water (not drain) leak under kitchen sink

[tutsiwarrior]

hello folks...

 

presently I have a leak under the sink that I believe after extensive observation is coming from a joint in an embedded elbow under the sink, see photo...this is the supply line to the upstairs bathroom that tees off the main supply to the sink...

 

local excavation to expose the joint is required and it is a confined space inside a brick built, tiled cabinet...this makes me nervous as I wanna prevent total destruction of my beloved kitchen to fix a stinkin' leak...an alternative would be to access thru the adjacent wall (seen in photo) which is the rear wall of the shop house with easy access...

 

selection of the contractor for this purpose is important...

 

last week a crew from the tesseban came out to replace the water supply isolation valve (next to the the meter) and the  office manager was there who was quite affable...I was gonna approach him to see if he could suggest a local person to do the work...

 

any comments/suggestions?

 

[Strange]

1 minute ago, tutsiwarrior said:

any comments/suggestions?

 

Yeah a fuggin hazmat crew bro thats nasty

 

 

Honestly just bust it out with a hammer and replace the elbow. Any ole local can do it for 300 baht a day. Just have some replacement tile and cement mix and grout to patch it up after its done. 

[cornishcarlos]

If that is the state of your "beloved" kitchen, you got issues :)

[tutsiwarrior]

yeah but it hasta be done carefully to avoid damage to the upstairs bathroom supply pipe and it's a confined area (wringing of hands)...

[Strange]

Just now, tutsiwarrior said:

yeah but it hasta be done carefully to avoid damage to the upstairs bathroom supply pipe and it's a confined area (wringing of hands)...

 

lmao

 

Seriously just let them bust it out with a hammer. Let them get after it. Its fine. 

 

If you were a real good guy you would provide antibiotics as part of the payment. 

[tutsiwarrior]

2 minutes ago, cornishcarlos said:

If that is the state of your "beloved" kitchen, you got issues :)

 

well...there weren't no problems for the past 15 years and I just got home from bein' away fer awhile...

 

not very helpful, carlos...

[tutsiwarrior]

1 minute ago, Strange said:

 

lmao

 

Seriously just let them bust it out with a hammer. Let them get after it. Its fine. 

 

If you were a real good guy you would provide antibiotics as part of the payment. 

 

but there ain't no room to swing no hammer under the sink...

[tutsiwarrior]

yesee...I thought about just gettin' a competent plumber in but the concrete work is beyond the scope of a rgular plumber's abilities...

[Strange]

1 minute ago, tutsiwarrior said:

 

but there ain't no room to swing no hammer under the sink...

 

You talking about that elbow imbedded in the cement in the very left side of the pic? 

 

That cement mix is weak as hell and it will break away easily. 

[cornishcarlos]

9 minutes ago, tutsiwarrior said:

 

but there ain't no room to swing no hammer under the sink...

 

Or a mop, or a cloth :)

Sorry buddy, but that looks like it's been leaking for 15 yrs !!

I'm pretty sure a cold chisel and lump hammer would do the job in a couple hrs. Sure not easy but very doable and can be done carefully.

No need to go in through the back wall.

New tiles would add considerable value to the property....

[tutsiwarrior]

1 minute ago, Strange said:

 

You talking about that elbow imbedded in the cement in the very left side of the pic? 

 

That cement mix is weak as hell and it will break away easily. 

 

yeah, I know...it's not foundation concrete, just a mat over grade that they pour as a last step during construction

[cooked]

I had the same problem. After weeks of forgetting to remove and empty the bucket I had under the leak I tried sealing from the outside, with a silicon based sealant. To do this I made sure the pipe was dry inside and out, that water was no longer leaking out. So, one day spent making sure no one used the sink. It seems to have worked, but I am looking on this as a temporary solution, doesn't matter because I will be doing the entire kitchen new next year. There is also a heavy duty tape (duct tape) which would have been my plan B if this hadn't worked.

[Strange]

3 minutes ago, tutsiwarrior said:

 

yeah, I know...it's not foundation concrete, just a mat over grade that they pour as a last step during construction

 

Ok so you are talking about the elbow thats under the poisonous black mold and beneath the over engineered silicone treatment patch. 

 

Yeah, just gonna have to bust it out from the back if you can. 

 

If you don't want to do that, then just bust out a line in there and run a new pipe. Might be better just to run a new pipe and "Hide" it beneath new tile. 

[Strange]

Honestly just get a couple guys on day rate and run a new pipe. Bust out the cement and have new tile/grout on hand.

 

Bypass that mess lmao

[tutsiwarrior]

oh...but my lovely kitchen!

 

the pipe runs under the kitchen floor to a riser enclosure in the corner and the resulting mess is what I'm trine to avoid...

 

(tutsi lies awake in his bunk in the saudi desert thinking about his kitchen at home: one day all this raghead BS will be over...)

[Strange]

1 minute ago, tutsiwarrior said:

oh...but my lovely kitchen!

 

the pipe runs under the kitchen floor to a riser enclosure in the corner and the resulting mess is what I'm trine to avoid...

 

(tutsi lies awake in his bunk in the saudi desert thinking about his kitchen at home: one day all this raghead BS will be over...)

 

lmao 

 

Given the current state of affairs in your beloved kitchen, it might be time for an overhaul. 

 

Regardless, whatever direction you choose, I don't see any real cost here. Just some day rate guys and basic building materials. 

[tutsiwarrior]

3 minutes ago, Strange said:

 

lmao 

 

Given the current state of affairs in your beloved kitchen, it might be time for an overhaul. 

 

Regardless, whatever direction you choose, I don't see any real cost here. Just some day rate guys and basic building materials. 

 

yeah...and I wanted to get some dudes in that don't need constant supervision and that know what they're doin'...for this reason I was gonna ask the tesseban guy that was supervising the valve replacement crew last week...

 

I can go down the market and find a plumber or a dude with a hammer and a chisel any day...

[cornishcarlos]

DIY....

 

Only way to get a proper job done IMO

Then hire a cleaner for when you are in the desert :)

[Strange]

1 minute ago, tutsiwarrior said:

 

yeah...and I wanted to get some dudes in that don't need constant supervision and that know what they're doin'...for this reason I was gonna ask the tesseban guy that was supervising the valve replacement crew last week...

 

I can go down the market and find a plumber or a dude with a hammer and a chisel any day...

 

I know you want it done right, but honestly there is nothing here involving any real skill. If your not at home you can probably get someone to just point at the leak and they will workout how to get in there. 

 

Not too much of a big deal just need to let them get after it. 

[Strange]

Be careful though, as that water leak may have extremely serious consequences. The slow drip can wash out the footings and cause a serious footing issue. Sinkholes are very common here and very dangerous to small dogs and children. Underpinning is required and the structural integrity is compromised permanently. 

 

You are looking at a very expensive repair and the poisonous black mold is extremely harmful to the elderly. 

 

[tutsiwarrior]

I'll go ask the tesseban guy tomorrow to see what he sez...my wife, who is very capable and who would normally be handling this is presently indisposed and it needs to be looked after on an urgent basis...the supply to the first shophouse is now shut off as the kitchen floor was flooding...

[tutsiwarrior]

3 minutes ago, Strange said:

Be careful though, as that water leak may have extremely serious consequences. The slow drip can wash out the footings and cause a serious footing issue. Sinkholes are very common here and very dangerous to small dogs and children. Underpinning is required and the structural integrity is compromised permanently. 

 

You are looking at a very expensive repair and the poisonous black mold is extremely harmful to the elderly. 

 

 

yeah...that pipe hasn't been disturbed in 15 years and I was wonderin' if there has been some settlement...

 

and...tutsi is the protector of the elderly, small dogs and children...

[wayned]

Before you get a wrecking ball, get under there and clean it up and see EXACTLY where it is leaking!   It looks like it is leaking at the connection coming out of the wall, not the elbow that goes into the floor.   If that is where the leak is it might not require a demolition crew to solve the problem, it might just be a defective joint, little or no glue when it was first constructed.  If it's leaking where the pipe enters the joint in the wall, what i would do is cut off the water, cut the pipe midway between the wall and the elbow and try to twist ti out of the joint.  If you are lucky it will twist out and you can install a new piece with proper glue and connect it to the old pie to the elbow.  There are also ways of removing the old pie from the joint with a little heat, a screwdriver and needle nose pliers.If not, it would be best to  break it out on the other side of the wall.

 

Where are you located?

[tutsiwarrior]

what you see on the left hand side of the photo is where the pipe tees off from the main supply to the sink...and I went thru 2 observation cycles with cleaning in between and the supply shut off and it looks like the embedded elbow has the leak as the pipe on the left stays dry...

 

I'm gonna show the photo around to folks to see first if I can find someone that can approach the problem directly as the area around the elbow can be opened from above if one is careful...like I say gotta be careful of damaging the connecting embedded pipe or then we will really have a mess...accessing the leak from the outside wall side is another option...

 

I'm in Suphanburi...

 

 

Edited October 23, 2016 by tutsiwarrior