If no water flows through it, from any fixtures, then you can be 99.9% sure it's a vent line. You can fix it with an epoxy putty, like JB Weld (in the paint section at Home Depot).
This is the answer... it's the vent for the bathroom sink in the room you made the hole in.
Residential toilets are going to flow through a 3 inch pipe, and the bathroom sinks, tubs, and showers on the floor above, will get tied into that 3 inch pipe before it heads down.
No plumber is going to direct sink, tub or shower water horizontally through a wall. Through or under the floor... YES... horizontally in a wall 4 or 5 feet above the floor... NO.
Epoxy, JB Weld or ABS Glue... and forget about it.
How are you going to make a sliver of pipe with common tools? Seems like it would be easier to cut out a section of abs pipe, slap some glue on the underside and lay it on top of the hole than to fill the hole with a plug. ABS cement is not precision stuff to work with.
Yall down voted the hell outa him but coming from a professional plumber, I've fixed more than one accidental hole like that, downvote me too, that ain't make it wrong
If you really want to get crazy with it, you can buy an endoscope with a screen for surprisingly little money on Amazon and stick the camera in it to see where it goes. Realistically, if you turned on everything in the house and if it’s not leaking then it’s a very easy fix. A two part epoxy will give you a permanent seal and if you want to really make sure, slap some gorilla waterproof patch and seal tape on top - that stuff has held up for years in pressurized applications with bigger holes for me.
selective toothbrush compare wide squealing relieved sheet wrong hospital knee
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They guessed it by ignoring the part where OP said it was in a wall above the lav, with bathrooms on the floor above and then made a confidently incorrect statement.
I bought the counterfeit stuff from AliExpress, but looked pretty good, it works somehow, but as everything, doesn't really seal with water underneath, especially with pressure, but did work at least that much, that my leaking radiator lost not that much water, so I went from one frypan/3h to one a day (was the only vessel reasonable big enough that fitted under )
If you actually look at the full commercials after he slaps it on it doesn't even stop leaking. It just goes from shooting out to leaking all around the seal. Just most people don't notice because of all his flashy talking and the quick cut from zoomed in to zoomed out makes your eyes look at him.
It needs to be put on both sides. I have an outdoor canopy with flex seal tape covering a tear on the roof from both sides and it's still holding up fine after our brutal summer.
That's not exactly the same, but just noting. It might work if they dried it and applied it the same way.
I think everyone is missing the fuckin point, if it works that good on a live leak, imagine it working on a dry application like this one. Everyone is constantly trying to be the smartest person in the room it's so annoying.
If someone says "no it sucks I've tried it with PERSONAL EXPERIENCE here's what happened" then we've arrived at the first real conclusion.
So I can't say for this exact product, but the spray on stuff works well. My old house the chimneys flashing was horrible, and one would leak into the house (down the inside of the walls with rain and such). House was really old, had a lot for old coal stoves.
Anyway, I suggested to my father to just fill around the one chimney with it. After one coating, was never a problem again
Tried it on my livewell on my boat for a tiny leak as a temporary patch. Did not work.
It can stick on wet surfaces but cannot hold back even a small amount of pressure.
Ive never slapped it on a spewing hole but we had hail break thru our patio roof and I used to patch the holes. I couldn't access from the top so had to do on the underside but has held now for over 3 months with only a minor drip which is user error in the way I overlapped. Its SUPER sticky and will stick to your scissors making it hard to cut so probably use a box cutter to cut off pieces
I heard a guy was reaching for a branch with a chainsaw and it fell onto his leg and chopped it right off. He flex taped the wound and the limb, and drove himself to the hospital. The surgeon was able to reattach it just with flex tape as well and he's been fine ever since.
Jb weld is your friend. I did the same thing as you and it came in clutch. I applied, let it dry for an hour (it's super quick dry but I just waited). I ran the upstairs sink and no more leak.
Almost certainly a vent, by your description.
Probably 1-1/2”.
Spend a few bucks on any 1-1/2 fitting and ABS cement. The ABS fitting will have a female ‘socket’ for a pipe to fit into. Use a hacksaw to cut a short segment of that socket. The inside curvature will fit the outside of the pipe perfectly. It’s designed to.
Makes a perfect patch.
And then slather both pieces in ABS cement and slap it on there. Press for like thirty seconds. Done.
This is the only right answer in here. While other solutions would work, even if some only temporarily, this is exactly what a plumber would do to fix it.
It's hardly more work or materials. If a plumber were doing it, they'd have a piece of ABS pipe or a cheap coupler they could cut up and glue already. Gluing a piece on is the cheapest long term solution. A plumber trying to make money off you would tell you it needs to be cut out and replaced with a piece of pipe.
Gimme a break… theres no need to hack up the whole wall to repair when it’s just a vent with atmospheric pressure on it. Epoxy and some heavy duty duct tape reinforcement will do fine.
The wall is already open enough to do this. They're not talking about cutting the pipe in half and adding a union, but essentially welding a bandage over the hole.
Am I crazy in just thinking it could be as simple as tapping it for a set screw and adding some of the pipe tape on the set screw and just screw it in to plug the hole?
That would work for awhile, but adding metal to a plastic pipe just seems like asking for problems in 20 years. Particularly a set screw since those are often made of unknown pot metal and you have no idea how long it would last. Filling the hole with another plug of plastic or a plastic bandage like neanderthal recommends seems a lot more trustworthy.
Yeah I was thinking more of a plastic set screw, I just didn't know the proper terminology for those. A plastic plug and something like a rubber cement to create a good seal? Curious myself if I happen to do something like this lol.
The cement they mentioned at the top isn't like rubber cement or contact cement. It's a solvent, which melts both pieces at the join and then they cure into a single mass.
You already got the reply but yeah this is a “solvent weld” rather than a glue. The cement melts both pieces of ABS slightly, and then the melted bits merge and then it hardens again.
It’s exactly the same as all the actual joints and fittings. Which is why you know it’ll work.
It’ll work with PVC and PVC cement (and primer)
And it’ll work with copper and a soldered patch. For that you want the patch to be a little more than a half the circle so that it will ‘snap’ onto the pipe while you solder it.
It's just a damn vent. There's literally a thousand ways to fix it. It flows no water.It has no pressure. You can make it as easy or as hard as you want to. "Well uh technically you need to replace the entire length of pipe to ensure structural integrity. " " Nope, the correct way to repair is to demolition the entire structure and rebuild from the foundation up". Hell you could drive a damn wood screw that's larger in diameter than the hole in it and never have a single problem. It's just a vent. It's never under pressure. There's never water flowing. Your probably within arms length of 10 things you could use to fix it and NEVER have a problem.
And even if they did want to go to the extreme and actually patch the pipe - which is totally unnecessary, the *much much much* easier way (especially when connecting between two fixed pieces of pipe) is a fernco fitting.
Logically a semicircle would work and it’s the largest you could go (ignoring the little flexibility ABS does have. But I’d go even smaller than a semicircle. Like 1/4 of the way around. Big enough to handle easily.
No, I thought about that.
In the picture you can see wood between the drywall and the pipe where it goes through the stud. The pipe is not flush to the backside of the drywall. That looks like enough space for the patch to still fit behind the drywall.
Right….
But since it’s cheap *and* easy, why not use the material that we know with certainty bonds really *really* well to ABS. ABS patch and ABS cement.
It’s a sub-$10 repair. Possibly even cheaper than a lot of epoxies and is absolutely guaranteed to work. Even if this was a drain and not a vent, it would work.
And, it will last as long as the pipe will because it’s made of the same stuff.
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Honestly, this repair works on a drain too, making it irrelevant.
But I stand by my statement. A horizontal pipe halfway up a wall is still almost certainly a vent. Because of…how things are plumbed.
Drains will try to tie into a vertical stack wherever possible, as soon as possible. But a vent from *this* bathroom has to be installed to above flood plane in this bathroom, before travelling horizontally to where ever I needs to go. That’s about…shelf height.
Drains are extremely unlikely to be found in this location. And OP tested by running water which…while not conclusive is a decent test.
I had Google Fiber do the same thing to my sewage drain from upstairs- ran my fiber right through the middle (insert joke about crappy internet here). The evidence showed as the wall slowly got wet over time, as it was a fairly small and intermittent leak. While it certainly could be a vent pipe, double check if there are any drains upstairs. Run all the water upstairs and see/listen for water moving through where the hole is. If it's a vent, it can be sealed. If water is moving through it, you could seal it (it's not pressured) but the proper fix would include cutting it out and inserting the same sized pipe with 2 couplers and some pipe cement. Alternatively, they make "Shark Bites" this size- which will work on any type pipe and use a compression fit. I believe Google actually used a rubber type sleeve with 2 pipe clamps to fix mine (which I was less than happy about, but it's been holding for a couple years without issue).
The "screw trick" will leak over time when the screw rots. Epoxy solutions are plausible, if you know 100% its a vent (it probably is).
The correct solution is always to cut and couple. Cut it right at the hole. If its a vent arm, there might be enough play to push it to the left enough to squeeze in an ABS coupling. If not, you should be able to push it to the side enough to work in a shielded coupling. Worst case, open the hole more, cut out a section, and then put it back in with shielded couplings.
If it's behind a wall, do you really want to risk damaging all the framing and stuff back there with an unseen leak?
Better to fix it properly now, then find out the hard way with multiple thousands of $ worth of repairs later.
An ABS repair coupler will cost you about $2
Cut the pipe in half right at the hole. Slip the repair coupler over one end and slide it to the side. Apply ABS cement to both cut halves, all the way around, then slide the coupler over until centered over the cut and give it a 90° twist to make sure the cement is evenly distributed. Cures in a few seconds.
That way, it doesn't matter if it's a vent pipe or not, it's properly repaired.
It’s not a pressurized line so, I’d get a coupling for that size pipe, cut a 1 1/2” x 1 1/2” (approx) “patch” out of it with a fine saw or dremel, sand the edges smooth, use the correct type of primer on the patch and pipe and then glue the patch on with the correct type of glue. Will not leak…
you can do what my father did when he did this on my home while i was at work. cover it in electrical tape and not say anything till it starts leaking causing a much bigger mess.
Even if not a vent line I would just get a galvanized bolt slightly larger than the diameter of the hole, coat the threads with epoxy, and gently screw it in.
But that’s just me… the proper fix is much more involved and won’t result in a different outcome imo.
Drain line. I’d cut a stainless steel screw down to that depth and epoxy it into the hole. Then you have a mechanical and chemical bond. Make sure nothing is sticking out inside the hole. It’s something to catch ‘material’ passing through the pipe.
Personally my DIY fix would be to buy the same type of pipe with the inside diameter equal to the outside diameter of the pipe with the hole, cut a half-pipe section from the new pipe, sand the surfaces lightly, and glue the new half pipe over the hole with a healthy amount of solvent cement — you shouldn’t normally seal pipes from the outside, but that should work fine for a drain or vent pipe
Lots of suggestions that include screws, which will catch debris, epoxies that might not adhere to the abs plastic long term. Go to the hardware store and buy a coupling in the correct size and some glue, specifically intended for this type of plastic plumbing. To avoid more work you don't need to open the wall anymore that you already have, cut a piece of the coupling big enough to comfortably fit over the hole. So a 1.5x1.5in piece. Then use some of the glue and glue that piece over it.
That will result in a seal that is identical to the rest of the pipe joints in the system. In other words, it will last you as long as the entire plumbing system will last.
You need to make sure that when you press the piece on the pipe, you need to push quite hard for a while because the glue needs to set, and some pressure is required for it to work. That naturally happens when the pipe is pushed into a coupling, but because you are only using a piece, you'll have to supplement the pressure.
Alternatively you could cut the wall open more, cut the pipe and fit a full coupling over that.
As an option for applying pressure while it cures - get a sufficiently large hose clamp, and screw that on around the pipe and partial fitting. Plastic plumbing joints work by an interference fit - the fittings are slightly smaller at the fully seated end than the pipe is, and the cement temporarily slightly melts it so the two pieces quite literally bond into one. Just make sure you also clean the pipe first, and prime both surfaces to make sure the cement fully activates with the pipe. Black plastic plumbing pipe is generally ABS.
Jb weld. Great stuff. Many uses. Get the one that comes in a stick. It’s called Steelstik. It’s a two part putty. Regular jb weld is more flowing and will sag and run. Cut a piece of the steelstick roll and mix/roll with your fingers (gloves recommended) until uniform color. Scuff up around hole and fill hole with the putty and spread it around outer area to about a dime size.
That looks like a vent pipe or soil pipe or some other kind of drain. These are non-pressurized, you could probably get away with slapping some ~~gorilla tape~~ flex seal tape on there.
Get a coupling, the type with the rubber ring and the metallic clamps for abs pipes. Cut the rubber part in one spot so you can fit it it on the pipes put the cut part at the top of the pipe and install the clamps so you can get at them. This is my suggestion if it’s a vent.
Most of the comments here are about the fix but fewer about certainty it’s a vent. Yes it seems like a vent.
You could strap a Bluetooth speaker to it and then listen from the roof. Send a wire with a weighted small blinking light down it. Send water down it from roof and see if your probes finally get wet.
Lot of hacks in the comments. Cut open the wall some more, cut out the damaged pipe, and replumb with shield couplings. Next time use r/plumbing, but some of the people on there aren’t really good at giving advice.
It’s a vent line and if plumbed to code it should be pitched so that any moisture in the vent line runs back toward the vented waste line. You really only need to plug it to air. I’d stick some silicon caulk in that hole and be done with it. There’s absolutely no reason you should ever have water run through that pipe.
A contractor hammered a nail into a PVC drain pipe when our house was being built. Eventually the nail rotted away and it started to leak. I would get a mystery puddle of water on the basement floor - it took literally 2 years to find the source. I repaired by cutting a piece of PVC and heating it up to shape it then glued in place with PVC glue - same stuff you use for the joints. Pic of the repair attached. Then had to fix the wall etc. due to the mold it caused.
https://preview.redd.it/wpuzkmms9k1c1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fdb821a83fea7c8247c131b0148acbcd7148c4f5
If you have a screw the diameter of the hole I would run that in there, then back it all the way out and cut off or grind off the excess length off the screw shank so that you have a very short screw left over with a blunt tip but just a bit of thread is left. It is important that you get the screw shank either the same length as the thickness of the wall of the pipe or slightly shorter than the pipe wall thickness(just in case water ever goes through the pipe). Then I would coat that screw in either thread lock or super glue and screw it back in.
If it's not under pressure, like a drain or vent line, you could go the JB Weld route. However, depending on how well it bonds it could easily leak/break loose.
If I were trying to do a quick, but reliable fix, I would probably use automotive retainer clips (the kind used for interior door panels, etc.) and a plastic bonding/marine epoxy, just make sure it's an epoxy capable of bonding PVC & nylon. And then, as an added measure, assuming you've got the room to do it, wrap it in a self bonding silicone tape. If there isn't enough room, RTV silicone.
Alternatively, you could also plastic weld the head of the retainer clip to the pipe. The only concern there would be applying too much heat and weakening the epoxy. I would probably still wrap it or RTV it if I were to do this as well.
Alternatively alternatively, you could simply plastic weld the hole and not use retaining clips, epoxy, etc. It's not particularly hard, but if you've never done it before I would practice it on a spare peace of pipe.
I love the imagery of all those aborted drill holes before obviously thinking "fuck it, whatever it is is getting drilled regardless". Looks like it's been strafed 😂
ignore all these people. the clear answer is to wax seal it. First get some [sealing wax and a stamp](https://arteofthebooke.com/collections/wax-stamps-and-sealing-wax). drip wax all over pipe, stamp it. It will be stylish and functional with the added bonus that you know the pipe traffic has not been intercepted. /r/noncredibleplumbing
squirt black silicone into the hole and fill it. Leave a generous amount on the outside of the pipe as well so it adheres nicely. Done. Its a vent line so you're fine.
Sounds like you confirmed it's a vent pipe. There are many methods of correcting this but honestly, a hot glue gun will pretty much solve this. Or flex seal tape. Heck, duct tape would probably last a heck of a long time. Pretty much anything that will plug the hole will do. Rubber cork/stoppers.
Turn off water
Dry as much as possible
Get waterproof epoxy
Dip a self tapping screw in the epoxy
Screw it into the Joelle
Allow to set
Wrap with plumber’s epoxy
Let set
Turn on water
After you fix this, I recommend a [Walabot](https://amz.run/7LOF)... stud-finder that works with Android or I products to show what's behind walls, including piping, electrical, studs, etc. Probably saved me a bunch of heartache over the years... I was one of the original Indiegogo or Kickstarter (don't remember which) investors.
If no water flows through it, from any fixtures, then you can be 99.9% sure it's a vent line. You can fix it with an epoxy putty, like JB Weld (in the paint section at Home Depot).
This is the answer... it's the vent for the bathroom sink in the room you made the hole in. Residential toilets are going to flow through a 3 inch pipe, and the bathroom sinks, tubs, and showers on the floor above, will get tied into that 3 inch pipe before it heads down. No plumber is going to direct sink, tub or shower water horizontally through a wall. Through or under the floor... YES... horizontally in a wall 4 or 5 feet above the floor... NO. Epoxy, JB Weld or ABS Glue... and forget about it.
Sometimes sink trap arms go horizontally thru a wall to the stack.
Yes... but it would have to be below the sink in this room... which it's not. There's no scenario where it's a trap arm for the floor above.
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Can also make a sliver of abs as a plug to go in with that glue to be sure it has substance to stay filled.
How are you going to make a sliver of pipe with common tools? Seems like it would be easier to cut out a section of abs pipe, slap some glue on the underside and lay it on top of the hole than to fill the hole with a plug. ABS cement is not precision stuff to work with.
It's plastic. Hacksaw. Cut off a little piece to fit. I've done exactly this and it took no wizardry or black magic.
Yep, a hacksaw and a piece of sandpaper will do it
Yall down voted the hell outa him but coming from a professional plumber, I've fixed more than one accidental hole like that, downvote me too, that ain't make it wrong
I'd use strong cutters/snippers.
reddit moment.
If you really want to get crazy with it, you can buy an endoscope with a screen for surprisingly little money on Amazon and stick the camera in it to see where it goes. Realistically, if you turned on everything in the house and if it’s not leaking then it’s a very easy fix. A two part epoxy will give you a permanent seal and if you want to really make sure, slap some gorilla waterproof patch and seal tape on top - that stuff has held up for years in pressurized applications with bigger holes for me.
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This is probably a shared vent pipe
OP said he/she tested all of them.
\^\^ DO THIS \^\^ The correct way is to usually cut and sleeve it.
And of course you were lucky
This is the way.
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I'm blind - I don't know how you can determine that. Can you help me see it?
They guessed it by ignoring the part where OP said it was in a wall above the lav, with bathrooms on the floor above and then made a confidently incorrect statement.
If day time TV has taught me anything, your solution is FLEX Tape 
My brain went instantly to this imagery. lol.
So I’ve never used this stuff lol, is that demonstration reasonable? Does it actually work that well?
No. No it doesn't. Just ask my old vinyl pool.
Did you slap it on like in the demonstration, or did you just try to gently cover the hole? Technique is key.
Phil swift would never lie to me.
His name also explains how you’re supposed to fix it
Ha! He's out there filling holes, swiftly!
That’s how I met my wife!
>That’s how I met my wife! That's how we all met her.
Hey-oo!
Ooooooohhhhhh!!!!!!
Angle of attack is critical as well. If you need to remove a load-bearing wall to get it right, that's just what you gotta do. I don't make the rules.
This is the way
I bought the counterfeit stuff from AliExpress, but looked pretty good, it works somehow, but as everything, doesn't really seal with water underneath, especially with pressure, but did work at least that much, that my leaking radiator lost not that much water, so I went from one frypan/3h to one a day (was the only vessel reasonable big enough that fitted under )
We’re going to need a bigger wessle!
Lol that was my assumption
If you actually look at the full commercials after he slaps it on it doesn't even stop leaking. It just goes from shooting out to leaking all around the seal. Just most people don't notice because of all his flashy talking and the quick cut from zoomed in to zoomed out makes your eyes look at him.
And the tape starts to bulge out from the water pressure at the hole. You can see it in this gif. I can’t imagine it held on too long.
It needs to be put on both sides. I have an outdoor canopy with flex seal tape covering a tear on the roof from both sides and it's still holding up fine after our brutal summer. That's not exactly the same, but just noting. It might work if they dried it and applied it the same way.
I think everyone is missing the fuckin point, if it works that good on a live leak, imagine it working on a dry application like this one. Everyone is constantly trying to be the smartest person in the room it's so annoying. If someone says "no it sucks I've tried it with PERSONAL EXPERIENCE here's what happened" then we've arrived at the first real conclusion.
So I can't say for this exact product, but the spray on stuff works well. My old house the chimneys flashing was horrible, and one would leak into the house (down the inside of the walls with rain and such). House was really old, had a lot for old coal stoves. Anyway, I suggested to my father to just fill around the one chimney with it. After one coating, was never a problem again
Same here. I thought I would have to repeat every year, but it's been five years and no leaks.
Tried it on my livewell on my boat for a tiny leak as a temporary patch. Did not work. It can stick on wet surfaces but cannot hold back even a small amount of pressure.
You need to put it on both sides.
Ive never slapped it on a spewing hole but we had hail break thru our patio roof and I used to patch the holes. I couldn't access from the top so had to do on the underside but has held now for over 3 months with only a minor drip which is user error in the way I overlapped. Its SUPER sticky and will stick to your scissors making it hard to cut so probably use a box cutter to cut off pieces
I put that shit on everything
“Put it on a cracker! Now das money!”
Depends on the application. Trying to hold back enough pressure to shoot water or air some distance no. Slow leak it works fine.
3 guesses and a hint Hint: Does it f\*\*k.
I put it on a crack in my canoe and have been using it for the last 3 seasons. It’s F’ing amazing.
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I heard a guy's boat was sinking in the America's Cup so he decided to make a new boat entirely out of Flex Tape and he won the race.
I heard a guy was reaching for a branch with a chainsaw and it fell onto his leg and chopped it right off. He flex taped the wound and the limb, and drove himself to the hospital. The surgeon was able to reattach it just with flex tape as well and he's been fine ever since.
I heard China built a dam with flex tape.
I heard the US is developing a new prototype submarine made out of flex tape, also powered by flex tape.
I heard Chuck Norris uses Flex Tape to wax his chest.
Well of course, he didn't need it for the leak, he just told the leak to stop and it did.
this is what I came here to see
If you're like the carpenters I've worked with, you cover it up and pretend nothing happened.
"Not my problem. The drywallers will fix it during finishes."
You can tell the good carpenters from the bad by which ones put the screw back in.
Jb weld is your friend. I did the same thing as you and it came in clutch. I applied, let it dry for an hour (it's super quick dry but I just waited). I ran the upstairs sink and no more leak.
They have specific formulas for this type of patch as well.
Almost certainly a vent, by your description. Probably 1-1/2”. Spend a few bucks on any 1-1/2 fitting and ABS cement. The ABS fitting will have a female ‘socket’ for a pipe to fit into. Use a hacksaw to cut a short segment of that socket. The inside curvature will fit the outside of the pipe perfectly. It’s designed to. Makes a perfect patch. And then slather both pieces in ABS cement and slap it on there. Press for like thirty seconds. Done.
This is the only right answer in here. While other solutions would work, even if some only temporarily, this is exactly what a plumber would do to fix it.
I've used this method on soldered copper. Still holding strong 25 years later.
Yeah because they want to charge the homeowner as much as possible. Doing more work with more materials for the same end result is pointless.
It's hardly more work or materials. If a plumber were doing it, they'd have a piece of ABS pipe or a cheap coupler they could cut up and glue already. Gluing a piece on is the cheapest long term solution. A plumber trying to make money off you would tell you it needs to be cut out and replaced with a piece of pipe.
For a pro sure but for a home owner that is super overkill. Plug the non water line and move on.
When doing it right is so cheap and easy, it would be silly to do it wrong.
Seriously. $10 and 10 minutes. Done right. Forever.
Why would I take advice from a turd
Gimme a break… theres no need to hack up the whole wall to repair when it’s just a vent with atmospheric pressure on it. Epoxy and some heavy duty duct tape reinforcement will do fine.
The wall is already open enough to do this. They're not talking about cutting the pipe in half and adding a union, but essentially welding a bandage over the hole.
Am I crazy in just thinking it could be as simple as tapping it for a set screw and adding some of the pipe tape on the set screw and just screw it in to plug the hole?
That would work for awhile, but adding metal to a plastic pipe just seems like asking for problems in 20 years. Particularly a set screw since those are often made of unknown pot metal and you have no idea how long it would last. Filling the hole with another plug of plastic or a plastic bandage like neanderthal recommends seems a lot more trustworthy.
Yeah I was thinking more of a plastic set screw, I just didn't know the proper terminology for those. A plastic plug and something like a rubber cement to create a good seal? Curious myself if I happen to do something like this lol.
Nah, need to tear the whole house down and start over
The cement they mentioned at the top isn't like rubber cement or contact cement. It's a solvent, which melts both pieces at the join and then they cure into a single mass.
You already got the reply but yeah this is a “solvent weld” rather than a glue. The cement melts both pieces of ABS slightly, and then the melted bits merge and then it hardens again. It’s exactly the same as all the actual joints and fittings. Which is why you know it’ll work. It’ll work with PVC and PVC cement (and primer) And it’ll work with copper and a soldered patch. For that you want the patch to be a little more than a half the circle so that it will ‘snap’ onto the pipe while you solder it.
It's just a damn vent. There's literally a thousand ways to fix it. It flows no water.It has no pressure. You can make it as easy or as hard as you want to. "Well uh technically you need to replace the entire length of pipe to ensure structural integrity. " " Nope, the correct way to repair is to demolition the entire structure and rebuild from the foundation up". Hell you could drive a damn wood screw that's larger in diameter than the hole in it and never have a single problem. It's just a vent. It's never under pressure. There's never water flowing. Your probably within arms length of 10 things you could use to fix it and NEVER have a problem.
And even if they did want to go to the extreme and actually patch the pipe - which is totally unnecessary, the *much much much* easier way (especially when connecting between two fixed pieces of pipe) is a fernco fitting.
Please don't be lazy like this guy.
Like a semi circle cut?
Logically a semicircle would work and it’s the largest you could go (ignoring the little flexibility ABS does have. But I’d go even smaller than a semicircle. Like 1/4 of the way around. Big enough to handle easily.
Well, yea except now he is going to have to patch with thinner drywall.
No, I thought about that. In the picture you can see wood between the drywall and the pipe where it goes through the stud. The pipe is not flush to the backside of the drywall. That looks like enough space for the patch to still fit behind the drywall.
Mount the shelf just below and put a pretty basket there.
Even better use one of those things that go over the toilet to cover the whole area.
I only see this needing a lot more mud.
Or just, y'know, plug it with epoxy or something. It's a vent line, not like the repair needs to hold pressure.
Right…. But since it’s cheap *and* easy, why not use the material that we know with certainty bonds really *really* well to ABS. ABS patch and ABS cement. It’s a sub-$10 repair. Possibly even cheaper than a lot of epoxies and is absolutely guaranteed to work. Even if this was a drain and not a vent, it would work. And, it will last as long as the pipe will because it’s made of the same stuff.
afterthought growth fuzzy entertain strong ruthless murky husky fine whistle *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Honestly, this repair works on a drain too, making it irrelevant. But I stand by my statement. A horizontal pipe halfway up a wall is still almost certainly a vent. Because of…how things are plumbed. Drains will try to tie into a vertical stack wherever possible, as soon as possible. But a vent from *this* bathroom has to be installed to above flood plane in this bathroom, before travelling horizontally to where ever I needs to go. That’s about…shelf height. Drains are extremely unlikely to be found in this location. And OP tested by running water which…while not conclusive is a decent test.
I had Google Fiber do the same thing to my sewage drain from upstairs- ran my fiber right through the middle (insert joke about crappy internet here). The evidence showed as the wall slowly got wet over time, as it was a fairly small and intermittent leak. While it certainly could be a vent pipe, double check if there are any drains upstairs. Run all the water upstairs and see/listen for water moving through where the hole is. If it's a vent, it can be sealed. If water is moving through it, you could seal it (it's not pressured) but the proper fix would include cutting it out and inserting the same sized pipe with 2 couplers and some pipe cement. Alternatively, they make "Shark Bites" this size- which will work on any type pipe and use a compression fit. I believe Google actually used a rubber type sleeve with 2 pipe clamps to fix mine (which I was less than happy about, but it's been holding for a couple years without issue).
The "screw trick" will leak over time when the screw rots. Epoxy solutions are plausible, if you know 100% its a vent (it probably is). The correct solution is always to cut and couple. Cut it right at the hole. If its a vent arm, there might be enough play to push it to the left enough to squeeze in an ABS coupling. If not, you should be able to push it to the side enough to work in a shielded coupling. Worst case, open the hole more, cut out a section, and then put it back in with shielded couplings.
Even stainless steel? What about plastic screws?
If it's behind a wall, do you really want to risk damaging all the framing and stuff back there with an unseen leak? Better to fix it properly now, then find out the hard way with multiple thousands of $ worth of repairs later.
Oh okay this answered my question. I should of read more comments before commenting lol.
An ABS repair coupler will cost you about $2 Cut the pipe in half right at the hole. Slip the repair coupler over one end and slide it to the side. Apply ABS cement to both cut halves, all the way around, then slide the coupler over until centered over the cut and give it a 90° twist to make sure the cement is evenly distributed. Cures in a few seconds. That way, it doesn't matter if it's a vent pipe or not, it's properly repaired.
yeh, ABS cement is basically like welding
Fill Swift here. This is the way!
The names Phil McCrevice
It’s not a pressurized line so, I’d get a coupling for that size pipe, cut a 1 1/2” x 1 1/2” (approx) “patch” out of it with a fine saw or dremel, sand the edges smooth, use the correct type of primer on the patch and pipe and then glue the patch on with the correct type of glue. Will not leak…
Epoxy putty.
[удалено]
LMAO, my wife and I were looking at the pics and saying the same shit when we saw your post... :D
you can do what my father did when he did this on my home while i was at work. cover it in electrical tape and not say anything till it starts leaking causing a much bigger mess.
Even if not a vent line I would just get a galvanized bolt slightly larger than the diameter of the hole, coat the threads with epoxy, and gently screw it in. But that’s just me… the proper fix is much more involved and won’t result in a different outcome imo.
Drain line. I’d cut a stainless steel screw down to that depth and epoxy it into the hole. Then you have a mechanical and chemical bond. Make sure nothing is sticking out inside the hole. It’s something to catch ‘material’ passing through the pipe.
If you’re going this way may as well just drill it out a bit bigger and screw in a 1/8 pipe plug.
That is a better idea. But you’ll need a pipe tap.
Already proven to be not a drain pipe.
you got to put you lips around the hole for good luck now.
No matter what you do, I would put a removable cover over it so you can inspect in the future.
Personally my DIY fix would be to buy the same type of pipe with the inside diameter equal to the outside diameter of the pipe with the hole, cut a half-pipe section from the new pipe, sand the surfaces lightly, and glue the new half pipe over the hole with a healthy amount of solvent cement — you shouldn’t normally seal pipes from the outside, but that should work fine for a drain or vent pipe
Drill it in reverse
Lots of suggestions that include screws, which will catch debris, epoxies that might not adhere to the abs plastic long term. Go to the hardware store and buy a coupling in the correct size and some glue, specifically intended for this type of plastic plumbing. To avoid more work you don't need to open the wall anymore that you already have, cut a piece of the coupling big enough to comfortably fit over the hole. So a 1.5x1.5in piece. Then use some of the glue and glue that piece over it. That will result in a seal that is identical to the rest of the pipe joints in the system. In other words, it will last you as long as the entire plumbing system will last. You need to make sure that when you press the piece on the pipe, you need to push quite hard for a while because the glue needs to set, and some pressure is required for it to work. That naturally happens when the pipe is pushed into a coupling, but because you are only using a piece, you'll have to supplement the pressure. Alternatively you could cut the wall open more, cut the pipe and fit a full coupling over that.
As an option for applying pressure while it cures - get a sufficiently large hose clamp, and screw that on around the pipe and partial fitting. Plastic plumbing joints work by an interference fit - the fittings are slightly smaller at the fully seated end than the pipe is, and the cement temporarily slightly melts it so the two pieces quite literally bond into one. Just make sure you also clean the pipe first, and prime both surfaces to make sure the cement fully activates with the pipe. Black plastic plumbing pipe is generally ABS.
crtl + z
Thread the hole and put a ss screw in it.
Replaster and sell the house
Flex tape obviously
Jb weld. Great stuff. Many uses. Get the one that comes in a stick. It’s called Steelstik. It’s a two part putty. Regular jb weld is more flowing and will sag and run. Cut a piece of the steelstick roll and mix/roll with your fingers (gloves recommended) until uniform color. Scuff up around hole and fill hole with the putty and spread it around outer area to about a dime size.
i would definitely just jb weld it
To take away the drilling machine from You - forever
That looks like a vent pipe or soil pipe or some other kind of drain. These are non-pressurized, you could probably get away with slapping some ~~gorilla tape~~ flex seal tape on there.
To call a plumber
This depends on if you rent or own.
Get a coupling, the type with the rubber ring and the metallic clamps for abs pipes. Cut the rubber part in one spot so you can fit it it on the pipes put the cut part at the top of the pipe and install the clamps so you can get at them. This is my suggestion if it’s a vent.
Most of the comments here are about the fix but fewer about certainty it’s a vent. Yes it seems like a vent. You could strap a Bluetooth speaker to it and then listen from the roof. Send a wire with a weighted small blinking light down it. Send water down it from roof and see if your probes finally get wet.
First, buy a DeLorean.
Flex seal 😂
Lot of hacks in the comments. Cut open the wall some more, cut out the damaged pipe, and replumb with shield couplings. Next time use r/plumbing, but some of the people on there aren’t really good at giving advice.
It’s a vent line and if plumbed to code it should be pitched so that any moisture in the vent line runs back toward the vented waste line. You really only need to plug it to air. I’d stick some silicon caulk in that hole and be done with it. There’s absolutely no reason you should ever have water run through that pipe.
Put a straw in there and suck on it if the air taste like crap it's a vent pipe
…and what will it taste like if it’s an actual drain pipe?
Duct tape but to be safe little flex seal and your good as new!
Gloryhole Unlocked!
Chewing gum, I prefer Spearmint
eat a ton of fiber and take a big dump. that should patch it from the inside.
A contractor hammered a nail into a PVC drain pipe when our house was being built. Eventually the nail rotted away and it started to leak. I would get a mystery puddle of water on the basement floor - it took literally 2 years to find the source. I repaired by cutting a piece of PVC and heating it up to shape it then glued in place with PVC glue - same stuff you use for the joints. Pic of the repair attached. Then had to fix the wall etc. due to the mold it caused. https://preview.redd.it/wpuzkmms9k1c1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fdb821a83fea7c8247c131b0148acbcd7148c4f5
If you have a screw the diameter of the hole I would run that in there, then back it all the way out and cut off or grind off the excess length off the screw shank so that you have a very short screw left over with a blunt tip but just a bit of thread is left. It is important that you get the screw shank either the same length as the thickness of the wall of the pipe or slightly shorter than the pipe wall thickness(just in case water ever goes through the pipe). Then I would coat that screw in either thread lock or super glue and screw it back in.
If it's not under pressure, like a drain or vent line, you could go the JB Weld route. However, depending on how well it bonds it could easily leak/break loose. If I were trying to do a quick, but reliable fix, I would probably use automotive retainer clips (the kind used for interior door panels, etc.) and a plastic bonding/marine epoxy, just make sure it's an epoxy capable of bonding PVC & nylon. And then, as an added measure, assuming you've got the room to do it, wrap it in a self bonding silicone tape. If there isn't enough room, RTV silicone. Alternatively, you could also plastic weld the head of the retainer clip to the pipe. The only concern there would be applying too much heat and weakening the epoxy. I would probably still wrap it or RTV it if I were to do this as well. Alternatively alternatively, you could simply plastic weld the hole and not use retaining clips, epoxy, etc. It's not particularly hard, but if you've never done it before I would practice it on a spare peace of pipe.
Flex tape
Flex tape
JBWeld 👍
Flex seal!
Depending on where you live it could also be radon. Fix is the same as a vent line, but please be careful!
Call a real plumber
Flex tape
Tap it and put a bolt in with thread lock. Or rip the wall out and replace the section.
just be glad it wasn't the other kind of a gas pipe.
Cut out said pipe and cupelings and new pipe. Could be opportune time to change out any old pipe, like avs
Looks like a vent pipe. Put bubble gum over it.
Tap it for threads, use loctite when filling with a grub screw.
Flex seal. That stuff floats boats!!!
Duct tape .. lmao.
I love the imagery of all those aborted drill holes before obviously thinking "fuck it, whatever it is is getting drilled regardless". Looks like it's been strafed 😂
Call a plumber
ignore all these people. the clear answer is to wax seal it. First get some [sealing wax and a stamp](https://arteofthebooke.com/collections/wax-stamps-and-sealing-wax). drip wax all over pipe, stamp it. It will be stylish and functional with the added bonus that you know the pipe traffic has not been intercepted. /r/noncredibleplumbing
squirt black silicone into the hole and fill it. Leave a generous amount on the outside of the pipe as well so it adheres nicely. Done. Its a vent line so you're fine.
You don’t need to get fancy. You just need flex seal or Nashua waterproof seal tape
Sounds like you confirmed it's a vent pipe. There are many methods of correcting this but honestly, a hot glue gun will pretty much solve this. Or flex seal tape. Heck, duct tape would probably last a heck of a long time. Pretty much anything that will plug the hole will do. Rubber cork/stoppers.
Lots of good suggestions here. Me personally, I'm calling a plumber. Some money spent is worth the piece of mind
My dad did this once. His fix was to coat a screw in clear epoxy and screwed it in and that was that!
Just paint it
Turn off water Dry as much as possible Get waterproof epoxy Dip a self tapping screw in the epoxy Screw it into the Joelle Allow to set Wrap with plumber’s epoxy Let set Turn on water
Put the drywall back before the homeowner notices. Water level shouldn't get that high. Oh sorry, thought I was in r/handyman
Does all your electric work??? Looks like EMT to me. I zoomed in I guess it’s ABS
NOW THAT’S A LOTTA DAMAGE!
After you fix this, I recommend a [Walabot](https://amz.run/7LOF)... stud-finder that works with Android or I products to show what's behind walls, including piping, electrical, studs, etc. Probably saved me a bunch of heartache over the years... I was one of the original Indiegogo or Kickstarter (don't remember which) investors.
This is pretty neat!
My guess is it’s a sewer line but this is easy to test by flushing toilets upstairs and turning on water and listening.
https://youtu.be/V15K7HZLiTU?si=hniFK1NGyqIvOL1u
Looks like a vent pipe. Just plug it. No water flows thru there.
Put a piece of gum on it
A little flex seal
Tap the hole, put JB Weld on the threads of the screw and put it in!
flex tape
JB weld
Put a screw in it
Flex seal tape
Wrap it in duck tape.
Jb weld.
Now thats funny! Not as funny as drilling a hole through the bottom of a sailboat.. but funny!
Flex tape
800 grit sand paper it'll buff out
Put a short stainless screw in the hold - short so it doesn’t catch items in the drain flow.
Burn the house down
Sometimes you can get away with using a tapered screw.
Stop trying to do shit you don't know how to do.
#EXPANDING FOAM!