Emergency leak repair

Small ruptures or splits in supply pipe are rare, but they happen.  To make an emergency fix, you will need a sleeve clamp.  This does what it says:  wraps around the pipe and gasket material like a tight metal sleeve.  Like the hose clamp, it closes with screws.  You can make the repair easily – use a metal file to smooth any roughness or sharpness around the pipe rupture, so that the leaky spot doesn’t cut the gasket material.

Copper – the most common material used for supply lines – and other metal pipes last many years, but occasionally, one of your pipes will spring a leak.  You will have to stop the spray until your local Concord plumber shows up.  This kind of repair should only be considered a temporary fix.

Where the leak happens will determine how you first shut off the water, and then do a temporary fix on the leak.  If the pipe is leaking between a supply stop and an appliance, simply shut off the water at the supply stop.  Of course, you won’t be able to use that appliance until you have done the repair.

If the leak is in one of the supply lines running from the main shutoff to somewhere else in the house, and there is no interim supply stop between the leak and the main valve, you will need to shut the water off at the main.

REMEMBER: Sometimes the repaired area will drip briefly; if the dripping continues, you can tighten the clamp/gasket.  Then call your local Concord plumber!  Even a really good repair won’t hold indefinitely.