Repairing Basement Plumping

Plumbing in the basement is often copper.

The basement is the best place for hidden water pipes that would otherwise ruin the decor of the home. Copper pipes running through the basement carry water to the sinks and toilets in the home, lasting many years without any need for maintenance or replacement. However, hard water corrosion or freezing temperatures in the basement may cause the pipes to burst, requiring you to cut out the leaking part and solder in new copper fittings to repair the leak.

Things You'll Need

• Pipe cutter
• Measuring tape
• Copper sleeve
• Flux
• Flux brush
• Torch
• Gloves
• Soldering wire

Instructions

1. Turn off the water at the water shut-off valve.

2. Locate the hole in the copper pipe.

3. Place a pipe cutter over the pipe. Tighten down the knob of the cutter until it touches the copper. Turn the cutter around the pipe, tightening the blade at each pass until the pipe is split. Make a cut on each side of the split in the pipe to remove the damaged section.

4. Clean both ends of the remaining copper pipe with an emery cloth until the copper is shining.

5. Measure the distance of the missing section in the pipe. Bring the cut portion of the copper pipe to find a repair sleeve the correct size for your pipe. The repair sleeve should be 1 inch longer than the cut out section.

6. Brush the cleaned copper pipe with flux using the brush included with the flux canister.

7. Slide the copper repair sleeve over the pipe so that a half inch is covering each end.

8. Light your propane torch using the safety instructions on the canister. Put on work gloves to keep the heat from burning your hands.

9. Touch the flame from the torch to the bottom of the copper sleeve.

10. Place the end of your soldering wire to the top of the joints on the copper sleeve until the solder melts around the joint

References

• The Family Handyman: How to Repair a Leaking Copper Pipe
• Acme How-to: How to Solder Copper Pipes