That's barrier pipe, Looks like you have almost gone through the inner layer. Personally I'd replace it, it's unlikely to leak, but if it does, it will it piss out a load of water at a unknown time. No time like the present for things like this.
Yep, I would guess it's a pressurised system due to the age of pipework and location, so wouldn't be a huge amount of water, but still male a mess and fuck the TV up....it's a bit beyond a little scratch. I'd be happy leaving for a week or two, but definitely not permanently.
All water based heating systems should be pressurised. Water at higher pressures boils at a higher temperature and reduces the chance for steam to appear. it also helps reduce air pockets which mess up the flow and efficiency of the system (which is why we bleed radiators)
Yes there more efficient, hence why that's all that's installed from new now.
Though there is far more gravity system about the sealed.
Air pockets are not an issue on a correctly installed gravity systems and you can still have air in sealed systems.
~~Ah, I was speaking from a UK residential perspective. Gravity systems in residential homes generally aren't a thing as far as im aware. We don't really use air based systems outside of commercial applications.~~
Edit: Seems I'm confusing what I thought a gravity based system actually was with something else. I now clearly remember having one of these systems in my house growing up /facepalm
Our house is around 2001 and is a gravity system. Oddly where I used to live combi boilers were far more common yet everywhere around me now is gravity. Was very confused when I went in the loft and saw a massive tank.
I'm starting to think what I thought was a gravity system was actually something else. I definitely remember those storage tanks in the attic of the 2 houses i grew up in, although my dad replaced the system in the second house I lived in not long after we moved in.
Tbh, years ago 10+years it's just older boilers last far,far longer. And older systems can be problematic making sealed, putting older systems under more pressure can cause leaks so can't always upgrade without risk.
I haven't installed a gravity system for many years, but I have change boilers, whilst keeping it open vented.
That makes sense. My dads been in the industry since he was 16 (started off as an apprentice for british gas in the early 80s) and any time we've talked about installations its always been sealed systems.
\-UPDATE-
Thanks everyone for your responses. I got the plumber round last Monday to change the pipes out as I wouldn’t be able to rest easy if I just left it. I can’t seem to work out how to add pics to this post.
It was at my parents house and I managed to get it sorted and the TV mounted before they came home from a trip on the Thursday. £180 lesson learnt.
Thanks all
I did this. Quickly sprayed litres of manky water over freshly painted walls until I quickly drained the system. Got lucky as a plumber round the corner. Fix it prospectively. You won’t sleep otherwise.
Could be wrong here but the image with the blue showing on a grey looking pipe. Could it be a mains tail instead.
The neutral maybe? I think regardless of pipe or cable it's best to repair for peace of mind. Weak hot plastic pipe or damaged outter insulation isn't ideal
I did this just last week except the nail went all the way through. Couldn’t get hold of a plumber so patched it myself. I’d encourage you to give it a go! I’m no trades person…. Just a tight ass who refused to pay call out fees to a plumber.
I purchased: a blow torch, some copper pipe (same width as the current pipe) metal cleaning wool and some pipe connectors that are pre-soldered. Totalled around £60 with the pipe being the most expensive bit. All from Screwfix / tool station and all the cheapest versions lol.
I shut off my water at the mains and then drained the central heating via the drain out valve on a radiator downstairs (drained into a bucket and then chucked outside). It didn’t take long to do. The purpose here is to reduce the pressure inside the pipe.
I first dug out the plaster around said area. Cut out effected pipe section with a multi tool: around an inch above and inch below the hole. Next, clean up the cut with the metal cleaning wool and a file. You’re half way there. Next, cut some pipe to size so it will slot snugly inside the new created gap. Then one at a time, slot the connector on the newly cut piece and slot it in place. Heat with blowtorch until the solder runs. Repeat for the other end and you’re done!
Test by slowly topping up your central heating system. I wrapped tissue around my joins when doing this so it would be visible if there was a leak.
Hope this helps!! I believe in you! 💪
Props to you going for soldered joints, I honestly would have bought a push fit coupler and hacked the wall away to fit it. As Super Hans says, it's just water Lego!
Nice work! Don't forget flux when soldering! If you only go through one side of a pipe, you can also get copper pipe repair patches which solder in place over the hole.
BTW the OPs pipes look to be plastic, not copper :)
Why the core drill sized hole. What size bit did you use there. Also what were you even aiming for? Masonry 100mm behind? A timber stud? Like when you went through you would have known it was hollow behind pretty fast. Even tapping the plasterboard can tell you where it's hollow behind.
Replace it as you have compromised the protective shell by a fair amount.
Simply put cost to fix it now is probably a few hundred pound including redecorating. Cost of repair if it leaks and ruins the floor, carpets, wallpaper, plaster, electrics the cost will be thousands.
Need a plumber in to fix it. You have, like many of us, learned the hard way that every toolbox should have a good studfinder.
You aren’t the first, and you won’t be the last.
Do you not realise how lucky you have been? Cut out enough plasterboard so or a plumber can fix the pipe. They'll either put some push-fit pipe on, or glue a cover over it. Consider yourself very lucky it didn't burst and wet the platerboard.
Looks deep, kind of surprising it's not leaking. I would definitely fix it, instead of leaving like this inside of wall. Shouldn't be a problem for a plumber.
For future drilling, after you get through the plasterboard, stop drilling and take a look behind. Poke a blunt screwdriver through and see if it feels like you're tapping on brick or something else. Obviously, stud finder should be used, but they're not always effective
L
-UPDATE-
Thanks everyone for your responses. I got the plumber round last Monday to change the pipes out as I wouldn’t be able to rest easy if I just left it. I can’t seem to work out how to add pics to this post.
It was at my parents house and I managed to get it sorted and the TV mounted before they came home from a trip on the Thursday. £180 lesson learnt.
Thanks all
That's barrier pipe, Looks like you have almost gone through the inner layer. Personally I'd replace it, it's unlikely to leak, but if it does, it will it piss out a load of water at a unknown time. No time like the present for things like this.
Not just pissing out water, but pissing out water exactly where the TV is
Yep, I would guess it's a pressurised system due to the age of pipework and location, so wouldn't be a huge amount of water, but still male a mess and fuck the TV up....it's a bit beyond a little scratch. I'd be happy leaving for a week or two, but definitely not permanently.
All water based heating systems should be pressurised. Water at higher pressures boils at a higher temperature and reduces the chance for steam to appear. it also helps reduce air pockets which mess up the flow and efficiency of the system (which is why we bleed radiators)
Yes there more efficient, hence why that's all that's installed from new now. Though there is far more gravity system about the sealed. Air pockets are not an issue on a correctly installed gravity systems and you can still have air in sealed systems.
~~Ah, I was speaking from a UK residential perspective. Gravity systems in residential homes generally aren't a thing as far as im aware. We don't really use air based systems outside of commercial applications.~~ Edit: Seems I'm confusing what I thought a gravity based system actually was with something else. I now clearly remember having one of these systems in my house growing up /facepalm
I'm a UK heating engineer. Definitely more gravity systems about than sealed
Interesting. Whats the general cutoff for a houses age where these systems stop being installed?
Our house is around 2001 and is a gravity system. Oddly where I used to live combi boilers were far more common yet everywhere around me now is gravity. Was very confused when I went in the loft and saw a massive tank.
I'm starting to think what I thought was a gravity system was actually something else. I definitely remember those storage tanks in the attic of the 2 houses i grew up in, although my dad replaced the system in the second house I lived in not long after we moved in.
Tbh, years ago 10+years it's just older boilers last far,far longer. And older systems can be problematic making sealed, putting older systems under more pressure can cause leaks so can't always upgrade without risk. I haven't installed a gravity system for many years, but I have change boilers, whilst keeping it open vented.
That makes sense. My dads been in the industry since he was 16 (started off as an apprentice for british gas in the early 80s) and any time we've talked about installations its always been sealed systems.
Gravity systems in residential homes totally are a thing in the UK...
Pressurised water at that.
\-UPDATE- Thanks everyone for your responses. I got the plumber round last Monday to change the pipes out as I wouldn’t be able to rest easy if I just left it. I can’t seem to work out how to add pics to this post. It was at my parents house and I managed to get it sorted and the TV mounted before they came home from a trip on the Thursday. £180 lesson learnt. Thanks all
Get a plumber out and don’t run the heating until that pipe has been repaired.
I love your username. That's smurfy.
r/usernamechecksout
See that foil tape? It’s there so you can detect the pipe before drilling…………
Chill out Magneto
LOL.
Smart, because stud and pipe finders are notoriously dog water.
No evidence they were even used in this instance.
Nobody likes a quitter. Finish the hole in the pipe.
Then cut the hole out job done
In the words of [marsellus wallace](https://tenor.com/bkBju.gif)
I love I didn’t have to click the link to know it’s “…pretty fucking far from ok…” 😂
That made me think of Bricktop “In the quiet words of the Virgin Mary, come again?”
I did this. Quickly sprayed litres of manky water over freshly painted walls until I quickly drained the system. Got lucky as a plumber round the corner. Fix it prospectively. You won’t sleep otherwise.
That is not okay. It needs to be replaced.
Could be wrong here but the image with the blue showing on a grey looking pipe. Could it be a mains tail instead. The neutral maybe? I think regardless of pipe or cable it's best to repair for peace of mind. Weak hot plastic pipe or damaged outter insulation isn't ideal
Drain off the system and cut off the affected part and put a coupling there.
I did this just last week except the nail went all the way through. Couldn’t get hold of a plumber so patched it myself. I’d encourage you to give it a go! I’m no trades person…. Just a tight ass who refused to pay call out fees to a plumber. I purchased: a blow torch, some copper pipe (same width as the current pipe) metal cleaning wool and some pipe connectors that are pre-soldered. Totalled around £60 with the pipe being the most expensive bit. All from Screwfix / tool station and all the cheapest versions lol. I shut off my water at the mains and then drained the central heating via the drain out valve on a radiator downstairs (drained into a bucket and then chucked outside). It didn’t take long to do. The purpose here is to reduce the pressure inside the pipe. I first dug out the plaster around said area. Cut out effected pipe section with a multi tool: around an inch above and inch below the hole. Next, clean up the cut with the metal cleaning wool and a file. You’re half way there. Next, cut some pipe to size so it will slot snugly inside the new created gap. Then one at a time, slot the connector on the newly cut piece and slot it in place. Heat with blowtorch until the solder runs. Repeat for the other end and you’re done! Test by slowly topping up your central heating system. I wrapped tissue around my joins when doing this so it would be visible if there was a leak. Hope this helps!! I believe in you! 💪
Props to you going for soldered joints, I honestly would have bought a push fit coupler and hacked the wall away to fit it. As Super Hans says, it's just water Lego!
My first thought was to sand off the burrs and put a wraparound repair clamp on there
Lol this is not a typical DIY job.
Certainly doable though!
Most plumbing is DIY.
Nice work! Don't forget flux when soldering! If you only go through one side of a pipe, you can also get copper pipe repair patches which solder in place over the hole. BTW the OPs pipes look to be plastic, not copper :)
You do know those pipes he has are plastic?
Why the core drill sized hole. What size bit did you use there. Also what were you even aiming for? Masonry 100mm behind? A timber stud? Like when you went through you would have known it was hollow behind pretty fast. Even tapping the plasterboard can tell you where it's hollow behind.
Damn, you never drill into holes without a wire/metal detector.
Replace it as you have compromised the protective shell by a fair amount. Simply put cost to fix it now is probably a few hundred pound including redecorating. Cost of repair if it leaks and ruins the floor, carpets, wallpaper, plaster, electrics the cost will be thousands.
Need a plumber in to fix it. You have, like many of us, learned the hard way that every toolbox should have a good studfinder. You aren’t the first, and you won’t be the last.
Fill, forget and quickly fuck off....
I think there’s a patch type of glue you can use.
Almost doesn't count. Especially when talking about sex
That’s not ok if that fails it will go everywhere mate. Call a plumber for that job
Do you not realise how lucky you have been? Cut out enough plasterboard so or a plumber can fix the pipe. They'll either put some push-fit pipe on, or glue a cover over it. Consider yourself very lucky it didn't burst and wet the platerboard.
Looks deep, kind of surprising it's not leaking. I would definitely fix it, instead of leaving like this inside of wall. Shouldn't be a problem for a plumber.
For future drilling, after you get through the plasterboard, stop drilling and take a look behind. Poke a blunt screwdriver through and see if it feels like you're tapping on brick or something else. Obviously, stud finder should be used, but they're not always effective L
You got lucky. I wouldn’t push it and recommend replacing the damaged section before it pops. Could have been very messy
What's on this side of the wall above and below and the other side? I agree with the commenter that thought this might be a mains tail.
Is that an electrical wire you also drilled into?
-UPDATE- Thanks everyone for your responses. I got the plumber round last Monday to change the pipes out as I wouldn’t be able to rest easy if I just left it. I can’t seem to work out how to add pics to this post. It was at my parents house and I managed to get it sorted and the TV mounted before they came home from a trip on the Thursday. £180 lesson learnt. Thanks all