My father taught me this. I've done many of these repairs with him. Unfortunately he just passed away a little more than a week ago. I have one of these jobs coming up I am going to have to do without him for the first time.
Awww Jimmy, I hope you adapt ok to working (and living) w/o your Dad and think of yourself and your work as his legacy. I miss mine too and wish I'd learned SO much more than I did from him!
I remember being the go-for when my grandfather repaired leaded joint cast iron pipes under the house with torch and jute... His passing a true archival loss of technique and information most likely needed in the future... Keep the memories... They will be needed...
I know it has been a years now that you posted this. I'm too sorry for lost and just the other day I cry 😭 out because I missed my Dad too. He just passed a away a little over a month
Omg thank you!! You just saved me a giant headache. I was literally ready to give up when I realized how my water lines were run but I can’t believe I didn’t think of that before, I’ve seen it done on sewer line. SMH. Thank you.
I was going to say the 1/2” would be too small but according to what’s on it it’s more than enough. We used to run whole houses with 1/2” only for hot. We did it that way so they didn’t have as much cold water to run before the hot got there. The way we used to fix leaks like this was we’d connect pex to the copper then on the other end we’d tie a high lift Jack to the copper. We’d them pull it out and it would pull the pex through at the same time. This only works if they ran the copper in insulation
The only problem with downsizing is greatly reduced water pressure. More often than not plumbers will feed overhead. You have to open up some Sheetrock but it allows you to use the same size pex. Pex A is the least amount of pressure loss due to fittings are larger internal than pex B.
If the leak is in the ceiling or walls, (A), you'd know where the leak was pretty damn quick, and (B) you'd simply open the wall or ceiling and cut and replace the damaged pipe. This is method is for fixing under-slab leaks, where a bypass thru the wall or ceiling isn't possible.
Not only the water in the area might be harsh but wow tust soldered joints definitely added to the problem. Damn shame that they actually build homes like that
@Mike Morrison ya it seems like every damn time i comment on youtube i spell something wrong and it is annoying. But im a service plumber and see this all the time. Now its all expansion pex or still cpvc in south florida. What i meant to say was built*
Just tried it again yesterday. This time there was a kink or hard bend somewhere under the slab, so I was not able to do it. So, there are times that it is not possible.
Just did a few of them . Could not push the pex A to many bends . So we used a plastic fishtape , put pull string ,cut the pex in 1/2 then tied it on . One person pushed another pulled was able to get them in. Just hope they last awhile this 08 house was built by unskilled workers in the last boom and we are paying the price.
brother ive been trying to do this for a week now and nothing i do seems to work, i can't get the pex past the first bend in the copper pipe what do i do
You can either use SharkBite fittings to transition from the PEX to copper OR what I'm using is: PEX B crimp connectors with an adapter soldered onto the copper.
You've cut the leak at the source, so to speak, so why not just reroute 1/2 inch PEX to wherever it needs to go in the house? Going down to 3/8 like that, you will really notice reduced flow especially when multiple faucets are being used, or say when a toilet gets flushed.
If you go down to the very first comment and the reply to that comment, you may get a better understanding. It's a multi-level house with a catwalk and a bunch of stuff between where it feeds and where it comes up on the other side. We're in California all the fixtures are limited greatly in the GPM flow. It's a 1/2" PEX inside a 3/4 in copper. This is not something I would do regularly it's something that is thousands cheaper. And, yes, there's a bunch of haters that just don't get it. It's an option. Nothing more nothing less.
@@mikemorrison4860 If the reduced flow has little impact [no complaints] for the people using it, then it's a moot point. And you save lots of time and money, I'm with ya there. If I run into the issue with my slab home, I'll go with the PEX rerouting through the walls somewhere, and just live with the added 'water noise' that comes with it. Thanks for posting!
It's not the only time I've done it and yes sometimes it takes seven or eight tries going back and forth from each side but so far I haven't had any failures
@@mikemorrison4860 So you are reducing volume and pressure to the rest of the plumbing fixtures by doing this hack job. Just do a rereoute overhead with the correct size pipe.
By plumbing code you can't downsize water pipe and then upsize it, you will loose water pressure and volume. You needed to use 3/4" Pex line, but of course it would of never worked. Hack Job
Yeah well this was $600. To do with the right way it would be $2,500 to $3,000 with all the following repairs and then to fix the drywall because of the way that it's multi-level and a balcony running between two sides and everything else to get a water line from one side of the house to the other. And it's a rental house and the owner would have to pay to house the tenants while the work was done. This was all completed in just a few hours. The line only serves a sink, a shower and a toilet in the same bathroom. A half inch pipe as a compromise is going to be just fine. I'm no stranger to Plumbing code... I've been doing this for 35 plus years. This is something you do when there's no other economical choice. It's not something you do as a normal thing... that's for sure. If it was easy and economical to do it the right way then of course I would do it that way but it would be far more expensive and sometimes you have to balance cost and technical correctness... So this is going to crutch everything through and be just fine brother.
@@mikemorrison4860 So you admit it's a hack job and you still did it? Wow. Do it correctly or don't do the repairs at all. So you have been hacking other homes and structures for 35 years? You are the guy other plumbers have to go behind and correct your mistakes.
I can see that you're just out to troll and destroy.. I explained this wasn't something you do just as a rule and that it's a workaround. I don't make any money off these RUclips videos. I don't have any desire to become internet famous or any of that crap. I don't know who you are I don't know your background and I don't care to because you're obviously just trying to generate some negativity and don't understand that this is a workaround and that is explained from the beginning. So at this point our conversation is over.
@@mikemorrison4860 Do it right and do it to code or don't do it. I hope the homewoners file on your business insurance if you even carry it. Any repairs done against code is your for life, if someone wants to file an insurance claim. Just a FYI
In that particular case the line was 3/4 inch and I ran a 1/2 inch is inch through it. It only serves one bathroom sink and a stand up shower and the kitchen sink. We're in California.. With all the restrictions on flow there's no way that it would ever be strained anyway. And just to be clear this is something that is something that is done when there's no other way than tearing up the house with the 15' vaulted ceiling and the catwalk that leads from wool it leads from one room to the other it's a very complicated layout.
My father taught me this. I've done many of these repairs with him. Unfortunately he just passed away a little more than a week ago. I have one of these jobs coming up I am going to have to do without him for the first time.
Awww Jimmy, I hope you adapt ok to working (and living) w/o your Dad and think of yourself and your work as his legacy. I miss mine too and wish I'd learned SO much more than I did from him!
I'm so sorry for you're loss.
I remember being the go-for when my grandfather repaired leaded joint cast iron pipes under the house with torch and jute... His passing a true archival loss of technique and information most likely needed in the future... Keep the memories... They will be needed...
I know it has been a years now that you posted this. I'm too sorry for lost and just the other day I cry 😭 out because I missed my Dad too. He just passed a away a little over a month
Just wondering who’s bright idea it was to put the pipes in the slab. We had the same thing happen to us and had to reroute it.
Omg thank you!! You just saved me a giant headache. I was literally ready to give up when I realized how my water lines were run but I can’t believe I didn’t think of that before, I’ve seen it done on sewer line. SMH. Thank you.
Thank you for this idea! That’s genius! I’m dealing with the same situation. Definitely going to give this a shot!
That’s awesome!
I was going to say the 1/2” would be too small but according to what’s on it it’s more than enough. We used to run whole houses with 1/2” only for hot. We did it that way so they didn’t have as much cold water to run before the hot got there. The way we used to fix leaks like this was we’d connect pex to the copper then on the other end we’d tie a high lift Jack to the copper. We’d them pull it out and it would pull the pex through at the same time. This only works if they ran the copper in insulation
This kind of blew my mind. Never thought about approaching a slab leak like this.
The only problem with downsizing is greatly reduced water pressure. More often than not plumbers will feed overhead. You have to open up some Sheetrock but it allows you to use the same size pex. Pex A is the least amount of pressure loss due to fittings are larger internal than pex B.
Pressure would be the same. Volume would be decreased.
If the leak is in the ceiling or walls, (A), you'd know where the leak was pretty damn quick, and (B) you'd simply open the wall or ceiling and cut and replace the damaged pipe. This is method is for fixing under-slab leaks, where a bypass thru the wall or ceiling isn't possible.
Thank you for this video. Much appreciated.
Not only the water in the area might be harsh but wow tust soldered joints definitely added to the problem. Damn shame that they actually build homes like that
By code (for quite a few years) it is now illegal to run water or gas under the slab inside a home. Exceptions are given for island futures.
@Mike Morrison ya it seems like every damn time i comment on youtube i spell something wrong and it is annoying. But im a service plumber and see this all the time. Now its all expansion pex or still cpvc in south florida. What i meant to say was built*
That "t" makes it all very clear. Got it.
@@mikemorrison4860 lol yes
Just tried it again yesterday. This time there was a kink or hard bend somewhere under the slab, so I was not able to do it. So, there are times that it is not possible.
Just did a few of them .
Could not push the pex A to many bends . So we used a plastic fishtape , put pull string ,cut the pex in 1/2 then tied it on . One person pushed another pulled was able to get them in. Just hope they last awhile this 08 house was built by unskilled workers in the last boom and we are paying the price.
@@allstarsk331 Dude you nailed it... THANKS!!!!
Did you have any angles? You do not want to kink a pex line.
brother ive been trying to do this for a week now and nothing i do seems to work, i can't get the pex past the first bend in the copper pipe what do i do
Try cutting the tip at an angle so the tip is shaped like a spear and more flexible. Use soap to lube it
excellent idea
Works great when the pipe has no kinks on it.
Genius!
ThaT sounds like a crazy repair your pushing pex thru a busted copper line how do you make the connection
You can either use SharkBite fittings to transition from the PEX to copper OR what I'm using is: PEX B crimp connectors with an adapter soldered onto the copper.
Is this the same way you would re route the main cold line that goes to the main cut off so you don't have to re pipe it?
Yes depends on what it feeds
What’s something like this run?
So smart
Ingenious
How to fix a leak under the driveway concrete?
You've cut the leak at the source, so to speak, so why not just reroute 1/2 inch PEX to wherever it needs to go in the house? Going down to 3/8 like that, you will really notice reduced flow especially when multiple faucets are being used, or say when a toilet gets flushed.
If you go down to the very first comment and the reply to that comment, you may get a better understanding. It's a multi-level house with a catwalk and a bunch of stuff between where it feeds and where it comes up on the other side. We're in California all the fixtures are limited greatly in the GPM flow. It's a 1/2" PEX inside a 3/4 in copper. This is not something I would do regularly it's something that is thousands cheaper. And, yes, there's a bunch of haters that just don't get it. It's an option. Nothing more nothing less.
@@mikemorrison4860 If the reduced flow has little impact [no complaints] for the people using it, then it's a moot point. And you save lots of time and money, I'm with ya there. If I run into the issue with my slab home, I'll go with the PEX rerouting through the walls somewhere, and just live with the added 'water noise' that comes with it. Thanks for posting!
hi mike ...how did u connect the pex to the copper? i see some type of ring?clamp on it
That is the crimp ring. It is the standard crimp for pex
you my man got very lucky
It's not the only time I've done it and yes sometimes it takes seven or eight tries going back and forth from each side but so far I haven't had any failures
@@mikemorrison4860 So you are reducing volume and pressure to the rest of the plumbing fixtures by doing this hack job. Just do a rereoute overhead with the correct size pipe.
@@mikejones5364 reroute through the ceiling? Is that a good option?
@@miguelitoantonio1950 Yes, much better deal and up to code as well
@@mikejones5364 ok thank you
By plumbing code you can't downsize water pipe and then upsize it, you will loose water pressure and volume. You needed to use 3/4" Pex line, but of course it would of never worked. Hack Job
Yeah well this was $600. To do with the right way it would be $2,500 to $3,000 with all the following repairs and then to fix the drywall because of the way that it's multi-level and a balcony running between two sides and everything else to get a water line from one side of the house to the other. And it's a rental house and the owner would have to pay to house the tenants while the work was done. This was all completed in just a few hours. The line only serves a sink, a shower and a toilet in the same bathroom. A half inch pipe as a compromise is going to be just fine. I'm no stranger to Plumbing code... I've been doing this for 35 plus years. This is something you do when there's no other economical choice. It's not something you do as a normal thing... that's for sure. If it was easy and economical to do it the right way then of course I would do it that way but it would be far more expensive and sometimes you have to balance cost and technical correctness... So this is going to crutch everything through and be just fine brother.
@@mikemorrison4860 So you admit it's a hack job and you still did it? Wow. Do it correctly or don't do the repairs at all. So you have been hacking other homes and structures for 35 years? You are the guy other plumbers have to go behind and correct your mistakes.
I can see that you're just out to troll and destroy.. I explained this wasn't something you do just as a rule and that it's a workaround. I don't make any money off these RUclips videos. I don't have any desire to become internet famous or any of that crap. I don't know who you are I don't know your background and I don't care to because you're obviously just trying to generate some negativity and don't understand that this is a workaround and that is explained from the beginning. So at this point our conversation is over.
@@mikemorrison4860 Do it right and do it to code or don't do it. I hope the homewoners file on your business insurance if you even carry it. Any repairs done against code is your for life, if someone wants to file an insurance claim. Just a FYI
@@mikejones5364 did you watch the video.. the homeowner is fine with it.. saved all kinds of money and headache.. and got done the same day...
Yeah but now the feed is less than half inch.
In that particular case the line was 3/4 inch and I ran a 1/2 inch is inch through it. It only serves one bathroom sink and a stand up shower and the kitchen sink.
We're in California.. With all the restrictions on flow there's no way that it would ever be strained anyway. And just to be clear this is something that is something that is done when there's no other way than tearing up the house with the 15' vaulted ceiling and the catwalk that leads from wool it leads from one room to the other it's a very complicated layout.