grit-blasted on the outside and inside according to the applicable standards as specified by the clients.

Over the years in the history of steel water supply pipelines, a wide variety of systems have been used to provide external corrosion protection for both above and below ground installations.

The most commonly used and effective external protection systems specified by clients in the water supply industry are as follows :

a) Below Ground / Buried Pipes
Hot Applied Bitumen Coating together with reinforced glass fiber tissues on primed external steel surface.

b) Above Ground / Exposed Pipes
Industrial paints such as Aluminium / zinc rich painting system, red-oxide and other epoxy coating system.

Other External Surface Protection Systems are as follows :
1) Reinforced coal tar enamel coating
2) Coal tar epoxy and other epoxy coating
3) Primer coating painting e.g. red lead oxide
4) Tape coating system

Internal Protection Systems On Steel Pipes

Cement mortar lining is one of the most commonly used methods to prevent internal corrosion of steel pipe while at the same time providing a smooth surface to maximise flow capacity.

This cement mortar lining is applied to the pipes by spinning in a centrifugal process producing a dense lining with a smooth surface. At the same time, excess water that migrates to the surface of the lining will be removed by skimming process. The high density, low void and water content results in a strong and low permeability cement mortar lining.

Either Ordinary Portland cement complying to BS 12 or Sulphate-Resistting Portland cement complying to BS 4027 and fine aggregate are mixed together to form the lining material.

Other Internal Surface Protection systems are also used as follows :
1) Centrifugal spun Bitumen lining
2) Centrifugal spun coal tar lining
3) Epoxy and coal tar epoxy lining
4) Painting system

Before the production of Ductile Iron Pipe, Cast Iron Pipe is known as the most suitable pipe for the industries. After the production of Ductile Iron Pipe, it’s well known and retains all the attractive qualities from Cast Iron such as machinability, corrosion-resistance, additional strength, toughness, and ductility. The chemical properties for Ductile Iron Pipe and Cast Iron Pipe are different too.

Ductile Iron Pipe is largely used in the industry since 1955. Most probably Ductile Iron Pipe is used for modern water, wastewater systems and etc. There are more than for decades of field experience have proven Ductile Iron Pipe’s strength, durability, and reliability for transporting raw, potable water, sewage, slurries, and process chemicals. Ductile Iron pipe is good in it’s function of corrosion-resistance, it has been proven that its’ corrosion-resistance is equal or greater than the Cast Iron Pipe. With that said, Ductile Iron Pipe can be stand for more longer than Cast Iron Pipe without reparing, in a long term basis, the cost used for ductile iron pipe will be lesser than cast iron pipe.

Ductile Iron Pipe is usually manufactured by the piping supplier in 6 metre nominal laying lengths and range of 80mm – 2600mm diameters of standard pressure classes and nominal wall thicknesses. There is several methods for Ductile Iron Pipe jointing, assembling, cutting, installing, and ovality correction too. Of course, the cost for ductile iron pipe will be higher if comparing with cast iron pipe and other pipes, but it’s more economical in long run basis.

Click here to view the video on how ductile iron pipe is made.

Source : Dipra & Brouchure from ACI Holdings

1st Method of Gutter Installation

1) Mark a center point on the formwork where the UPVC pipe is to pass through the concrete floor slab, then get a nail to punch a small hole on the said point. Put the Gutter Down pipe sleeve on top of the formwork so that the central hole is perpendicular to the hole already marked and fastening the sharp screw onto the formwork.

2) By fastening the sharp screw from the Gutter Down pipe sleeve central hole to the formwork the “Y” portion will naturally bend downward and force the Gutter Down pipe sleeve to clamp against the formwork firmly. This is to ensure correct and stable positioning of the Gutter Down pipe sleeve during concrete casting.

3) When the formwork is removed after the concrete floor is cast, the “Z” and “Y” portion will break off leaving the Gutter Down pipe sleeve cast within the concrete floor slab. Some touch up filling is necessary at “Z” portion before connection UPVC pipe.

2nd Method of Gutter Installation

1) Gutter Down pipe sleeve are provided with four nail hole fastening locations outside the cylindrical body. The Gutter Down pipe sleeve is placed on top of the formwork where the UPVC pipe is to pass through the concrete floor slab. Four nails are then fastened firmly onto the formwork.

2) When the formwork is removed after then concrete floor slab is cast, the nails will be exposed beneath the Gutter Down pipe sleeve. Bend the nails toward the floors slab or cut them away. Additional cement plastering will cover the bend nails.

3) Apply the PVC solvent cement on “X” portions all round for connection of the UPVC pipe into the Gutter Down pipe sleeve.

4) Please ensure that the extension UPVC pipe are fitted (without solvent cement) into the Gutter Down pipe sleeve before the concrete is cast, if the thickness of concrete floor slab exceeds the heights of the Gutter Down pipe sleeve. Remove the extension UPVC pipe from the Gutter Down pipe sleeve after the concrete floor is cast.

5) In order to have a better discharging flow system for the main stack, it is important to align the connecting UPVC pipes centre points to ensure optimum efficiency. Insert an extension UPVC pipe into the Gutter Down pipe sleeve which had already casted in the floor slab below. Then place a laser pointer pen holder onto the UPVC pipe, so that the centre point can be located at the underneath upper floor formwork. Thereafter made a nail hole and then place a Gutter Down pipe sleeve on top of the formwork, and fastening by the sharp screw.

Rainwater drainage is a gutter system which is used on outside the house to avoid the rainwater running into the brickwall or window and causing the wall decomposed, the water might go into the building too. Due to gutter system does use pipe too, so it’s also a type of piping work. Almost every houses have installed these rainwater systems to avoid the rainwater go into their houses. However, gutter down pipe is one of the element in the gutter systems or rainwater systems. The rainwater drainage is installed at the roofing area, so it’s also called as roof gutters.

What Is Rainwater Gutter

The rainwater gutter is used to redirect the rainwater from the top of the roof, followed by a horizontal roof gutters, the rainwater will be flowing into the vertical gutter down pipe, end up the rainwater will be flowing into the ground drainage system. The horizontal roof gutters must be installed in a slightly fall so that the water can be flowing to the vertical gutter down pipe, else the rainwater will be stuck on the roof gutters and the rainwater will be leaked out and running to the wall, window and buildings and causing damp.

However, the sizes of roof gutters must be large enough to carry the rainwater. Rainwater gutter must be installed to be able to control the fast flowing of rainwater and it might break the gutter system. Usually the material used for gutter down pipe is Unplasticised PVC (UPVC). The material used must be having adequate strength and durability to handle the water pressure of the rainwater. If the gutter systems is installed inside the house, pressure test must be carried out before it can be installed.

There are several types of piping such as copper pipe, steel pipe, polyethylene pipe, unplasticised PVC (UPVC) pipe, ductile pipe, cast iron pipe, galvanized pipe, poly pipe, concrete pipe, aluminum pipe, stainless pipe, metal pipe and etc, all of them have their unique installation pipe procedure and method. In this article, that will be a simple video clip that teaches how to lay the water pipe, it’s just a rough installation pipe procedure. The piping contractor is laying 12″ water main line for a new road.

How To Lay Water Pipe

1) Excavation
One excavator and Compaction Wheel have to be used for excavation work. The excavator will be excavating the earth or soil in straight where the water pipe has to be installed.

2) Compaction
After the excavator has excavated the earth or soil, the Compaction Wheel will be compacting the ground to make the soil become solid and stronger.

3) Laying Water Pipe
After the excavation work and compaction work have been done, the piping workers will be laying the water pipe on the excavated ground.

4) Filling
After the water pipes have been properly lay, excavator has to do filling work which is filling the excavated earth on the water pipe. After these, compaction wheel will be compacting the ground again. After all the works have been done, road work will be going on.

Pipe or piping is a cross hollow cylinder, which is used as a structural component. Pipe can be used for internal and external. Usually internal pipe is installed in the bath room, toilet, kitchen, above ceiling and etc, while external pipe is mostly used in underground. These is tonnes of types of pipe in the market and piping construction, such as copper pipe, steel pipe, polyethylene pipe, unplasticised PVC (UPVC) pipe, ductile pipe, cast iron pipe, galvanized pipe, poly pipe, concrete pipe, aluminum pipe, stainless pipe, metal pipe and etc. All of them have different uses and features.

All the pipes have many different types of size, it’s generally specified by the internal diameter. The cost or rate for all the types of pipe and sizes of them are totally different, when the piping supplier quotes you a rate, the rate will be following by its’ material of pipe and its’ nominal diameter.

Other than the materials of pipe that have been listed above, pipe can also be made from concrete or ceramic. For pipe which is made from UPVC, is usually used inside the building for bath room, toilet and kitchen and etc, basically UPVC is light weight, chemical resistance, non-corrosive properties, and ease of making connections and normally used for drinking water contribution. While for concrete and ceramic pipe, are usually used for low pressure applications such as gravity flow or drainage. The types of pipe used are depending on location and purpose that the pipe to be installed.

Installation pipe has to be done by specialize piping contractors because it requires variety of specialized tools, techniques, parts, pipe joints, pipe fittings and etc. Normally the cost for pipe installation is higher than the price for piping materials. Usually pipes are joined by welding or by using pipe threads, so various pipe fittings are needed during the installation process.