9 leaks in one pipe.. what would you do!

[Oucht]

On Friday we heard dripping and water started falling through the ceiling.

Our plumber got his lads round to find the leak and fix.
Pipes are copper.

The pipe was cold mains with 3 leaks. They replaced that but noted the pipe work going across the bedroom into the en suite also had 6!!! more which now have Tupperware pots under.

They said we likely need all the mains pipes replaced through the house but that we’ll have to wait to hear from the boss man.
Left with multiple leaks waiting on a phone call.

Replacing all that means ripping out two bathrooms. We’ve looked at other pipes we can see and have found another leak on central heating and more pinholes in the bathroom.

Where do we even start.
Plumber not replying. Water dripping. Scared everytime we use water that the leaking pins will blow and we’ll end up having to pay again and again for emergencies when we’re potentially face 20k because of a bit of pipe. Great financial timing with needing a loan.

Why have they all gone at the same time?
It all seems a bit unlikely.
Do you trust your plumber?

You need a second opinion.

If the water is literally leaking down the walls you need to turn it off at the mains and claim on your insurance or manage without mains water until it’s sorted otherwise the damage could be even more serious.

The plumber is one we trust. He’s recommended constantly here and struggle to get him because of how good he is.

The water was leaking down the walls Friday, they fixed that pipe with 3 leaks in it but found a further section with 6 more that runs under a wall into the en-suite. which we have pots under as they are dripping but could blow any second.

Looking at other pipes that are visible (holes in floors from prior leaks) we can see other spots developing.

No work has been done to cause it and nothing has changed. Pipes are original to the house and we’re in a hard water area.

bathroom refits were on the to do list so were thinking of getting it quoted in one job but we’re not gonna be able to get that done fast and have leaks dripping all over the place now.

Insurance won’t do anything unless the water causes damage. They won’t cover any damage made getting to the pipes to see where there could be leaks.

I was thinking more in terms of insurance putting you up in a hotel if the property is uninhabitable.

We still have the water on but on a knife edge just waiting for the drips to turn to a flood whilst waiting to hear back from the plumber.

Why have you not turned the water off?

Your insurance will not cover any water damage that is currently happening as you have a legal obligation to stop the water to mitigate / prevent further damage.

If your aim is to get the insurance to pay out on future damage you are planning an insurance fraud.

If you have water in the same area as your electrics you may end up blowing appliances and lights or even get shocked.

How old is the house?

There was a period, I think in the late 1960s, when copper was in short supply, and copper-plated steel pipes were used. These have now all gone rusty and need to be ripped out.

There is no good reason for a house to have multiple leaks.

Hi, get some soft rubber/latex strips and bind it round the pinholes to secure them for a few days.
Like those stretch-resistor gym bands, or a bike inner tube. Trim a bit and tie it really tight. It'll hold for weeks.

We are not even thinking about insurance tbh.
we can’t turn the water off and live here and have no where else to go with kids and dogs and this job might not be doable for months!
pots are catching the current drips we can see what else can we do?

The house was built in 1983:

Yes, you can turn the water off.

It will be crappy to live with but you can survive without water flowing from a tap.

At the moment you know that every single pipe in the house may be causing water damage to the structure. You can get 5L/ 10L plastic water containers and fill them with drinking water at the neighbours or friends and use them.
Or spend a small amount of money and get the plumber to install a tap between the public water connection and the house and use a plastic hose to pipe it next to your kitchen.
Extra clothes and blankets on the beds for lack of central heating.
A boil kettle of water and a basin and a little plastic jug will give hot water wash. It will take a little to get accustomed and a little more time than just jumping in and out of a shower.

But at the moment you are risking ending up with causing a lot more damage which will continue for months and cost a lot more to repair. You can live there but will have to make the choice to make it work without having water on demand.

The plumbers did not advise us to turn the water off.
Hubby is not happy with it going off and staying off when all we have are multiple drips.
I see those drips as potential floods.

it could be possible that we can get a plumber to isolate in the main bathroom which would leave us with one toilet and shower but shut off the rest of the water upstairs.

I have severe health conditions which mean no water would be awful. I could end up in hospital from not having a toilet and shower.
The house needs a whole repipe but that’s not going to be something we can do quickly.

i know we need a plumber asap but it’s like getting a bloody drs appt.

You could turn the water off, then back on for two minutes when you need to refill the WC cistern.

Have you got a water tank in the loft?

What colour is your hot-water cylinder?

What do you think caused all these leaks to suddenly start? Did you have a combi fitted?

No tank, no cylinder, combi boiler installed 4 years ago.
we had one pinhole leak fixed in the same pipe is few days post boiler install and nothing since until now.

it’s the mains water pipes that are leaking not ch (apart from one joint)

Doesn’t turning the water off and on a lot get air in the pipes which could turn our drips to spurts?

The leaks have filled up half a take away pot of water each in 24 hours.

Turn the water off. Turn it back on when you need it, and then turn it off again.

It is not believable that none (or more?) leaks have all just formed at the same time without one thing causing them all; has your pressure been increased? Can you turn the pressure-reducing valve setting down?

We don’t have a pressure reducing valve. No change in pressure that we aware of.
It looks like the pinholes have been developing for a long time but are now bursting through.

It could have been the higher pressure from the combi that started it all?

Would the air getting in the pipes Repeated times a day not make things worse?

Turning the water off does not put air in the pipes.

If you want to put air in the pipes, you have to open one tap (low down) for water to come out, and another (high up) for an equal volume of air to go in to replace it.

I suppose you could get the plumber to fit a pressure reducing valve. I expect she will say it would be better to replace the faulty pipe.

Btw hold a magnet against these pipes to see what they are made of. It is not normal for copper pipe to pinhole.

Its definitely copper. We’ve had a part of it repaired before

One patch of several

I’ve seen this once, it happened on a 3m length of copper pipe. It was on a new house my brother built in the early nineties and rents out. The length of pipe was defective when it was made and the wall of the pipe was wafer thin on one side, it looked perfect from the outside but sprung lots of small leaks after being in about ten years Had to take the floor up and replace the whole length.
lucky it was only one length and not the whole batch of pipe.

Thanks everyone. Really appreciate the advice. I am a born worrier. Mix that with health conditions and my anxieties go through the roof when I can’t be the one to find the fix.

The plumbers are going to work the 2 bank holidays thurs and Fri to replace the whole length and fix anything else they find along that path.
It will leave us with some flooring hopscotch for a bit but we’re using this as a push to get our bathrooms renovated this year.