I'm having a similar problem… PVC angle joint that goes underground into large concrete slab for the sprinklers has cracked. So far the plan A is to "weld" it with J-B weld. Plan B in case weld doesn't help is to replace PVC piping and angle joint but the concrete and wall of the house leave very little space to do that… Plan C is much closer to yours which will involve cutting the concrete patch out and man do I LOVE your simple idea with river rocks! Your video is extremely helpful and gives me quite good understanding for similar repair and more repairs on really old sprinlker system piping that goes under concrete in many places, thanks for spending time on it.
@artemZinn - Hi there! Glad you found the video helpful. Your problem sounds FUN! (NOT!!) Just be sure to protect the new pipe from rocks and concrete debris that might rub through the replacement pipe over time.
@@ToddMcMahon yep. So the plan A miserably failed yesterday, JB Weld worked where I applied it but the PVC joint just cracked more, so it is Plan B today, gonna try to disassemble the PVC with heat gun to preserve the joint that goes under slab
@@artemZinn - Sorry to hear that Plan-A failed. I wish you the best of luck with Plan-B. Keep in mind that the cost of parts is miniscule compared to the costs of water damage. If you have access to the pipes, replace everything that you can!
Dang this is jus like at my grandmas house while front yard is flooded had to turn water off for couple days I want to fix it but nervous on messing it up
I guess the real issue is determining WHERE the leak is located. We were lucky, in that we could tell right away that the leak had to be under the concrete walkway. We had good pipe at the outside edge of the house that we could connect to, so all that remained was making a couple holes and replacing the pipe. Sounds fairly simple - but the labor gets more difficult the older you get!
@@ToddMcMahon it looks jus like how yours is . I dug a lil trench n Tha water jus started to come out but it’s quite alot too goann try n get it done by this week your vid looks easy to do
Thanks. It was my own house. I paid for the materials, and I gave my buddy Lee a couple-hundred dollars for his time and labor (had to force him to accept it).
That might be true for new construction, but soldered copper pipes have been used for decades. This house was built in 1959/1960, before compression fittings on water pipes were popular.
@@ToddMcMahon i understand that but underground pipes i would think would have to be connected with fittings. I know this is true in the northeast .well anyway the leak is fixed 👍
@@lar4305 - It is for now at least. Here in the south-west the ground doesn't get frozen, so I imagine that we do not have to deal with the expansion/contraction issues that an area that actually has a "Winter" season has to suffer thru. I imagiine that could be why solder works fine here.
I'm having a similar problem… PVC angle joint that goes underground into large concrete slab for the sprinklers has cracked. So far the plan A is to "weld" it with J-B weld. Plan B in case weld doesn't help is to replace PVC piping and angle joint but the concrete and wall of the house leave very little space to do that… Plan C is much closer to yours which will involve cutting the concrete patch out and man do I LOVE your simple idea with river rocks!
Your video is extremely helpful and gives me quite good understanding for similar repair and more repairs on really old sprinlker system piping that goes under concrete in many places, thanks for spending time on it.
@artemZinn - Hi there! Glad you found the video helpful. Your problem sounds FUN! (NOT!!) Just be sure to protect the new pipe from rocks and concrete debris that might rub through the replacement pipe over time.
@@ToddMcMahon yep. So the plan A miserably failed yesterday, JB Weld worked where I applied it but the PVC joint just cracked more, so it is Plan B today, gonna try to disassemble the PVC with heat gun to preserve the joint that goes under slab
@@artemZinn - Sorry to hear that Plan-A failed. I wish you the best of luck with Plan-B. Keep in mind that the cost of parts is miniscule compared to the costs of water damage. If you have access to the pipes, replace everything that you can!
Extremely helpful video. I used your idea (the hydro excavation wand) and it worked like a charm. I did the exact same repair. Thanks a lot!
Hi Kyle! It makes me happy to read comments like yours. Thank you. Glad the information was helpful! 🙂
Thank you very much for spending the time and effort of uploading your experience =)
Thank you for your comment. :-)
Really good information some thing to remember in the future thank you Todd.
Thanks Chuck. I was very fortunate that it was actually something I could deal with!! :-)
Dang this is jus like at my grandmas house while front yard is flooded had to turn water off for couple days I want to fix it but nervous on messing it up
I guess the real issue is determining WHERE the leak is located. We were lucky, in that we could tell right away that the leak had to be under the concrete walkway. We had good pipe at the outside edge of the house that we could connect to, so all that remained was making a couple holes and replacing the pipe. Sounds fairly simple - but the labor gets more difficult the older you get!
@@ToddMcMahon it looks jus like how yours is . I dug a lil trench n Tha water jus started to come out but it’s quite alot too goann try n get it done by this week your vid looks easy to do
@@BigRay1918_ - Best of luck! Be sure to share pictures! :-)
Nice job, how much did you charge?
Thanks. It was my own house. I paid for the materials, and I gave my buddy Lee a couple-hundred dollars for his time and labor (had to force him to accept it).
I thought any copper water pipe that was under ground had to have a compression fitting and not to be soldered ?
That might be true for new construction, but soldered copper pipes have been used for decades. This house was built in 1959/1960, before compression fittings on water pipes were popular.
@@ToddMcMahon i understand that but underground pipes i would think would have to be connected with fittings. I know this is true in the northeast .well anyway the leak is fixed 👍
@@lar4305 - It is for now at least. Here in the south-west the ground doesn't get frozen, so I imagine that we do not have to deal with the expansion/contraction issues that an area that actually has a "Winter" season has to suffer thru. I imagiine that could be why solder works fine here.
How much does this cost to fix?
The materials cost a little more than $200; but I also tipped my contractor friend Lee 2 or 3 hundred cash for his time and assistance.
Hey Lee do you want to come check out my leak? It’s exactly like the same
He might. Are you in Southern California? Let me know. If you are, I can try to put you in contact with him.